I disagree. Buying Bioware games is clearly supporting Bioware. Bioware aren't funded unless the publisher/owner thinks their games will make a profit.
Sure, you could argue that buying current Bioware funds future Bioware, but it could also be argued that buying current Bioware funds current Bioware, seeing as Bioware paid its programmers/artists/writers/etc. to make the game with the expectation that the game would sell.
Buying Mass Effect 1 pays the publisher for the money they already gave to the developers. It's less about supporting someone than it is paying for the work that was done to create the art I've enjoyed (or disliked as the case sometimes is).
You're of course welcome to believe reality is not reality.
I said it's not NECESSARILY supporting Bioware.
You're not paying Bioware - you're paying the publisher. Bioware don't own these games - they only made them.
The publisher already paid Bioware when they decided to fund the development back in the day - so they've been compensated already.
What you're doing is HOPING that your support for products owned by the publisher means the publisher will agree with you that you're supporting that kind of Bioware game - and not just the potential to do business in whatever way the publisher deems fit.
The publisher could very easily decide sell whatever rights they own for Bioware products because it would make more business sense - and your support could easily be a factor - because maybe they would now get a better deal when selling the rights.
You have zero control what happens from that point on - or what it would mean for the future of Bioware themselves - which would no longer be connected with their own games in any meaningful way.
Also, for instance, if only you bought a Bioware game - I can give you my personal guarentee that the publisher would feel extremely dissuaded from ever funding another Bioware game.
Also, whatever happens in the future as a result of people supporting Bioware games is COMPLETELY up to the publisher so long as Bioware is subject to that publisher - as the publisher is in charge of how to invest.
For instance, even if Bioware was massively successful - it's still up to the publisher whether or not to continue making the same games - or if there was some other way to optimise revenue.
You're incredibly short-sighted if you seriously think buying Bioware game automatically means the publisher will keep funding the kind of game you like - or that success for the publisher would automatically mean success for Bioware. The real world doesn't work like that always.
In fact, you don't need to look beyond what happened to Bioware to understand what I'm saying is true.
Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate 2 and Neverwinter Nights were ALL very successful.
Do you think games like Dragon Age 2 and Mass Effect Andromeda represent a natural progression from BG and BG2 - in the way the audience who supported those games would have wanted or expected?
No, which means our support for those old games and their success did NOT translate into more games of the same kind.
Again, you seem utterly incapable of thinking in terms of reality - and you seem intent on this fairy tale concept of buying games = supporting the developer and that kind of game.
You can only hope that's what you're doing - but you have no power in whether it's true or not. You depend entirely on the publisher and how the publisher will interpret your support.
It's way, way more complicated than what you're suggesting.
