Everyone’s talking about it and BioWare has been listening. According to an article by Tom’s Hardware:
There certainly has been plenty of topics over the past few weeks concerning complaints over the ending of Mass Effect 3. In fact, we recently posted an article about a petition asking BioWare to provide additional endings for all three Mass Effect games. Even more, the angst against the latest installment’s conclusion has gotten so bad that one disgruntled gamer actually filed a false advertising complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and the Better Business Bureau.
“After reading through the list of promises about the ending of the game [EA] made in their advertising campaign and PR interviews, it was clear that the product we got did not live up to any of those claims,” said Bioware Forum user El_Spiko. “[Filing a complaint was] not something I was happy to do, but after the terrible ending that was in no way the product that had been advertised to me and the lack of any kind of response from Bioware/EA to address this, I felt it was one of my only recourses. I’ll be returning my copy of the game before the end of my 30 day return policy if the ending still hasn’t been addressed by then.”
Meanwhile as reports surfaced that BioWare was considering an alternate ending, Mass Effect 3 Exec Producer Casey Hudson came out of the woodwork and defended the game’s ending, adding that fans should look forward to compelling new content over the next year.
“We always intended that the scale of the conflict and the underlying theme of sacrifice would lead to a bittersweet ending—to do otherwise would betray the agonizing decisions Shepard had to make along the way,” he said in a lengthy post. “Still, we wanted to give players the chance to experience an inspiring and uplifting ending; in a story where you face a hopeless struggle for basic survival, we see the final moments and imagery as offering victory and hope in the context of sacrifice and reflection.”
But now the whole Mass Effect 3 ending controversy has brought forth BioWare’s co-founder and GM himself, Dr. Ray Muzyka. Based on his super-long letter to the BioWare community, a little “clarity” will be added to the trilogy’s ending.
“Building on their research, Exec Producer Casey Hudson and the team are hard at work on a number of game content initiatives that will help answer the questions, providing more clarity for those seeking further closure to their journey,” he promised. “We’re working hard to maintain the right balance between the artistic integrity of the original story while addressing the fan feedback we’ve received.”
“This is in addition to our existing plan to continue providing new Mass Effect content and new full games, so rest assured that your journey in the Mass Effect universe can, and will, continue,” he added.
Muzyka pointed out that most fans appear to agree that the game as a whole is exceptional, with more than 75 critics giving it a perfect review score and a review average in the mid-90s. The fuss is stemming from some of BioWare’s “most ardent fans” who are “passionately expressing their displeasure about how their game concluded.” Both Muzyka and Hudson refer in their posts about how the ending reflects the gamer’s decisions throughout the journey, seemingly painting a “your actions cause consequences” scenario.
Still, BioWare seems intent on making everyone happy which technically is impossible. “I’m proud of the team, but we can and must always strive to do better,” he said.