Originally posted by dotdotdash

Originally posted by ishist

Originally posted by finnmacool1

Originally posted by Vantras

I love how folks pretend that a founder who sells his/her company to a huge corporate entity is somehow innocent when that huge company butchers the original vision, guts the brand or exploits its strengths.  They call it "selling out" for a reason. These guys built a great company, saw an oppurtunity to reap an enormous harvest when they sold to EA-but they did so with their eyes wide open-they took the cash and sold the baby.  Acting as if their departure now is somehow an act of defiance at how the baby they knowingly sold is being raised is naive and absurd. 

I dont blame them at all for selling but i also wont pretend that they arent 100% culpable in what BW has turned into.

This.

I'm guessing none of you are aware that these two didn't own Bioware. They didn't sell Bioware. They were probably trying to make the best of a losing situation and it took its toll.

A bit of education: http://www.elevation.com/EP_port_item.asp?id=1

 

 

Greg and Ray sold Bioware and Pandemic to Elevation Partners in return for lofty stakes in Elevation, as well as seats on the board of directors of Elevation. In addition to this, employees at Bioware also got stakes in Elevation.

The deal CLEARLY outlined a "partnership of equals"; no single entity within the arrangement held any more authority than another. Bioware, Pandemic and Elevation were equals.

You need to go and read the literature, my friend. When Bioware was sold to EA, Greg and Ray would have had to approve it :) They were complicit in the sale, not victims of it.

On top of all of this they stayed on with Bio after the EA sale, they didn't stomp off in disgust after numerous customers/fans complained about a deterioration in quality. They didn't step in to make sure other games didn't continue to suffer. 

We can't have it both ways. If these guys were game design geniuses in their youth then they must have been at the very least neglectful in their twilight. They stayed on, if not to right the ship then to make money. The fact that they didn't express their own displeasure with the path that Bioware is taking is a form of compliance all in and of itself. I can't blame them, bucking the trend any where along the line would have likely cost them a lot of money, but I won't hero worship them either for remining silent. 

Originally posted by garrett
this sucks.

Pretty much sums up my thoughts on the matter.

What a bummer.

Sigh......

*edit*

I shouldnt even have any emotions in this. just that i played many bioware games all the way to Neverwinter Nights.

Sure the majority didnt like the EA take over that occured, but some , including myself gave it a chance. 

I ignored the faults, shortcomings and controversy , but when the Turd literally hit the fan, all those rooting for  the Bio/EA  thing to work, all we could do and sit their and watch.

EA had their chance.

So, theres nothing else to say,  Officially mark this up as another long list of Dead husks of companies dangling in EA's closet,  turn around and keep on walking.

But I cant lie to say that this is a sad day.

i'm not too sad since there's wasteland and project eternity in development, it's not like real RPGs aren't being made anymore

we can still laugh at bioware's future DA2's and TOR's too

This didn't have to happen and could easily have been prevented. 

The question is - who was the Gordon Gecko in this equation: EA, Bioware, LucasArts or . . . all of the above?

Originally posted by DSWBeef
Code for "We hate what EA has done to BW, so we're gone"

Well said.

Funny how the same vicious cycle always happens with EA.

Originally posted by DSWBeef
Code for "We hate what EA has done to BW, so we're gone"

This.

But at least they made lots of money before they left........

As far as I'm concerned, Bioware has ceased to exist as of their leaving. While I'm sure there are still good devs there, those 2 guys have been the heart and soul of the company. I had hoped they would fight a rear-guard action against the complete borgification that EA heralds for all their acquisitions. Oh well. There are still good dev houses out there. And it doesn't take away from all the great games Bioware made since the late 90s.

Sad day been playing bioware games ever since Baldur's gate and Jade empire and i have to admit bioware was not the same since they went to EA .

I wish them good luck and hope to see them under a new name in a few years , one can hope :)

A++

Originally posted by ste2000

Originally posted by DSWBeef
Code for "We hate what EA has done to BW, so we're gone"

This.

But at least they made lots of money before they left........

    That the thing what we need  in gaming is  for companies to stay small and not grow like EA or Activision.