Mass Effect 3 delayed to Q1 2012

Are you sitting down? Mass Effect 3 has been delayed and will now launch somewhere within "the first three months of 2012," BioWare has announced.

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BioWare has made the unfortunate announcement that the third title in the Mass Effect series will arrive later than originally expected. Mass Effect 3 will now launch somewhere within "the first three months of 2012."

Mass Effect 3 was originally scheduled to arrive this holiday season.

Posting on the franchise's official Facebook account, executive producer Casey Hudson said "the development team is laser focused on making sure Mass Effect 3 is the biggest, boldest and best game in the series, ensuring that it exceeds everyone's expectations."

Though initial reaction to the news warrants a link to everyone's favorite "bad news" Internet meme, the news means that Mass Effect 3 will get a little extra attention to make sure all of the elements bake correctly. Also, it pushes it out of the way of that other baked good-based "Game of the Year" contender.

Xav de Matos was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    May 4, 2011 12:00 PM

    Xav de Matos posted a new article, Mass Effect 3 delayed to Q1 2012.

    Are you sitting down? Mass Effect 3 has been delayed and will now launch somewhere within "the first three months of 2012," BioWare has announced.

    • reply
      May 4, 2011 12:10 PM

      well that makes this fall less appealing :(

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      May 4, 2011 12:19 PM

      [deleted]

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      May 4, 2011 12:21 PM

      Skyrim GOTY 2011

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      May 4, 2011 12:31 PM

      this is a good thing

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      May 4, 2011 12:39 PM

      Thank god.. fall is way too crowded as it is.

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      May 4, 2011 12:44 PM

      But Portal 2 wasn't baked goods based. It was Tuber based. :(

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      May 4, 2011 12:56 PM

      good, too much awesome shit is coming out in 2011. save some for later

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      May 4, 2011 12:57 PM

      Until they find out that puts them within a few weeks of Diablo 3's release, and then they're like "UH, Q3 2012... for... polish"

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      May 4, 2011 1:03 PM

      .....

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      May 4, 2011 1:06 PM

      More time for my replay of ME 1 & 2.

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      May 4, 2011 1:08 PM

      yay, but at the same time, fuck!

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      May 4, 2011 1:12 PM

      NOOOOO!!!

      i guess no GOTY 2 years in a row

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      May 4, 2011 1:29 PM

      God dammit.

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      May 4, 2011 1:30 PM

      Fine with me. Still need to play ME2.

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      May 4, 2011 1:34 PM

      I'm ok with this because now it won't be conflicting with Skyrim.

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        May 4, 2011 1:40 PM

        Haha my thoughts. Now I won't feel bad about not getting ME3.

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        May 4, 2011 4:47 PM

        If they put as much effort into Skyrim as the other Elder Scrolls games, and you try to do everything first playthrough like me, it probably WILL conflict with Skyrim still lol.

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      May 4, 2011 1:41 PM

      My first reaction was disappointment, but I have to admit that if this means the game is better overall and especially longer, then I'm perfectly fine with the delay. Mass Effect 2 a tad short and the combat felt a little too simple. If this means a longer game and more refined combat system, the delay bothers me not.

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      May 4, 2011 1:41 PM

      Hoping for some Hanar and Elcor love scenes.

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      May 4, 2011 1:42 PM

      [deleted]

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      May 4, 2011 1:56 PM

      Sad, but I'd rather have an awesome ME3 in 2012 than a less-than-awesome ME3 this year. You have my trust, you have my money, now earn both, you crazy good game making bastards.

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      May 4, 2011 2:03 PM

      They are re-mapping all of the actions, commands and dialogue options to A

      And the entire game takes place on the Normandy and its cargo bay, where crates are moved around each mission procedurally to generate new environments.

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      May 4, 2011 2:04 PM

      No big surprise there, hopefully the game will be better for it.

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      May 4, 2011 2:46 PM

      That's great news. I felt this sequel was coming out way too fast. I was worrying about the quality.

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        May 4, 2011 2:47 PM

        Me too.

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        May 4, 2011 3:39 PM

        [deleted]

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        May 4, 2011 3:49 PM

        [deleted]

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          May 4, 2011 3:56 PM

          Nah they planned to make the game more rpg heavy from the start.

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            May 4, 2011 4:03 PM

            really?

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              May 4, 2011 4:33 PM

              Yes, they said so almost as soon as ME 2 came out.

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                May 4, 2011 4:37 PM

                I wouldn't call it RPG heavy as much as increased customization. More armor and weapons mods that show up on the gun model.

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                May 4, 2011 6:09 PM

                And after the reception that ME2 got, they didn't throw out that idea and make it just like ME2? (make no mistake though, I would LOVE for ME3 to be more RPG-heavy)

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          May 4, 2011 4:05 PM

          I doubt it. Different teams on different floors in BioWare. It seems like they're going all out with this one. Plus they went out of their way to kill the repetition from ME1 in the sequel.

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      May 4, 2011 3:53 PM

      I'm glad, I hope this is enough time for them now...

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      May 4, 2011 4:00 PM

      And you know what else they did today? Released like a pile of gorgeous screenshots at genjurosize. :( EAs corporate headquarters must be dick shaped, and the balls have one of those spikey BDSM rings around it.

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      May 4, 2011 4:02 PM

      I was a bit scared about the quality of ME3 when I first heard about it. A three year gap between games and then a one year gap didn't sound good. Work on that baby, Bioware. Make me proud.

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        May 4, 2011 5:26 PM

        Meanwhile, LA Noire ---> Witcher 2 ---> Deus Ex ---> Arkham City ---> Rage ---> Uncharted 3 ---> Skyrim will keep me occupied

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      May 4, 2011 4:09 PM

      i think they should delay for next-gen console, this is turning into another COD game

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        May 4, 2011 6:23 PM

        nah - finish the trilogy as planned on this console generation.

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      May 4, 2011 4:12 PM

      As much as I'm anticipating this game, I don't mind the delay; gives me time to play Skyrim and Uncharted 3 and the more time in development the better :)

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      May 4, 2011 5:17 PM

      Good. Skyrim + BF3 + Portal 2 + all the others are enough for this year.

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        May 4, 2011 5:22 PM

        Oya, we're gonna be some busy nerds in 2011.

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        May 4, 2011 5:22 PM

        ps diablo 3 lol

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        May 4, 2011 10:07 PM

        P2 doesn't count. You can finish it in an evening.

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          May 4, 2011 11:18 PM

          coop and the dlc and all the user created maps once the SDK is unleashed will provide for quite a bit of continued play.

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      May 4, 2011 5:33 PM

      A interesting comment about mass effect 3

      http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-05-04-mass-effect-3-tweaked-for-larger-market

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        May 4, 2011 5:42 PM

        Of course, they need mom, grandma and bro gamer to play everything they make

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        May 4, 2011 6:20 PM

        If they want to widen the audience then drop in drop out coop is what they should add. The ability to possess or body hop between party members is what I am talking about, not 2 Shepards running around the game world.

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        May 4, 2011 6:26 PM

        I think that mainly refers to DICE coming in to teach them how to make a shooter. I hope.

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        May 4, 2011 6:44 PM

        Everything must appeal to everyone.

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        May 4, 2011 10:42 PM

        [deleted]

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      May 4, 2011 5:40 PM

      Did it even have a release date before, I thought it was just a tentative 'end of 2011' kind of thing.
      I doubt anybody had any expectation that it would be anything other than early 2012.

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      May 4, 2011 6:44 PM

      Good, i don't want Mass Effect to turn into a CoD type franchise where they pump out a new title every year.

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      May 4, 2011 7:10 PM

      im sure they'll be putting that extra time to good use. hopefully, it means a decrease in bugs and an increase in awesome

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      May 4, 2011 8:35 PM

      reason being - they want TOR to come out unchallenged by their own product/s. They may also wish to avoid a 4th quarter Diablo 3 release (if indeed that was possible).

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      May 4, 2011 10:14 PM

      As excited as I am for this game, I'm glad it got moved. Not only does it ensure they do a good job, but there's already so much awesome stuff I'm backlogged on, it's good timing for something to get moved back a bit.

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      May 4, 2011 10:38 PM

      i'm pretty sure that they did this because they want the game of the year, and portal 2 is probably going to get it this year... sad, pathetic, ...

      they're definitely not krogans!

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