BioWare - Casey Hudson back at Bioware

All pretty damn subjective though, stating Bioware is "better" than PB or Beth. I enjoy the Bioware games although no where near as much as the Beth games these days. Also pretty naive to compare two games that are very different in style and purpose with different end goals - but that is expected from some of the crowd around here.

BoboTheMighty said:

It did seem a lot of people who didn't have any interest in the game, jumped at opportunity to make fun of it.
But there are plenty of huge fans of the franchise also disappointed with it… "[/I]

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I am a huge fan of ME. And was totally disappointed. So yes I can relate.
It was more a burst because I am tired of the kind of easy arguments like "you do not like that game because you hate the editor" very similar to the you do not like this X peorson because you hate that Z unrelated stuff.

wolfgrimdark said:

All pretty damn subjective though, stating Bioware is "better" than PB or Beth. I enjoy the Bioware games although no where near as much as the Beth games these days. Also pretty naive to compare two games that are very different in style and purpose with different end goals - but that is expected from some of the crowd around here.

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As is expected from some of the "crowd" of not understanding the difference between poor execution and something being differently designed.
On the latter, good comparison is TES and Witcher style of exploration ( which some middle aged toddlers still can't seem to grasp ...free form condensed lego world sandbox oriented on locales next to linear exploration focused on realistic/cohesive world and it's storylines.
On the former, comparison between ME and Fallout, when it comes to cinematic dialogue, which are directly comparable and share exactly the same goals, but one is simply executed better than the other.
Similar thing goes for sound design ( generally of very poor quality in Bethesda games ( last Prey in particular )), animations, performance, etc...this has far less "grey area" when it comes to personal preference and is not so much a matter of "style" ( as is something like storytelling) than technical execution.

Aerth said:

Star Wars: The Old Republic anyone? Did not manage to make it works with Star Wars in the name so..

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At first Star Wars The Old Republic was subscription only. Subscriptions began decreasing after several months. At about 6 months, BioWare switched to a free to play (f2p) plus subscription model. Apparently the game started doing better after that. There have been reports that SWTOR had revenue of over 100 million per year for the past several years.

Bottom line; SWTOR did not achieve the blockbuster success that BW/EA initially wanted; there were employee layoffs at BioWare Austin in the first year; the Doctors who founded BW left EA etc. But SWTOR didn't actually crash and burn. After adjustments, the game increased profitability and has reportedly continued to earn profits.

Probably BW/EA expects to use what it has learned with SWTOR to run the new franchise, Anthem. However Anthem is targeting the Destiny market. Activision Blizzard invested 500 million in Destiny prior to launch and is reported to maintain a permanent Destiny staff exceeding 500 employees. BW/EA will also need a huge investment and permanent staff to suceed here.

Development and management of Anthem's employees, equipment and online resources will probably make up the bulk of Casey Hudson's General Manager's responsibilities. MMO management is widely said to be quite different than SP video game development and management. Although BW/EA does have background here, Casey Hudson does not. Hudson's success in developing/managing ME games is no guarantee that Hudson can succeed with Anthem.

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Managing a branch office doesn't compare to managing a game project. Every assumption about Hudson's abilities or probability of failure based on such comparison is speculative, especially if your evaluating his former work purely from an outside perspective and without knowing his given parameters. There also have been several companies and persons who managed to develop MMOs without any track record in this area. So I guess, everything is possible and I don't think Hudson's daily business is managing any game in particular but looking for the overhead business and creating an stimulative environment for BioWare's employees. As a representative of the old BioWare days he could be the right person for a transformation process. So, as always, we have to wait and see.

Agree that future developments are speculative. Also agree that Hudson has a lot of positives. But there are potential issues like his inability to delegate, particularly at crucial moments like the end of ME3. That became a disaster.

Good managers have got to be able to delegate -- a fundamental necessity Still successful ppl grow and learn from mistakes. Could well be in the cards for Hudson.

Chances are high that BioWare is in a state of chaos at the moment. Hence the necessity for change at GM position. Anthem has an announced release date about 15-18 months from now, so getting the massive MMO out on time and the wheels turning smoothly at BW is asking a lot.

Surely Anthem will have to be Hudson's major focus for at least several years. He's going up against some of the best in the MMO business (Activision Blizzard), and is up against a game with the biggest budget in the video game history. Anthem also figures to be a huge investment for EA/BW also, such that failure to meet expectations will likely be the end of Hudson at EA just like the failure to meet expectations with SWTOR was closely followed by departures of Greg Zeschuk (BioWare Austin) and Ray Muzyka.

Hudson's got a tough road ahead. Agree with your sentiment that the future is not written. If Hudson does succeed, he'll deserve bundles of accolades.

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What did Hudson deliver at Microsoft? Anything customers actually liked?

Thrasher said:

What did Hudson deliver at Microsoft? Anything customers actually liked?

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If he did deliver anything it must be a trade secret. Could be he was lurking and learning during his 3 years at Microsoft.

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Research maybe?