While publisher EA reveals they did post an overall loss for FY2011, it was at least down from the previous 12 month period. Sales meanwhile stayed strong. They also reveal Battlefield 3 pre-orders are up 700% over Bad Company 2's figures, confirming a "superior" studio is behind it. EA out release schedule.
The most recent news for Mass Effect 3 is its delay into Q4, which means anytime from January to March next year. EA teases something else though. Apparently there's "new ways to play" the third instalment, and its delay was because of "purposefully shifting it to address a larger market opportunity."
The upcoming preview of Mass Effect 3 in the next issue of Official Xbox Magazine has a ton of juicy details, reports NeoGAF.
As expected, Mass Effect 3 will have no new romances. Instead, it'll use save files to include the romances from Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, and if you have two different romantic interests from each game, things could get hairy.
In an interesting twist, it seems that same sex relationships will be possible in Mass Effect 3, which is a switch from the earlier claim that no new romances will be possible. And no, Liara doesn't count as "same sex" because she is a unisex species.
Executive producer Casey Hudson of the Mass Effect series reveals that the studio used parts of the DLC for the second game as 'experiments' for the third. The new features like the car chase on Illium were to "broaden that envelope of gameplay" for Mass Effect 3, which has more "action moments" like those.
The interactive comic that was included with the PlayStation 3 version of Mass Effect 2 to allow PS3 users to affect the story of ME2 without having the save files from the Microsoft-owned first game is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace for 320 MSP.
Action and consequence are big parts of Mass Effect, created by BioWare, and that's not changing, in fact going off the "critical path" is more rewarding than ever. Decisions we've made throughout ME1 and ME2 will alter the stage in Mass Effect 3, says Casey Hudson. Taking your time gives an "amazing, very definitive ending."
As expected, Mass Effect 3 will set you up for some tearjerking scenes, and BioWare writer Patrick Weekes states that he was ready to break out the handkerchiefs when seeing some of the finished scenes.
EA boss John Riccitiello, now credited with 'saving' the publisher, has said in a speech that if anything they've "failed well," with a lot of mileage left to go. It hasn't entirely paid off yet he argues, but they've had "a few wins" getting there. He "lost a few friends" making the transitions as some 'couldn't adapt'.
BioWare is excited to be unveiling their Mass Effect 3 E3 demo next week, which felt like "insanity" getting it done revealed executive producer Casey Hudson. Gameplay designer Christina Norman reckons it's their "best demo, and our best game" in the studio's history. Mass Effect 3 is no cakewalk promise BioWare.
Allegedly EA pulled some box art for BioWare's Mass Effect 3 from the EA Store but not before someone nabbed it. Is Shephard going to be Kinect friendly? The reported Xbox 360 box art carries the "Better with Kinect" tagline and appears to feature not-before-seen artwork of Shephard standing in front of Earth.
Publisher EA wants to tackle Valve and their mega digital distribution platform Steam. To that end they're launching digital rival Origin today at 5.00pm GMT. They promise "exclusive game content" that only Origin will provide for upcomers like Mass Effect 3 and Battlefield 3. They aim for Origin to go mobile as well.
Electronic Arts has revealed its lineup for E3 2001.
Bioware has just confirmed at the Microsoft E3 press conference that Mass Effect 3 will feature Kinect support. Players will be able to use voice recognition to select dialogue options, along with issuing squad commands.
The EA conference began by announcing that the Mass Effect 3 release date is March 6th, 2012, before showing a substantial gameplay demonstration. In the demo, Commander Shepard attempts to destroy a reaper base. The demo showcases combat, in particular new melee attacks using the omni-tool, and a target painter for aerial attacks.
Want to see Shephard tackling some of the Reaper menace? Mass Effect 3 has just received a live action trailer from E3 with many pretty explosions. It shows the Reapers as well as teasing some boss-like events in the trailer. It reiterates that we decide how the war is won in the last entry to the trilogy.
BioWare has confirmed that Mass Effect 3 will include Kinect functionality with the Xbox 360 version of the highly anticipated roleplaying game. However, 360 gamers don't have to worry about having to hop around their living room or making pistols with their fingers and shouting "Pew! Pew! Pew!" to fire. Mass Effect 3 will be utilizing Kinect's voice recognition feature. Instead of selecting what to say with a controller, the player can now say the phrase at the bottom of the screen to begin a dialogue. In addition, squad commands can be issued.
The release date for Mass Effect 3 has been revealed - the final chapter of Commander Shepard's trilogy will be on March 6, 2012, and Bioware has announced the Collector's Edition as well.
"We fight or we die!", shouts Commander Shepard, and in the latest trailer from Electronic Arts for Mass Effect 3, the action is focused on the Reaper invasion of Earth.