Dragon Age - On Console Versions @ MTV

MTV's recent comments on Dragon Age not suiting console audiences launched a lengthy thread on our forums. MTV has returned to the subject, talking briefly to Dan Tudge about bringing DA to consoles. Dan doesn't say much but he does claim that Dragon Age remains a "core" PC experience, while the console versions aren't just a port:

The situation is the opposite of “Mass Effect,” where BioWare designed the interface in a console-friendly format first before bringing in a team to tweak their foundation to work best with a keyboard and mouse interface on the PC version.
“We really started ['Dragon Age'] right from the get go as a core PC title,” he said. “During development, we realized this didn’t just have to be PC — the audiences have migrated. [We have been] able to do things that still keep it very old school and [a] very spiritual successor to ‘Baldur’s Gate’ but also make it new and accessible.”

More information.

"a very spiritual successor to ‘Baldur’s Gate’ but also make it new and accessible.”

That statement scares me a little…

Marketing people are not paid to tell (or have developers tell) the truth. MTV has a console audience. Of course they are told what they want to hear - that their platform(s) are not just an afterthought and have the same priority as the PC version.

I read a preview (on Eurogamer.de I think), in which the author claimed DA "plays too much like Baldur's Gate".

Both sources don't mean much because the material they saw and the answers they got were hand picked by EA's marketing department.

Agreed. You need to parse any responses to consider both the source and the audience. Don't forget he is responding specifically to a site that said it was all too hard.

As I predicted, all of the "we are returning to our roots with a spiritual successor to Baldurs Gate" PR talk has disappeared pretty much overnight, and it has been replaced with talk about how the game has been adapted to a console audience.

God, one thing I hate about the rpg community is the whole hate of mainstream devs. It's the cool thing to do now. I'm willing to give this one a chance instead of expecting doom.

All of us, fans and developers, ought to get together and drink a coke, maybe on a hilltop somewhere.

Originally Posted by rune_74
God, one thing I hate about the rpg community is the whole hate of mainstream devs. It's the cool thing to do now. I'm willing to give this one a chance instead of expecting doom.

Now? The PC game has been dead for at least 15 years now IIRC.

Funny I still find fun games to play, weird if its been dead

Originally Posted by rune_74
God, one thing I hate about the rpg community is the whole hate of mainstream devs. It's the cool thing to do now. I'm willing to give this one a chance instead of expecting doom.

Agreed!
It's easier to go negative than positive. I should know I do it all the time

Originally Posted by Squeek
All of us, fans and developers, ought to get together and drink a coke, maybe on a hilltop somewhere.

That scared me more than Silent Hill 3!!!They are just entirely too cheerful to be real people.

Not sure what you meant by it, but still scary as hell.

Originally Posted by doctor_kaz
As I predicted, all of the "we are returning to our roots with a spiritual successor to Baldurs Gate" PR talk has disappeared pretty much overnight, and it has been replaced with talk about how the game has been adapted to a console audience.

Come on, it's right in the article-

“We really started ['Dragon Age'] right from the get go as a core PC title,” he said. “During development, we realized this didn’t just have to be PC — the audiences have migrated. [We have been] able to do things that still keep it very old school and [a] very spiritual successor to ‘Baldur’s Gate’ but also make it new and accessible.”

And what are they supposed to say, we're not going to make it accessible to a large part of the market? "Console users are going to hate our game!"? He's trying to sell the game to people here.