They do - with Madden 2007 in this example !
They patch their sports games every year; Madden 2006 gets patched to Madden 2007!!
Independent outfits mainly in Eastern Europe is where the future of CRPG games is gonna be imho. I've given up hope seeing anything remotely innovative coming from big companies. The gaming industry atm is pretty much like the music industry. The big players putting out general drivel to suit the masses with the rare decent act while the only decent gems are the more independent artists.
Maybe it's because Im old and wornout, but overall the game industry seems to be a shadow of its former self. Money != quality.
Actually, the person who would know about Canadian law would be Desslock. He hasn't been around here for awhile but from memory he posts at Qt3, so I'm sure he'll have something to say.
As for turning BioWare into a sweat shop and labour laws, I don't know the particulars of what is and is not allowed and what the operating procedures are for a company owned by an American corporation operating in Canada. It'd be interesting to know, though, so Aries if you do know the laws there, I'm honestly curious to know what they are.
I'm very sure EA will close this.
Do any of your columns find their way online, Desslock? I'd love to have access to your stuff but it just isn't worth importing a print magazine down to Australia.
In terms of Dragon Age, I guess most of us draw a bit of a line between the Baldur's Gate (and related games) era and BioWare's more recent output. There's a certain approach to plot and characters that has remained constant (or even improved) and elements such as stat checks in dialogue are much more widely implemented, but other systems have been simplified (and no, I'm not raving hysterically about pandering to the mainstream market). For example, KotOR uses lots of threes - three classes, then three Jedi classes, only three active skills at a time. I quite enjoyed it, but the micromanagement aspect has been considerably streamlined for the audiences these games have been aimed at.
I guess most of us really want to know if DA does go back to something like the BG2 era? Beyond that, will BioWare honestly have the freedom to work on this sort of game again or will DA mark the end of "hardcore" PC RPGs for BioWare?
Quote: EA History: Quick Facts - The Path of Destruction
Original HQ in San Mateo, California – moved to Redwood City in 1998
Origin Systems (Ultima, Wing Commander, System Shock) in Austin, Texas – acquired in 1992, closed in 2004
Bullfrog Productions (Dungeon Keeper, Magic Carpet, Populous, Syndicate) in Surrey, England – acquired in 1995, effectively closed in 2001
EA Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland – established in 1996 as part of Origin, closed in 2000
Manley & Associates (Les Manley, Night Creatures, Wolf) in Seattle, Washington – renamed EA Seattle, acquired in 1996, closed in 2002
Maxis in Walnut Creek, California – acquired in 1997, moved in 2004 to Redwood City
Westwood Studios (Command & Conquer, Dune II, Land of Lores, The Legend of Kyrandia) in Las Vegas, Nevada – acquired in 1998, shut down in 2003
Westwood Pacific (Red Alert, Nox) in Irvine, California – formerly part of Virgin Interactive, renamed EA Pacific, acquired with Westwood in 1998, closed in 2003
Kesmai aka GameStorm (Air Warrior); acquired in 1999, closed in 2001.
DICE Canada (Battlefield Vietnam, Battlefield 2) in London, Ontario - acquired October 2, 2006; closed hours later.
Re - columns -- would you like to repost them here at RPG Watch? I'd have to wait until after the colums are no longer at newstands, but could probably make them available after that.
We'd love that.Originally Posted by Desslock
Re - columns -- would you like to repost them here at RPG Watch? I'd have to wait until after the colums are no longer at newstands, but could probably make them available after that.
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-= RPGWatch =-
Re - columns -- would you like to repost them here at RPG Watch? I'd have to wait until after the colums are no longer at newstands, but could probably make them available after that.
Independent outfits mainly in Eastern Europe is where the future of CRPG games is gonna be imho. I've given up hope seeing anything remotely innovative coming from big companies. The gaming industry atm is pretty much like the music industry. The big players putting out general drivel to suit the masses with the rare decent act while the only decent gems are the more independent artists.