It's no secret that EA isn't exactly held in high regard by gaming enthusiasts here on the internet. When BioWare announced that it was creating something completely new in the form of ANTHEM -- a game that appears to be a far cry from the developer's usual RPG-based output -- many onlookers suggested that EA had "forced" the Canadian studio into crafting a more mainstream release.
ANTHEM is, of course, a third person, semi-open world shooter with a focus on co-op -- and at this point, it's sometimes hard not to be cynical. But former BioWare developer James Ohlen, who recently departed the studio after working on ANTHEM as narrative director, has said that BioWare was never pushed to make the game by EA.
Speaking to Game Informer, Ohlen states "I know there's a lot of the conspiracy theories that EA is the one behind [ANTHEM], but that's never been the case." He continues, "BioWare's always had a lot of control over the kind of games it makes."
Going into more depth on the relationship between BioWare and EA, Ohlen says "I think EA really respects what BioWare brings to it."
And on the topic of whether ANTHEM's success could determine the ultimate fate of BioWare as a development studio, Ohlen is optimistic: "BioWare is a lot different than all the other aspects of its business, so, even if ANTHEM doesn't do as well – and I think it’s going to be great – but if it doesn't do gangbusters I don't think that's the end of BioWare. I think it will simply be a chance for BioWare to learn some lessons and apply it to the next game that comes out."
As is usually the case, it's interesting to read about the perspective of someone like Ohlen, who had been a part of BioWare for over 20 years before leaving. It's easy to browse internet forums and gaming websites and have your perception skewed -- usually in a negative way -- but it's always fascinating to hear from the people who have actually been directly involved in the topic at hand.
What are your general thoughts on ANTHEM? Are you looking forward to its release in 2019? Step inside of your mech suit in the comments section below.
[source gameinformer.com]
Comments 26
Was Soderlund in the room when this interview was given?
I honestly don’t understand all the hype behind Anthem, but it looks like that many people are excited for it.
So it’s possible that the game will make success. I’m still really disappointed with Andromeda.
well that would be unexpected, EA NOT forcing a developer to do something
did they check to see if he was wired up or something first
It's quite possible that Bioware came up with the game themselves, whether it's the game they intended that's a different matter.
"Bioware is a lot different then the other aspects of it's business" I'm sure Bullfrog, Westwood, Pandemic, Maxis and Visceral thought the same thing too.
Unless that's what they want him to say.
Well to me anthem looks very uninteresting.
This game is going to flop and then we'll see
@Flopsy
"Anthem, the game nobody cares about, nor is interested in"
Speak for yourself. I'm intrested in it and i'll be picking it up on Feb 22nd over days gone as i am tired of zombie games. Feb 22nd will be ANTHEM and Metro for me
@Shepherd_Tallon i would like to see a link where you got that from. 😁
I don't care about Anthem, but i need it to do well so i can get my next dragon age.
I don't see many people excited for Anthem, but that could just be who I hang out with and all. I'll be getting Days Gone (gotta support devs from my home state lol) and Metro on Feb 22nd.
“Hire me back EA!”
On a more serious note, hopefully it’s all true. I mean, it is possible Bioware wanted to do something different for once. They also may have wanted more time to try and avoid another Andromamada, as that series’ entries went from GOTY material to no one likes it.
If you take the first letter of every word in his quotes, it spells out "THEY HAVE MY FAMILY SEND HELP".
@RogerRoger Ha ha that's hilarious
@RogerRoger Also worth pointing out that 'ANTHEM'' is an anagram of 'E.A.T.H.N.M.' - or 'E.A They Have No Morals'
I feel like this is going to be one of the games that everyone sales they don't care about but still hits #1 on the sales chart.
We'll see how much EA respects Bioware once Anthem flops and EA dismantles their studio.
Forced to make ANTHEM no.
Forced to add 4 player coop, microtransactions, and other buisness practises yes
@Flopsy So... explain why Inquisition was bad? I’m still trying to piece together the hate for that game. It’s the game that got me into Dragon Age, I thought it was excellent. I understand the hate for Anthem, and Amdromeda, but Inquisition? Really? Was it really that bad? I don’t get it... 😂
There's them WANTING to make it. And then there is how they wanted to develop it. I wouldn't doubt that EA during the development time forced them to do things that they didn't want to do- thus this game looking.... well, it's not going to do well.
@JesWood13 My brother (who was a die-hard DA fan) told me that DA-Inq brought back great storytelling (unlike DAII - which he found wanting), but the gameplay was too arcade-y and joypad-dependent for his tastes. He preferred the traditional, Baldur's Gate-like gameplay of the original game.
I'm still gutted at how Andromeda turned out with so many loose ends. And I've been waiting for years for Dragon Age 4. So bioware have disappointed me along with a lot of other fans. I hope for their sake Anthem is decent. I won't be playing it but not because I'm that bitter, Just because it's not my sort of game.
@Splat
If they do a big advertising campagin which essentially shouts, "Destiny.. but bigger... and better!!!" then I suspect you're correct. Seems to be a big market for it, which is why this game exists in the first place.
So no gun to the head i thought this was a normal thing. 😜
@ShadowWarrior At least we dont have a lot of destiny clones yet. 😉
If it fails then you can be damn sure that EA got its finger on the trigger. ☠️
I'm actually really looking forward to Anthem's release. I like the idea of fighting massive monsters while using flying warframes and without the use of any cover. That is of course, unless Warframe does it better with Fortuna.
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