Interesting Conversation

Last week our BSN thread was closed due to being off topic and other technicalities, this sparked the following conversation with Stanley Woo who is a BSN moderator/rep:

TrveOmegaSlayer

Where can we PS3 owners ask Bioware our legitimate need of Mass Effect 1?
You allowed "retakers" to ravege the boards with anger and insults.
We're pacifically asking something that we DO really miss.
Big chunks of the story and you should know it.
We are customers and fans too and you can't take us down just because we started everything in a pacific way.
So, take notice of us and tell to the higher-ups.
you won't kill us easily!

Stanley Woo

I have no idea what you're talking about. PS3 users playing Mass Effect 2 were able to make specific choices with the interactive comic book. This was done specifically for PS3 users because Mass effect 1 was not available to them.

Megabug

Hi Stanley,

I've done a bit of homework over the last few months and I recently came across a list of Mass Effect 1 decisions that have consequences to the amount of War assets you get in ME3.

http://www.rarityguide.com/articles/articles/1870/1/Mass-Effect-3-War-Assets-Guide/Page1.html

I posted that list in the ME1 on PS3 thread. The decisions from the comic were MAJOR decisions but there were other decisions like saving the Zhu's Hope Colony.
In Mass Effect 2 there is a lady in Illuim who thanks Shepard that he/she saved her from Feros and mentions the Thorian. There is quite a bit of story related to that in ME1, There are many other references -- I wont go as far as to say plot holes -- but unless you've played ME1, then ME2 makes alot more sense.
Also Conrad Verner supposedly gives you a discount in ME2 (he is not in ME2 nor is he in ME3 on the PS3) but I'm guessing that the discount was handed out by Eruba (the girl with the poem obsessed Krogan Charr in Illium).

What it boils down to that it is only fair that PS3 gamers should be able to play the first part of the trilogy. I mean you wouldn't want to read only the middle to the end of a book would you?

(On a seperate note - regarding the 'missing' war assets, have the developers taken them into consideration when calculating the EMS for those playing the PS3 version in order to see the 'secret ending')

Would you be able to ask them?

Thanks.

Stanley Woo

>>What it boils down to that it is only fair that PS3 gamers should be able to play the first part of the trilogy.
Why is it "only fair"? BioWare has never implied that PS3 would get Mass Effect 1, nor has any such thing been discussed, let alone promised. "Fairness" has very little to do with it.

Megabug

I happen to think it's unfair, as are a lot of 'business' decisions Bioware made to exclude certain sections of your Mass Effect community.

Mass Effect 1 was only released on Xbox360/PC (business decision obviously)
Mass Effect datapad only for iOS and not for other OS's
Multiplayer Events (for Xbox360/PC only 'for now')
No avatars/PS3 themes/incentiives for PS3 gamers (yet Xbox360 have tons).

Bioware seem to give the impression they don't like the PS3 Community.
Lack of support on the forums etc.

But anyway I digress.

Main point is we would like to see Mass Effect 1 on the PS3 whether it has been discussed by Bioware (which I'm sure it has at some point) or not is neither here nor there.

Regards.

TrveOmegaSlayer

Ok, to put it down easy.
Mass Effect 1 on PS3 = happy PS3 fanbase, money for EA/Bioware.
Simple equation. Win-win situation.
People with ME2 and ME3 will buy ME1 for sure and WON'T SELL THEIR COPIES.
There's also lots of people that hasn't bought ME2 and ME3 yet because they don't want an incomplete story.
But they're likely to jump in.
There's people that has the whole trilogy on 360 that want to have it on PS3 too.
WE WANT TO GIVE YOU OUR MONEY.
So, no promised, not discussed, but really WORTH of being discussed.

The 6 decisions on Genesis are not enough and don't carry emotional weight.
20 minutes comics to replace a 40+ hours game.
If you think it can replace it, let me disagree saying that it's insulting.

Stanley Woo
>>Bioware seem to give the impression they don't like the PS3 Community.
Lack of support on the forums etc.
The forums have never been the primary avenue of tech support for our games. Primary tech support has always been provided by our publishers. The tech support forums are here for the COMMUNITY to help each other. BioWare will sometimes reach out to the tech support forums for help in tracking down certain bugs, but this is by no means a guarantee, explicit or implied.

>>Main point is we would like to see Mass Effect 1 on the PS3
Okay, and that's a fair thing to want to see. Again, "fairness" has absolutely nothing to do with it, but there's nothing wrong with phrasing it the way you have. I doubt it will happen, since BioWare has already accounted for PS3 users in ME2 with the interactive comment, but we never know what the future might bring.

>>Mass Effect 1 on PS3 = happy PS3 fanbase, money for EA/Bioware.
Simple equation. Win-win situation.
No, I'm afraif it is not that simple (things rarely are in game development). Mass Effect 1 on PS3 = a lot of work for EA/BioWare, potentially limited happy PS3 fanbase. Win-(lots of work for little return) situation.

>>There's also lots of people that hasn't bought ME2 and ME3 yet because they don't want an incomplete story.
>>There's people that has the whole trilogy on 360 that want to have it on PS3 too.
Please cite your sources.

>>WE WANT TO GIVE YOU OUR MONEY.
You also want us to do a whole lot of work and you're presuming to speak for a large section of our audience, including a section that already has the game on a different platform, which I'm not sure can be accurate to any degree.

I'm not saying "no, it will never happen, and that's final!" All I'm saying is that you're not going to convince me (or BioWare) that it's a viable project to undertake with the arguments you are presenting here.

Megabug

Regarding the Technical Support by EA (the amount of times I've contacted them about Mass Effect in general - they always refer me back to the forum/or they say they will pass the issue on to Bioware (if it's technical).

I understand the triage system that is in place, but how sure can we be that issues other members and myself have raised 'are being passed on/looked into and/or addressed' (either by EA or via the forums).

Although I am only one person, I own Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2 for the Xbox360
I bought the console purely to Mass Effect 1, and intend to buy Mass Effect 3 for the Xbox360 as well at a later date
Having said that I would still like to see the trilogy on the PS3 (it is my preferred system).

Thank you for taking the time to write with us.
It is appreciated.

Regards.

Stanley Woo

>>how sure can we be that issues other members and myself have raised 'are being passed on/looked into and/or addressed' (either by EA or via the forums).<<
There is no guarantee that the issues being raised are "being passed on" or "looked into", nor is such a guarantee promised, indicated or even implied by the game's EULA, site's ToS, or Site Rules. Sorry.

>>Having said that I would still like to see the trilogy on the PS3 (it is my preferred system).
And I think that's awesome. I would like to see that too, but I personally see it as unlikely to happen.

OmegaSlayer

What we were trying to do here in the thread, was PACIFICALLY collecting people to present you guys as proof that we would like this to happen, then your efforts would pay.