Yes, I too was “shocked and awed” this week, not by Sony 
but by the assimilation of BioWare and Pandemic by EA.
Of course, EA desperately wants back into the MMO genre. Warhammer Online is coming next year and will almost surely be a hit and put EA back on the map. I just really get so sick and tired of the big publishers acquiring the development studios, thereby putting additional demands and strains on the team while limiting their creative outlets.
Bungie self-published their Mythic RTS games prior to becoming “the Halo guys” and acquired by Microsoft. Happily, now that “the fight is over” and Halo 3 is on shelves and bringing Xbox Live to its virtual knees, Bungie managed to become independent again.
I always appreciated both Bioware and Pandemic for not always following trends, for going down their own creative paths and sticking to their guns. I can only hope that the new “kinder, gentler” EA will continue to allow both studios to perform and create as they always have and not allow hallucinations of dollar signs to force the release of sub-par or unfinished titles in yet another epic Vanguardian tragedy. When that happens, EA will take some slack as they (deservedly) always have and likely always will, but it’s also a huge hit on the credibility of the studio.
I realize I’m being naïve but authors have contracts with publishers for their writing. Small or independent film studios contract with the major studios. Why in gaming do publishers feel the need to own the studios? All too often, we end up seeing the publisher having entirely too much control over development, stifling creativity in favor of churning out generic crap that, granted, is known to be a profitable series.
At some point I just hope some studios have the gusto, the chutzpah, to collectively stand up with their fists raised to the stars and, paraphrasing Jean-Luc Picard, defiantly cry “They invade our games, and we fall back. They assimilate entire studios, and we fall back. Not again. The line must be drawn here! This far, no further!”
What I was not particularly shocked nor awed about this past week was Gods and Heroes being canceled. *yawn* Seriously, who cared about this title? To the devs who lost their jobs, I’m truly sorry and hope you’re able to quickly move on to a new company who treats you better. To the Star Trek Online devs who remain, you’ve been publicly put on notice that your number will be up as well; I do hope you prepare for it.
Tags: MMO Gaming, MMORPG
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