Vader's Broadcast

by Frank Cifaldi of http://www.gamasutra.com

Video game research firm EEDAR has named EA and BioWare’s upcoming Mass Effect 3 as the “most promising” retail game shown at this month’s E3 expo, citing purchase intent and online media consumption.

EEDAR’s research involved analyzing page views, purchase intent and video views through its media partners, IGN and GameTrailers, to rank which of the games shown at E3 had the highest sales potential at retail.

“EEDAR has had strong demand from its retail partners to create an objectively quantifiable method to measure the commercial potential of games showcased at E3 2011,” said EEDAR’s Jesse Divnich, saying that its new report “highlights the collective activity of over 20 million consumers during the week of E3.”

According to EEDAR, Mass Effect 3 had the highest number of recorded page views among all tracked games. The firm says that its data indicates the game could sell in excess of 20 percent more copies than its predecessor.

“We are excited to see that there was such a high level of interest in Mass Effect 3 during E3, especially when you consider how many amazing games were on display at this year’s show,” said BioWare VP of marketing Patrick Buechner.

The top 20 most promising retail releases showcased at E3 2011, according to EEDAR, are as follows:

1. Mass Effect 3 (Electronic Arts)
2. Battlefield 3 (Electronic Arts)
3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda)
4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Activision Blizzard)
5. Assassin’s Creed Revelations (Ubisoft)
6. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (Sony Computer Entertainment)
7. Batman: Arkham City (Warner Bros. Interactive)
8. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Nintendo)
9. Halo 4 (Microsoft)
10. Infamous 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment)
11. Duke Nukem Forever (Take-Two)
12. Star Wars: The Old Republic (Electronic Arts)
13. Tomb Raider (Square Enix)
14. Gears of War 3 (Microsoft)
15. Rage (Bethesda)
16. BioShock Infinite (Take-Two)
17. Super Mario 3D (Nintendo)
18. Resistance 3 (Sony Computer Entertainment)
19. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (Microsoft)
20. Street Fighter X Tekken (Capcom)

Note that EEDAR’s research methodology weighs all three factors (page views, video views and purchase intent) with its own internal metrics. While Mass Effect 3 had the most page views, it was actually Modern Warfare 3 that topped the list in both purchase intent and video views, despite its placement at number four.

EEDAR’s report also named Nintendo the most-watched publisher of the show, saying that the announcement of its new Wii U made it stand out above all other publishers.

“While investor reception was slightly negative, EEDAR believes the initial sentiment from the finance community was premature and unwarranted,” said EEDAR. “EEDAR believes that as Nintendo continues to release additional information regarding the Wii U, investor sentiment should reverse.”

The most-watched platform of the show, says EEDAR, was Microsoft’s Xbox 360, which came out on top in both purchase intent and page views. The firm cited its continued perception as “the quintessential core gaming platform” of this generation, as well as the long-anticipated announcement of Halo 4, as contributing to its placement.

For further analysis, the full report is available here [note: PDF format].

OMG THANK YOU BIOWARE!!!!!!

courtesy of Chris on the http://social.bioware.com


BioWare is once again returning to the San Diego Comic Con and this year, we are bringing Mass Effect 3 and a never before seen, Dragon Age II DLC with us. Comic Con begins Thursday July  21 and runs through Sunday July 24 and we will have all sorts of awesome BioWare coolness at our base in the Hilton Gaslamp hotel.  This will be the first opportunity for fans to play Mass Effect 3 as well as the next Dragon Age II DLC.  In addition, we will be hosting the first annual BioWare Costume Contest on Friday, July 22 for the best BioWare inspired costumes.  We’ll be giving away awesome convention swag, opportunities to meet members of the BioWare staff, and we’ll have a special designated area for cos-play character photo opportunities and much more.

Make sure you come and visit us at the Hilton Gaslamp (401 K Street) to experience everything live (remember, you do not need a comic con badge to take part). If you can’t visit us in San Diego, make sure you stay tuned to the BioWare Pulse TV broadcasts where we will be keeping everyone up to date with live broadcasts all day, each day.

We’ll be revealing more details about the events at the BioWare base as we get closer to the event. Make sure you plan to visit BioWare at the San Diego Comic Con or check back for details on BioWare Pulse broadcasts live from the event.  Follow us @MassEffect and @BioFeed for more details on Comic Con.

6:05 am | by Stadler on June 20, 2011

As Dreamhack 2011 goes into its final day, a few impressions of the game are starting to pop up. A Swedish Battlefield site, BF-Stuff.se posted a article of their impressions playing Battlefield 3 at Dreamhack. Even with the article being in Swedish, Google translate has done a slightly reasonable job of getting across the point.  The article clears a bit of air of Battlefield 3. According to this long term Battlefield player, Battlefield 3 feels like a PC game and not a console port to which a considerable amount of people feel Bad Company 2 is.  The weapons feel balanced and the support class really is useful in pinning down enemy players. Now the big question is will Battlefield 3 bring a new era of e-sports to the Battlefield Community? As this article points at this stage it is too early to know if BF3 will be used by the e-sports community. We can only hope so. Today, a series of clans will be playing BF3 at dreamhack. Hopefully we will see more articles on this topic appearing in the days to come.

Engineer class is simply a flashlight that you can turn on and off whenever you want and feel in close combat a bit like a camera flash in your face, this has Dice very successful, since they are entirely up to players to get into feeling when the time comes to turn on and off the flashlight because it works perfectly as a reflection of a dark night when the enemy sees you from far away and you are therefore an easy target.

Medic’s paddles are also a good news where they also feel like the game’s tempo is increased a little, you can again run up and revive a friend without actually having to do more than run over him and click on him (a bit like in Battlefield 2), you who played the Bad Company 2 and Battlefield 2 know enough how much difference they were on this in the 2 games, although that Medics have recovered AK etc rather than any LMG is a very gratifying news.

Support class has a very nice LMG to play with in the game where you simply can set you against any protection and mount up LMGn or simply lie in the prone and mount it up, they are then 200 rounds in the magazine (2 trays) that You can have great fun with, also have Dice been successful in getting their “Suppresive fire” system to work, you can simply sit and feed the 200 shots at an enemy group call and get them to stop because they really become blurred on their screens when the shots start flying around, but you get the feeling that they are a LMG you have in your hand and not a sniper so you have to take the little quiet with the trigger to not get shots to go up in the air.

READ THE GOOGLE TRANSLATED ARTICLE, OK?

2:32 pm | by Ennui on June 20, 2011  

Battlefield 3 senior gameplay designer Alan Kertz, aka Demize99, confirmed earlier this morning on Twitter that squad members can indeed only spawn on their Squad Leader, going back to the classic Battlefield 2 system, but Squad Leaders will be able to spawn on any of their squad members, providing a nice compromise between the squad systems from the Bad Company games and those of older Battlefield titles.

Read More →

courtesy of EuroGamer and Botchweed

Mass Effect 3 is the final chapter in the Mass Effect trilogy, but it does not mark the end of the Mass Effect franchise.

Maker BioWare told Eurogamer there’s more Mass Effect in the works.

“This is not the end of the Mass Effect franchise by any means,” BioWare boss Ray Muzyka said.

“We have more things planned. We’re laser-focused on making sure Mass  Effect 3 is awesome and epic and intense on a galactic scale, and we  want to provide a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.”

In Mass Effect 3, Commander Shepard faces off against giant alien race the Reapers, who have invaded the earth.

It marks the culmination of a story arc that began in 2007 with Mass Effect.

“But also it’s a beginning on a brand new adventure,” Muzyka continued.  ”The galaxy is at war. It’s a beginning as well as a conclusion.”

BioWare and publisher EA are keen to expand the Mass Effect audience with the third game.

Voice recognition has been implemented to support motion-sensing add-on  Kinect, while the scope has been expanded and combat improved.

“Mass Effect has a fairly complicated combat system,” EA Games label boss Frank Gibeau told Eurogamer last  week. “You’ve got story and choice. For some fans that don’t buy 12  games a year and maybe buy two or three, some of those things can be  intimidating. We wanted to open up the accessibility without hurting the  depth or the quality. Kinect is a fantastic technology that allows us  to do that.”

We’ve heard that Mass Effect 3 also has four-player co-op.

     
Got a news tip? Email news@eurogamer.net.

• Ripten Staff

Winner: Battlefield 3

Why We Picked It: Innovation is the key if you want to excel in a genre made stale by games that look and play the same year after year. With breathtaking visuals, mind blowing sound, and some of the most solid and realistic FPS gameplay we’ve ever seen, this quickly became the consensus favorite for best FPS of show. Hell, we almost gave it best visuals and best multiplayer as well. It’s just that good.

AND for BEST ACTION RPG……….

Winner: Mass Effect 3

Why We Picked It: The Mass Effect series was a pioneer for the genre, breaking ground when it combined the third-person shooter with extensive RPG elements and created a sci-fi universe with the potential to put George Lucas to shame. Not only did it introduce us to this new form of role playing game, but it showed us how stories should be told—with choices. The third and supposedly final installment of Commander Shepard’s trilogy floored us at E3 (and sent Steph into cardiac arrest) with a demo that highlighted not only the numerous improvements to the technical aspects of the game, but the deafening crescendo of the Reaper’s assault on earth.

BioWare’s “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it approach” has turned this series into a juggernaut within the genre, delivering a rich story and one of the most rewarding combat systems we’ve ever known and re-writing the standard for what makes a good RPG. Fights are faster, more brutal, reflecting the decidedly dire tone of the game. With a new focus on melee and vehicular combat, Mass Effect 3 looks to expand upon all that we loved from the first two games. It looks fantastic and we have no doubt that Shepard’s final chapter will send jaws clattering to the floor—namely, Stephanie’s.