BioWare - Interview Roundup
Omega sent in a handful of BioWare interviews, so I'll collect them here. DLC is the common thread, though other topics are tackled.
GameReactor has a video interview with Fernando Melo on Awakening. He confirms more content to come for DA:O, which isn't a surprise given the two-year plan explained in the past.
UGO has an interview with the BioDocs on DLC strategies and they deny efforts like the Cerberus Network are related ti used game sales:
UGO: Obviously something like Cerberus Network (Day One DLC free for new buyers) encourages people to purchase the game...
Muzyka: Cerberus is very specific. We wanted people to feel like they belong to something. Like clubs, like a membership.
Zeschuk: We want to reward (the players).
UGO: Do you think offering Cerberus has made an impact in used sales?
Muzyka: We don't really look at that; we think of it more in a long-term strategy. For us, we want to have a really good relationship with the customer: Mass Effect 1, Mass Effect 2, DLC stuff, Mass Effect 3, future things. What we are most concerned with is having that customer relationship. I think something like Cerberus is a great way to cement that because part of the game comes up in beginning messages from Cerberus, and it's part of the community.
GameInformer also has a BioDoc interview, suggesting they'd like to expand on their current line-up of sci-fi and high fantasy:
Ray: Our portfolio includes a lot of different things short term and long term, different business models, different levels of risk, different IPs, different technologies. Different settings I think we are very interested in. We would love to build some new IPs and settings that are different than the ones we’ve currently got while continuing to build within the frameworks of the franchises we’ve got, too. We’re going to have a mix of all those things going forward.
Finally, Edge Online has excerpts from a "fire side" chat at GDC on building blockbusters. Apparently, BioWare now has a franchise team planning those cuddly Urdnot Wrex toys I just know you're dying to buy:
Myzuka further noted that Bioware now has a dedicated 'franchise team' working on expanding this consumer experience in future. “Franchises have a lot more to them than just games; there are books, music releases, toys. You have to co-ordinate the effort of many teams and productions; it’s a multi-year plan. I could tell you what we plan for Mass Effect for the next ten years.”