Will The Mass Effect 3 Scandal Make The Game More Popular?

There's a well-known and apt saying- There's no such thing as bad publicity.

Recently, fans freaked out over the unsatisfying ending(s) in Mass Effect 3, which was stacked atop the previous backlash concerning some downlaodable content. Recently, I politely asked the disgruntled whiners to quiet the hell down.

But let's look at this mess from a business standpoint: What is EA's reaction to this? Are they going, "great, more people will buy the game just to see what all the fuss is about?" or are they saying, "damn...this is no good." The publisher already reported the early numbers, which are impressive: 3.5 million shipped, 890,000 sold in North America alone. Personally, although I never finished the game, I suddenly have the urge to do so, simply because of the fallout surrounding the available climaxes. I can't be the only one.

That being said, let's look at it from another way. What if BioWare responds? What if that online petition has the intended impact and the developers actually go and create an alternate ending? Would that not keep the game in the spotlight for a little longer? If there's one truism about this industry, it's that unless your name is Call of Duty, you won't stay near the top of the sales charts for more than a few months. But what if ME3 simply stays in the headlines for a long time? What with possible BioWare and EA responses, potential changes to the game, and more fan argument and discussion...? In the end, the sales might actually benefit.

Of course, there's always the logical argument- Sure, a lot more people have heard about Mass Effect 3 due to this upheaval, but the response is largely negative. So how can that possibly increase interest and as a direct result, sales? Oh, the consuming public is a funny group...if a game is in a headline, it just seems obvious that it has a better chance of being purchased. Even if the article accused the game of coming to life in the middle of the night and killing kittens.

Related Game(s): Mass Effect 3

Tags: mass effect 3, me3, mass effect 3 sales, bioware, mass effect 3 fans

3/13/2012 9:05:25 PM Ben Dutka

Put this on your webpage or blog:
Email this to a friend
Follow PSX Extreme on Twitter

Comments (41 posts)

Toggle Scrolling | Reload Comments

Ultimadream
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ 9:31:41 PM
Reply

Not in my book, I still refuse to play this series due to the PS3 not having ME1 That digital comicbook is not a substitute for a gaming experience, who wasnt to read up about the story of a game rather than experience it.

Mass Effect is seen as a huge AAA title anyway, I doubt such an incedent will make much a difference to the sales as I'm sure most ME fans already have the game by now.

7 up, 19 down

Pandacastro
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ 9:50:06 PM

Do you have a good pc? You can get them all on pc.

Last edited by Pandacastro on 3/13/2012 9:53:12 PM

4 up, 1 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ 10:04:49 PM

Let it go man, it can't be done.

1 up, 1 down

Temjin001
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ 10:10:45 PM

Ultima stop being so retarded. It's an old and tired complaint where I'm sure you'll find little who'll sympathize with you as they're already beyond that. The facts are in. MS has the first game tied up. So either play it on a PC or find someone's used 360 laying around for $100 or less and play it already ;)

8 up, 4 down

Gamer Girl Gemo
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ 10:27:01 PM

Man, you're crazy! I picked up the series with ME2, and it was never any problem to catch up to what was going on in the series. Luckily Bioware eases you into the world without just throwing you in the middle of something. Sure, there's a few characters that show up again from ME1, but it's not big deal to become acquainted with them in ME2, and even fall in love with them all.

Dude, you're seriously missing out if you're using that as your excuse. It almost sounds like you just don't want to play the game. Ah, well. Sucks for you to miss out on such a great series.

4 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ 10:29:12 PM

Agree with Gemo, even a relatively astute human being can infer previous events while playing ME2, and the comic does handle the very few decisions that actually matter in how ME2 plays out.

6 up, 1 down

telly
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 @ 8:32:10 AM

And Mass Effect 2 is SO much more fun to play than ME1 it's not even funny. Believe me, PS3-only owners, you got the FAR superior game.

1 up, 1 down

CrusaderForever
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 @ 12:27:15 PM

@Ultimadream

Please tell me you are kidding? Seriously UD you have to play this very old Mass Effect 1 game on your current PC. No doubt you can play it without any problems. The PC version is the definitive version and is fantastic. I guarantee you that if you give ME1 a try on the PC you will come back to this community and apologize for being......Off...kind of..sideways on this subject. We all make mistakes and will forgive you! ME Universe grabs you emotionally and won't let go. You fall in love with many characters. You achieve the feeling that my actions/decisions mean something. I know you are a gamer and no doubt a very good gamer. But it's hard to play all the other games knowing you passed up one of the greatest series in ANY gen. Do the right thing and try ME1.

Last edited by CrusaderForever on 3/14/2012 12:31:04 PM

2 up, 0 down

Clamedeus
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ 9:35:03 PM
Reply

I beat ME3, and I fully understand why they are pissed, when I beat the game I was like;

"wow.. really?"

5 up, 0 down

Pandacastro
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ 9:51:56 PM

There's a secret ending if your interested. Beat it on new game plus.

Last edited by Pandacastro on 3/13/2012 9:52:52 PM

0 up, 0 down

Gamer Girl Gemo
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ 10:32:03 PM

Exactly my words... After a long moment of jawdropped silence.

0 up, 0 down

Clamedeus
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ 10:52:49 PM

@Pandacastro

I'll have to check it out when I get some time.

@Gamer Girl Gemo

Indeed. xD

0 up, 0 down

PC_Max
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ 9:53:19 PM
Reply

Well, I am on the fence here. The demo frame rate issue turned me off. The groans from fans about the ending and the fact the multiplayer component is somehow connected with the single player campaign to get I suppose a better ending, and the ending... which I have tried to avoid seeing any spoilers.

You tell me. I am attempted to wait and see what DLC comes out first in the next 6 months OR just wait and see if a GOTY edition comes out with everything. Course... there is the choice of not buying it at all.

I player ME1 on the PC, loved the long levels to play throught. Played ME2 on the PS3 and loved the team building, side missions and relationship building. That and giving the finger to Cerebus and fighting off the Reapers.

So do I wait... or do I just bite the bullet here.

0 up, 0 down

xenris
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ 10:25:20 PM

Wait until a price drop so you can get the game and all its DLC for cheaper.

3 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ 10:03:46 PM
Reply

This just has people talking about those endings, which is why I can't buy and enjoy this game now.

0 up, 0 down

Pandacastro
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ 10:13:00 PM

You could wait for it to drop and see how it happens and theres a secret ending on new game plus which is what i'm looking forward to now that I know the ending.

0 up, 1 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ 10:29:54 PM

I'll wait for a complete edition to be cheap, which is gonna be a few years. Stupid spoilers.

Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 3/13/2012 10:34:19 PM

2 up, 1 down

Underdog15
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 @ 8:48:42 AM

Yeah. Some guy on this site who's never been here before ruined it for me. I'm gonna do as world does and wait.

1 up, 0 down

Temjin001
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ 10:07:15 PM
Reply

I don't really know where the fuss is to begin with. I suppose I'm not going to the places where people fuss about stuff so I'm oblivious to the kind of outcry ME3 is getting. Though, the occasional headline I've read suggests some discontent, as it seems every hot new game gets a handful of headlines for that sort of thing anymore.
I'm not too concerned, really. I love the ME series, and it's been one of my favorites of all time. And not for their endings (even though ME2's was exeptionally awesome) but because the series offers something I've never experienced in gaming before. Seeing that the critics believe it's a fully worthy sequel in the game play department I have little doubts I'll walk away dissapointed by my time spent.
And if the endings are so terrible and dissapointing and unexpected, where does Bioware get to the point of green lighting these ideas to begin with? It would seem someone at some point in the dev process would say, "umm, this sucks. we should change it"
anyway 'nuff said til I actually play it through. And I will, oh yes, I will. When I can give it my undivided like the series deserves =)

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ 10:35:57 PM

That's why I think there's a distinct disconnect between devs and fans these days.

1 up, 0 down

Pandacastro
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ 10:08:44 PM
Reply

Nah I don't think people would go buy a game they never heard or have no interest in just to see the supposedly bad ending. Also could you guys not spoil it for those who haven't finish it yet. I got pissed when WingusofDingus came out of nowhere and spoil it for me and others.

1 up, 0 down

Underdog15
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 @ 8:50:29 AM

same.

1 up, 0 down

Gamer Girl Gemo
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ 10:24:11 PM
Reply

I can honestly say that I'm somewhat among those disgruntled fans. I would like a different ending, or at least something to fill in the unanswered questions. Especially if this is supposed to be the last ME. I understand that Bioware is saying there will be more to come, but their silence on what it will be is kinda unnerving my patience...

The endings certainly left much to be desired. So much so, that I was surprised to find this on my tumblr dashboard:

"There is now a donation for Child’s Play charity for the #RetakeMassEffect campaign. If you’re lobbying for the inclusion of more options for the Mass Effect 3 endings, I highly encourage you to donate. This way we show Bioware and the gaming community that we aren’t just whining or overreacting,…

Am I reading that correctly? Does that say that they’ve already raised roughly $5400 on the page? That is awesome. You go, fans!"

That's pretty darn crazy. Crazy enough that this definitely might turn out good in the end. Cause as upset as I am with the endings, I still loved the game as a whole. It was amazing, breathtaking, but... The ends hardly justified the means. Which was choice. And if everything ends up ending the same way, then Bioware hasn't filled their quota of making a game based on choice.

Even if Bioware doesn't change the endings, I will continue to support them and what they do.

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ 10:41:22 PM

Thank you for saying what I was failing at saying a couple days ago. There has got to be SOME kind of ... something... that at least makes it in the best interest of a dev to live up to expectations for a series with so many fans.

We will see more Mass Effect, but to end that trilogy on a bad note isn't acceptable.

0 up, 0 down

Gamer Girl Gemo
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ 10:49:49 PM

Well said, World. It honestly seems like a big cop out. Like the writers weren't sure how to tie everything together... Or were just plain lazy.

This video might interest you, World, and anyone else wondering why ME fans are upset. This guy is entertaining, and sums up everything perfectly:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H_A7SeawU4

*Warning this video has serious ending spoilers*

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ 11:36:28 PM

Someone already spoiled it here so the cat's out of the bag anyway.

1 up, 0 down

coverton341
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ 11:29:24 PM
Reply

My biggest complaint about the game is the DLC. It has recently come to light that by altering a .ini file on the PC version that you can unlock the DLC without purchasing it or downloading anything, which means the game came packaged with it, at least on PC.

2 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ 11:37:30 PM

I heard of that, more proof of buying unlock codes. This is extortion and malfeasance.

1 up, 0 down

Pandacastro
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ 11:50:40 PM

Pretty sure that the character was only on the disc and you download the mission, costumes, and dialogues of the character when you buy the dlc. I heard that only the character is available not the mission when you do that on pc.

0 up, 0 down

BikerSaint
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 @ 12:44:17 AM

Yeah, I saw a video of a guy unlocking the in-game file just to disprove what EA & Bioware's been saying about the DLC being an 600MB D/L.

So somebody's certainly growing their nose a hell of a lot longer than poor ole Pinocchio ever did......"Got Wood"??????

0 up, 0 down

coverton341
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 @ 10:44:12 AM

From what I heard, you unlocked the character, mission location, and some other things. Possibly not all the dialogue and the mission specific events, but even if the dialogue and the mission AI weren't on the disc it goes to show that the whole "it was developed well after the main game was finished" is a bit of a lie. Maybe the exact mission wasn't created until after the game was done, but it would seem that they had plans for a Prothean character all along.

And, that makes sense, since the DLC adds a very significant amount of backstory that is integral to the game itself. Again, going to my complaint that the Prothean character was very much needed to have a whole and complete view of the story.

Anyway, I am enjoying the game, and the complaint I have about the day one DLC that is very important to the full game isn't enough to make me regret my purchase. I just wish they could be honest about their practices.

1 up, 0 down

mehrab2603
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 @ 12:41:10 AM
Reply

I am not gonna get a game that I don't want just to see why people are complaining about the ending. No way. People with too much cash might do however.

Not in a hurry to get it now due to my huge backlog. I will get it when they do the ultimate edition with all the DLC included, but not this release with content seemingly left out intentionally.

0 up, 0 down

___________
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 @ 4:46:30 AM
Reply

how can this benefit the game?
people have slagged it for being a total departure from the series hows that a good thing?
hows DLC on the disk a good thing?
hows sh*t endings a good thing?
no way in hell bioware are going to go back and create new endings.
they cant create 1 new ending, because then people are going to say what about this?
people need to get over it, accept ME3 is sh*t and pray bioware have learnt their lesson and wont f*ck ME4 up!

3 up, 0 down

H0TSHELLZ
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 @ 7:56:01 AM

Aint the series over ????

0 up, 0 down

___________
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 @ 9:40:15 AM

the *trilogy* may be over, but there is no way EA is closing a series that is so popular!
as the great cliffy b once said, when a games selling in the millions of units you dont stop making it!
mass effect is printing money for EA, there not going to stop it any time soon!
whether they end up calling it ME4 or not who knows, but one things for sure there will be another mass effect game after this.
and my point exactly, fans need to say oh well and just hope they have learned their lessons for the next ME game they make.
id love to see a prequel to the original, show the war the protheans had to go through.
show how they owned the universe and which other species were there and how they went extinct.

0 up, 0 down

SoulController
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 @ 6:38:47 AM
Reply

Is there a spolier disease in the air right now?? Between this & the walking dead some people need to keep their mouths shut!

1 up, 0 down

Underdog15
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 @ 8:53:32 AM

No one spoiled it in this thread. But WingusofDingus did in another thread on Monday.

1 up, 0 down

SoulController
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 @ 9:49:03 AM

I know that I'm just saying in general, talk of it is all over the net. I just think saying it has a bad ending in can be discouraging. & who in the world besides a reviewer beats a 60-90 hour game that's barely been out a week??! Lol

0 up, 0 down

H0TSHELLZ
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 @ 7:54:47 AM
Reply

ehhhh.........i passed already

0 up, 1 down

JCARROLL
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 @ 11:21:42 AM
Reply

I don't think this publicity will make the game more popular. The only people that have heard about this so called scandal are people that are informed and that know about the latest news in gaming so they will already know if they want the game or not. The vast majority of consumers aren't tuned into gaming websites and forums so this internet publicity will never filter down to them.

0 up, 0 down

Lemon_Saint
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 @ 6:06:29 PM
Reply

I'm still playing through ME2! There just is not enough time in the day. I am 10% of the way through Batman: AC, just at the opening of Uncharted 3, hell, I never finished Fallout 3! I would LOVE to have that much available time to be able to not only play a bit of this massive game, but also to beat it in under a week.

0 up, 0 down

Please login or register to leave a comment.

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories cheats	PSP
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas cheats	PS2
Z.H.P. Unlosing Ranger vs. Darkdeath Evilman cheats	PSP
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories cheats	PSP
Grand Theft Auto IV cheats	PS3
Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters cheats	PS2
The Sims: Bustin' Out cheats	PS2
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin cheats	PS2
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis cheats	PS1
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 cheats	PS2

Do you plan to buy a PlayStation Vita this year?
	Yes, I'll definitely get one in 2013.
	No, but I'll get one eventually.
	No, I have no intention of buying the Vita.
	No, I've already got one.

Playstation 3

Playstation 4

PSP

Playstation Vita

Playstation 2

Playstation

Other

PSX Extreme

Site Stats

Will The Mass Effect 3 Scandal Make The Game More Popular?

Comments (41 posts)

Leave a Comment

Latest Updates

Popular Cheats

Recent Reviews

Recent Previews

Popular Sections

Extras

Sponsor

Our Poll

Resident Evil: Revelations review	PS3
Metro: Last Light review	PS3
Zombie Tycoon II: Brainhov's Revenge review	PS3
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon review	PS3
Star Trek: The Video Game review	PS3
Injustice: Gods Among Us review	PS3
Dead Island: Riptide review	PS3
Defiance review	PS3
Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 review	PS3
Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel review	PS3

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified preview	PS3
Time and Eternity preview	PS3
Ride to Hell: Retribution preview	PS3
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger preview	PS3
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon preview	PS3
Spartacus Legends preview	PS3
Payday 2 preview	PS3
DUST 514 preview	PS3
Dynasty Warriors 8 preview	PS3
Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness preview	PS3