BioWare 'falsely advertised' Mass Effect 3, Better Business Bureau concludes

Some have argued that the ending of Mass Effect 3 didn't properly reflect choices made along the three game adventure--a point that the Better Business Bureau concedes is false advertising.

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Mass Effect 3's ending has caused such a stir that BioWare and Electronic Arts are preparing an "Extended Cut" that offers "further clarity to the ending of Mass Effect 3" and "deeper insights into how their personal journey concludes." Some have argued that the ending of Mass Effect 3 didn't properly reflect choices made along the three game adventure--a point that the Better Business Bureau concedes is false advertising.

"Did BioWare falsely advertise?," a BBB.org blog post asks. "Technically, yes, they did."

The problem comes from the language used during the game's marketing. A statement like the following is seen as an "absolute"--essentially a promise that offers "no indecision."

Experience the beginning, middle, and end of an emotional story unlike any other, where the decisions you make completely shape your experience and outcome.

Of course, by offering the Extended Cut DLC for free, BioWare is not only trying to make amends with fans, but is rectifying an issue that could be construed as an undelivered promise. Speaking at Penny Arcade Expo, developers emphasized that the new content will feel like the endings are more personal. "In general we wanted to give the players a sense of personalization with the endings," BioWare producer Mike Gamble said. "Many people mentioned that some of the choices they made in the game are not necessarily reflected in the ending scenes. We're definitely going to focus on things like that."

Andrew Yoon was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    April 11, 2012 1:30 PM

    Andrew Yoon posted a new article, BioWare 'falsely advertised' Mass Effect 3, Better Business Bureau concludes.

    Some have argued that the ending of Mass Effect 3 didn't properly reflect choices made along the three game adventure--a point that the Better Business Bureau concedes is false advertising.

    • reply
      April 11, 2012 1:31 PM

      [deleted]

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      April 11, 2012 1:38 PM

      Oh wow

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      April 11, 2012 1:40 PM

      Advertised choices, delivered no choices.

      Hard to understand?

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        April 11, 2012 2:15 PM

        There was choice...it was just shallow and not at all reflective of the quality of the rest of the product.

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      April 11, 2012 1:44 PM

      So which Redditor/SA Goon/Shacker works at the BBB and is responsible for this hilarity?

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      April 11, 2012 1:45 PM

      Fucking crybaby gamers.. back in the day we just said what a shitty game and moved on with our lives.

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        April 11, 2012 2:06 PM

        That's the part you're missing, it wasn't a shitty game, it just had a lazy ending. Such a great series deserved better, imo.

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          April 11, 2012 2:15 PM

          [deleted]

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            April 11, 2012 2:19 PM

            The Matrix sequels were actually really good sci-fi movies. I've never understood the hate they get...

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              April 11, 2012 3:04 PM

              They got hate because you are wrong and they were terrible.

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              April 11, 2012 3:04 PM

              They got hate because you are wrong and they were terrible.

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                April 11, 2012 3:08 PM

                No, they weren't. They were quality sci-fi movies with some awesome set pieces. Sure, the first one was the best, but the sequels were good movies.

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              April 11, 2012 4:37 PM

              Some of the worst movies I've ever seen.

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            April 11, 2012 4:20 PM

            This argument does not make sense at all. Matrix's main plot devices were introduced in the second movie, not in the last 5 minutes of the third, and more to the point, it was not advertised as something else than it actually was.

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          April 11, 2012 2:28 PM

          I think movies/games that are bad don't piss me off as much as movies/games that suck but were one step away from being very good.

          Example: High Tension. Awesome slasher flick had they just stuck to basics. Then they added the worst plot twist imaginable. It doesn't even make any sense and is a total cliche.

          Examples for TV are Lost, Sopranos, and the first season of the Killing. All were pretty good from beginning until the near end. When the whole series was ruined by a lousy ending.

          Sometimes being emotionally invested in a story and left off unsatisfied is worst than having no pay off from the money and time invested.

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          April 11, 2012 2:49 PM

          I can understand people are passionate about this game, and regardless if the series deserved better this is the ending they gave it. Petitions? BBB? Ridiculous!

      • reply
        April 11, 2012 6:49 PM

        A winner is you.

    • reply
      April 11, 2012 1:50 PM

      im in favor of anything that gives bioware a hard time so good job

    • reply
      April 11, 2012 1:51 PM

      Wow, well, they got called on it and judged accordingly.

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      April 11, 2012 1:53 PM

      You guys.....the BBB does things? This is blowing my mind.

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      April 11, 2012 1:55 PM

      Hahha. Amazing.

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      April 11, 2012 1:55 PM

      This can't get any better now.

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      April 11, 2012 1:59 PM

      I'm loving ME3, I'm only about 2 hours in but I don't see how the ending could ruin an otherwise great game. There is no way after this backlash that Bioware will release another game in this universe though, thanks alot.

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        April 11, 2012 2:10 PM

        Oh, you'll see.

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        April 11, 2012 2:12 PM

        You haven't gotten to all the bugs and all the parts that doesn't make much sense.

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        April 11, 2012 2:34 PM

        I'm still having fun with it despite having beaten it twice. I'm around 80 or so hours between two plays and MP :)

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        April 11, 2012 2:42 PM

        Haha. Post again when you have finished it :)

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        April 11, 2012 2:44 PM

        I thought it was very lazy but I'm part of those who don't care. Great experience (the trilogy) and all the alliances you chose echoed along most of the way. I don't really understand the fuss, I mean you even get an option to wipe out the Reapers. To me, the bummer is the please press A, B or C kind a ending because it's just boring. I prefer a Bioshock kind of ending where the choices you make impose an ending. Much more natural, and gives the game a better replay value. I don't know, maybe that's exactly what the fuss is about, but personally, even if it's disappointing, I don't think it's worth going to the BBB.

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        April 11, 2012 2:45 PM

        Famous last words

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        April 11, 2012 2:56 PM

        I thought this too going into it. I was totally wrong.

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        April 11, 2012 3:03 PM

        I don't think it ruins the game, it's just so goddamn disappointing that Bioware couldn't do anything better than that. It's so poorly done that it's pretty shameful.

      • Zek legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
        reply
        April 12, 2012 7:31 AM

        The ending won't undo the fun you had during the game, but having a negative last impression as you walk away from the game tends to cast the whole experience in a different light.

    • reply
      April 11, 2012 2:14 PM

      Holy shit. I thought ME3's ending was dogshit but...really? BBB?

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      April 11, 2012 2:16 PM

      WOW. well there you have it. crazyyyyyy stuff here.

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      April 11, 2012 2:16 PM

      hahaha thats incredible

    • reply
      April 11, 2012 2:26 PM

      Well, it's true. Tons of big promises of the huge effects your various actions over three games would have, and it was all a lie. This isn't surprising.

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      April 11, 2012 2:33 PM

      did the previous games' endings reflect the players choice throughout? did 2 cover choices from the first one?

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        April 11, 2012 2:36 PM

        Technically, no, because there was a fixed ending.

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          April 11, 2012 2:43 PM

          It did have an impact on HOW the ending happened though, and who survived.

          ME3's just dosent have anything like that.

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            April 11, 2012 2:46 PM

            Yeah, it does, but it's abstracted through the readiness stuff. There's something like five or seven different combinations of stuff that happens depending on your readiness level & option you pick at the end.

            The bulk of the cutscene is the same, though, ignoring the color shift.

            The argument presented in the BBB blog post, however, would apply to ME and ME2 as well.

            • Zek legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
              reply
              April 12, 2012 7:45 AM

              It's not at all the same. In ME2, the survival of your teammates is directly determined by the loyalty of those teammates based on whether or not you did their missions. The success of your approach in the Normandy is based on ship upgrades, etc.

              In ME3, the space magic choices you have at the very end are arbitrarily determined by the number of points you've accumulated from random side missions during the game.

      • reply
        April 11, 2012 4:26 PM

        You could fuck up and get everyone killed

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        April 11, 2012 4:34 PM

        [deleted]

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      April 11, 2012 2:37 PM

      haha, hilarious. They should have advertised it this way:

      "Play Mass Effect 3! All your decisions will shape your experience and every playthrough will never be the same with different choices! "

      Then do a little tiny warning at the end

      "Ending is excluded from the decisions made within the game. Batteries not included"

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        April 11, 2012 2:43 PM

        This is the key statement in the article : A consumer would have to very carefully analyze this statement to come to a conclusion that the game’s outcome is not “wholly” determined by one’s choices.

        In other words, they technically were false advertising because they didn't have a unique ending for every combination of choices presented in the game.

        This is the gamer equivalent of needing a "contents may be hot" warning on a coffee cup.

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          April 11, 2012 2:45 PM

          That statement was about the second bullet point as it wasn't cut and dry. Whereas the first bullet point was pretty clearly saying the endings would be shaped by your actions, which was pure BS.

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            April 11, 2012 2:47 PM

            Right, but that's the crux of the argument that led to the conclusion that technically it was false advertising.

    • reply
      April 11, 2012 2:38 PM

      Can someone make a Mass Effect 3 filter for lamp?

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        April 11, 2012 3:09 PM

        lol!

      • reply
        April 11, 2012 3:13 PM

        It's built into most monitors. Simply pick the level of red, green, or blue that you want.

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        April 11, 2012 3:45 PM

        View - > Other Settings

        Under "Phrases to filter out"
        add:
        Mass Effect 3
        ME3

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          April 11, 2012 4:30 PM

          Thank you! Despite this originally being kind of a joke, I might seriously do this.

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            April 11, 2012 4:54 PM

            Ya, I half-heartedly filter shit. But then I wonder what I am missing and remove the filter.

    • reply
      April 11, 2012 2:40 PM

      [deleted]

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      April 11, 2012 2:40 PM

      hahahaha thats funny as hell

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      April 11, 2012 2:41 PM

      this is a weird argument to make: you're presented with the consequences of your choices throughout the whole game. Just because your choices converge during the last 20 minutes doesn't invalidate everything else you did up to that point. Life's choice converge to a single inescapable conclusion for all living beings after all (spoiler YOU WILL DIE).

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      April 11, 2012 2:49 PM

      This sort of thing and EA winning that Consumerist poll make me embarassed to be a gamer. Such a complete and total waste of time and energy.

      The irony of my posting about this on Shack while I'm at work is not lost on me, btw.

    • reply
      April 11, 2012 2:55 PM

      So is this the fault of the marketing department?

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      April 11, 2012 3:23 PM

      haha holy shit

      this is amazing. isn't BBB like one of the more conservative consumer advocacy groups out there?

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      April 11, 2012 3:43 PM

      lol the head of the BBB loved Mass Effect 2

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      April 11, 2012 3:43 PM

      EPIC WIN FOR TEH INTERNETZ

      ..









      ... atleast i don't lie

    • reply
      April 11, 2012 3:51 PM

      Lol. Just when I thought this whole mess was over.

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      April 11, 2012 3:57 PM

      BBB has been irrelevant for decades.

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      April 11, 2012 3:58 PM

      Entitled idiots strike again. Mass Effect 3 had a crap ending and a crap beginning, but the middle 90% was as perfect a game as I could ever want.

      Meanwhile, 99% of video game releases essentially have a "Thanks for playing!" 10 second cutscene that advertises the next game, and then 3 hours of credits. Nobody says boo.

      Whenever the internet is up in arms about something, take the opposite track. That's how you know it's correct.

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        April 11, 2012 4:32 PM

        Most people don't really fuss about the ending for a 5-10 hour linear game. They will be disappointed but you won't ever see groups of people petitioning for a new ending. RPG specifically sell you on the idea that your actions influence the story and progression so when that doesn't happen its understandable when people are angry.

        We were told since Mass Effect 1 to hold on to our saves and that the game will be unique to us. They advertised the game as having personalized story. After a 100+ hour ride to the finish the least they could do was provide an epilogue. I can live with the plot as written but certain minor and character arcs needed to be wrapped up. Bioware as a company has delivered a proper epilogue for Dragon Age: Origins so it was perfectly with in reason to expect it for the completion of ME3.

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        April 11, 2012 4:35 PM

        Eh just taking the opposite track for no real reason is about as bad as going along with mob mentality.

    • reply
      April 11, 2012 4:22 PM

      CONSEQUENCES AND REPERCUSSIONS.

    • reply
      April 11, 2012 4:30 PM

      [deleted]

    • reply
      April 11, 2012 4:41 PM

      In other news, the most recent patch causes ME3 to freeze upon loading to the main menu...

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      April 11, 2012 4:42 PM

      This lends credibility to the BBB. Good to know they're on the case, watching like a sentinel in the dark, guarding us from the maniacal schemes of piss poor creative writing teams. I'll sleep more soundly tonight.

    • reply
      April 11, 2012 7:25 PM

      haaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

      Of all the things to complain about.

    • reply
      April 11, 2012 7:56 PM

      I'm so glad I have saved these in my backlog.

    • reply
      April 11, 2012 7:57 PM

      the Onion couldn't make this up.

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      April 12, 2012 6:07 AM

      The decisions you make DO completely affect your outcome. People are just being pissy because there are only three outcomes. The choices you make throughout all three games are what influence which of the three options you choose. I'm so glad entitled internet jerks choose to spend their time rallying the BBB over some artistic liberties taken instead of any number of the real issues the world is facing.

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        April 12, 2012 6:19 AM

        Don't forget, if you're colorblind there's only one ending.

      • Zek legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
        reply
        April 12, 2012 7:34 AM

        It's determined entirely by your readiness points, which technically are affected by your decisions but there isn't any meaningful reason why that changes your options in the ending. It's just a completely arbitrary check thrown in after the fact.

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          April 12, 2012 12:41 PM

          You are forgo doing any most of the side quests in ME3 and still get a good ending if you play MP and keep promoting characters. You can get 75 war resources every time you promote and couple that with the galactic readiness. Having the ending dependent on a score you can alter externally is pretty lame.

          I enjoyed the other 99% of the game and the plot before the last 5min. I wished they would have spent more time showing off what the allies were doing instead of being a nameless value added to your EMS.

    • reply
      April 12, 2012 6:13 AM

      I really wish these young adults would put that kind of effort into politics

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      April 12, 2012 6:26 AM

      This is awesome hahahahaha.

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      April 12, 2012 7:03 AM

      exactly how did they advertise the endings? Really this is all such bullshit. You do get to choose at the end -- Bioware never guaranteed you'd like the choices for crying out loud....

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      April 12, 2012 7:26 AM

      Unless they give us the Mass Relays back, what the heck does it matter? The hopes and dreams of every race we've helped out is still destroyed. Ruined Game. Period.

    • reply
      April 12, 2012 10:41 AM

      My Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Book had an ending that didn't reflect the choices that made me skip to page 78.

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