Former BioWare employee suggests oppressive Mass Effect: Andromeda development cycle

Mass Effect: Andromeda to be available early through EA Access

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Update: BioWare confirmed the game would be playable early for EA Access members. The game should be available on March 15 in America. The standard date given the March 21 release should be March 16 but EA Access trials go up a day early. I’m guessing it happens when the clock strikes midnight in Australia so us folks in different time zones get lucky.

This started off as a piece on the leaked image about Mass Effect: Andromeda being on EA Access but it turned into more of a discussion on why Titanfall 2 should’ve been on EA Access. EA Access trials help gamers who are on the fence decide to get the game or not. It helps gamers and it helps developers. Respawn shouldn’t have made that damaging decision. You can read the opinion piece after the image below. That’s when it starts.

After the latest round of confusion over whether certain EA games will be available on EA Access, it seems that the mystery behind Mass Effect: Andromeda has been cleared. According to an advertisement spotted by ThisGenGaming, it looks like Mass Effect: Andromeda will be available early on Xbox One.

Titanfall 2 was an exception because, well, I’m not sure. Respawn Entertainment is just an odd company and their decision was a little ridiculous. I had a lot of doubts about Titanfall 2 after the disappointing technical tests and decided not to get it. I don’t know if this decision was made to make everything equal between PlayStation 4 and Xbox One when it comes to access or what.

However, I recently played the free weekend and it turned out to be a blast. The issues from the technical tests weren’t there anymore. A lot of Xbox One gamers shared my concerns so making it available early through EA Access would’ve benefited everyone. This decision alienated a lot of potential customers because I spoke to dozens of people who were flabbergasted by their decision. People thought that Respawn had “something to hide” and that’s why it wasn’t available on EA Access. In particular, “something to hide” on the Xbox One version. While this train of thought involves numerous jumps in logic, at the end of the day this is just gaming. If you create doubts in the hearts of consumers, they won’t buy your product especially when you’re competing with Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. You need all the support you can get in that situation. You don’t want to anger any group, especially Xbox One gamers who bought the original one around ten million times.

Going back to the gameplay, while the issues didn’t turn out to be present in the final build, it still affected a lot of customers, especially those who felt “betrayed” by Respawn for supporting the first game. When it comes to gaming, you can’t really risk offending core supporters and Respawn did exactly that without even knowing it. Maybe they did expect it? I don’t know. It was still a poor decision.

Now that I like Titanfall 2, I want to buy it but I don’t have enough money saved up because I spent it all on other games like Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection and other smaller titles. I imagine their decision to remove it from EA Access impacted sales and their reputation. I hope people give Titanfall 2 a chance but the damage has been done.

I’ll stop talking about Titanfall 2 now but this little discussion points out how important EA Access is as a tool. I bought Star Wars: Battlefront after playing the trial on EA Access. I had doubts about that game too but I was blown away by the finished product. I’m glad Mass Effect: Andromeda isn’t doing what Respawn did. I imagine the game will be on EA Access because EA has more control over what BioWare does than Respawn due to their marketing agreement. Respawn should’ve realized the benefits of EA Access before making such a drastic decision angering so many Xbox One gamers.

At the end of the day you have to realize that gaming is a passionate topic. People think more from the heart than with a rational mind when it comes to these decisions. Just look at the ridiculous incident involving the green disc. Titanfall 2 needed to win hearts and it spectacularly failed to do so through its marketing. The decision to remove it from EA Access (after it was available for weeks at a discount and not offer a ten-hour trial) was just the nail in the coffin.

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