Commander Sheppard and his band of misfits, new and old, are on a continuing quest to save the galaxy from an inevitable threat known the Reapers, and that quest has solely been on the Xbox 360.
I can say that I’ve successfully gone through Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 a few times, and each time was better than the last. Each play through was on the Xbox 360, and I’m happy that it has been an Xbox Exclusive… until now, of course. I was just reading on IGN.com that Mass Effect 2 will be converted to the Playstation 3 early next year. This means that the series will be a multiplatform release when Mass Effect 3 finally hits stores.
That’s right! Mass Effect 2 will be made for those gamers who hate Xbox 360 with a passion, but heard that this game was fantastic and got their way. Not only that, but the game was such a fiery, glorious success and a well-oiled money train that BioWare and Electronic Arts had to cut a deal with Sony just to increase sales.
This reminds me of something comedian Lewis Black mentioned in his latest album, Stark Raving Black, when he spoke about the United States and her economic status.
“One of the things my country seems to have done is perfect greed.”
I think that rings true for any human being who can’t seem to get enough. Companies strive to make more money, and that’s how our little world works. So, when BW and EA sat down with Sony, I can only imagine how the conversation went;
“Okay, Sony. We’ve got a piece of gold here. Mass Effect 2 has been named the most ambitious science fiction game out there, but it’s not enough to just make the third game and continue to make downloadable content for the series. We want to put our already popular game on the Playstation 3 so it will be the most ambitious science fiction epic in the world. Oh, and the money would be awesome, too.”
It’s not enough that they are coming out with extra DLC that’s supposed to be released in a week, but now they want more and more money from the people that will buy it for the PS3. And people WILL buy it for the PS3 because it’s a freaking awesome game! Why wouldn’t they? This just shows that companies have no problem milking a successful series until it runs dry (Stargate, Friends, Law and Order, Star Trek, Star Wars, and Doctor Who immediately come to mind).
This reminds me of how loyalty is important in the gaming industry. You wouldn’t believe how hard-up people can get over one piece of technology versus another. Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii are all battling against each other for supremacy, so there is bound to be tension between loyalists who have a certain playing preference. I’ve been in situations where I suggest Halo as a decent shooter, and the customer says, and I quote, “Fuck the Xbox and fuck Halo.”
I understand that some people aren’t fond of the series, but is it really that serious? In those moments, I found myself wanting to defend my beloved system and game, but I know better. I can’t afford to stoop to that level because I can’t afford to have a heavy bias between gaming consoles working at Gamestop. But when that happens, I find that it’s not the game itself… it’s the person. As I said, there is a certain loyalty factor that gets in the way of having a mature conversation between two adults that quickly turns into a who’s who of what’s better.
There are certain games on each console that are expected to remain on that console because of fans, loyalty, and licensing agreements. We all know that each gaming console has strengths and weaknesses, with respective games to go with them. For example, you will never see a Mario title on the Playstation 3, and you will never see God of War traipse over to the Xbox 360, etc.
Like Halo, I assumed that Mass Effect would strictly be an Xbox exclusive, but because Electronic Arts has a license with both Microsoft and Sony, they can do whatever they want. And because humans are greedy little squirrels trying to get all the nuts in the universe, I can’t blame them. The series is deep, expansive, easy to get into, and profitable, so it only makes sense for it to crossover. It doesn’t mean that I agree with it, but that’s the way life goes.
Writing, believing…
-V
