IF Mass Effect truly is dead, will/should EA/Bioware even announce this?

There is no need for a remaster.  Look ahead not rehash what is already available.  I still have the MET  I can play it whenever I want.

A remaster is indeed the best way to go, I've said this a long time ago. It's a safe bet and a lot of people would appreciate it. Of course, there are better and worse ways to do a remaster, but right now it would do the franchise a good service.

i would've appreciated a remaster before Andromeda came out. Now I'd view it as a betrayal.

That assumes they do that instead of an Andromeda 2.

Remasters and remakes don't progress a franchise, it's doing what's already been done. Sales won't be high either cause most have already played the originals that there's no reason to buy unless you think better graphics are worth it.

so sure you're correct, it's a safe thing to do and many would appreciate it, but again, it doesn't progress the franchise.

Remasters do not sell, if they did companies would go more out of their way doing so. A true sequel sells more than remasters. Look at halo MCC, it was 4.5 games graphically upgraded with two of them being completely remastered in CE and H2. It sold less than 4 million. Combine all those games individual sales and you get 30+ million. That's arguably the biggest fps title and Xboxes flagship franchise. If remasters sell why did it sell almost 8x less than the originals? Because people don't pay extra to go replay something they've already done. Remasters/remakes are fan service at best, they're not something a company can live off of. 

Keep in mind I myself would buy the remaster if they did so, but I've done plenty of comparisons on original games to remasters sale wise, at best you make an extra small profit but it will not be anything big and they'll only entertain people for so long cause they're not progressing thevfranchise. Andromeda is progression whether it does good or bad as it's not a remake at least and shows the devs are wanting to move forward good or bad.

Jade Empire was a self contained story and it sucked balls.
Now, where's my Quarian Bumbum, Uncle Biover? 

The Last of Us and Skyrim did very well, actually.  It really comes down to marketing, and how good the game is itself.  If a remastered Mass Effect Trilogy were to come out about the same price as the rerelease did, with a nice graphical upgrade, and some of those pesky bugs ironed out...then yes, I think it would sell really well.  

Now, as to the topic...

Would they announce it?  Er...possibly.  There ARE cases of when a franchise has been tainted beyond what is acceptable, and the creators, or publisher decides that it is best to distance itself entirely from the franchise...so yes, there are cases that have necessitated an 'end' to that particular franchise.  However, contrary to popular belief, Mass Effect is FAR from dead, and certainly NOT tainted enough to warrant ending the franchise.  Lets be honest, with enough improvements to the base game through patches, a positive marketing spin, and improved DLC can easily raise this franchise out of the doldrums it has fallen into.  It ISN'T a horrible or bad game...it ain't stellar, but it is no where NEAR as bad as it's been portrayed.  Now, they didn't officially announce an end to SimCity (ouch), Command & Conquer, Dead Space, or Rock Band (though Rock Band actually was revived under Harmonix, and seems to be doing pretty well), so take it with a grain of salt.  However, based on what little sales data ANYONE has been able to get a hold of (SPOILER:  it ain't much), the game seems have done well.  It seems to be more criticism than sales that are behind the 'hiatus' claims (did EA even confirm or deny that?  Or just the talking heads?), and if that is the case then it would be a retool, not cancelation. 

Though in light of Mass Effect 3s ending, you have to wonder if it was basically a case of 'Torch the Franchise and Run', as there was no way to really follow after the ending without declaring an official canon (and who REALLY wants to wake that beast, eh?).  I know some already declare that Andromeda COULDN'T happened (really, because all they had to do was keep it a secret from Shepard...who was too busy punching/shooting/hooking up with aliens to really notice or care...lets see, stop the Reapers, nail the Quarian, shoot Vorcha...schedule is pretty full there, not much time to do much else...oh, is that QUASAR!?!!?) because no one talked about it, but there was an entire galaxy of stuff happening all the time.  Can't know everything...still, right after ME3 comes out, Casey Hudson starts up Project Dylan, and assigns the NEXT Mass Effect to an untested studio?  Was he TRYING to kill off Mass Effect...?  Gotta wonder...

Fair point, but they probably didn't think Hudson was going to bail on them either...well, MAYBE they did, but they also let him hand off Mass Effect to a studio that was NOT prepared to handle the task.  Plus, he wouldn't have told them if he'd been intending to do so...that'd have ruined it.  Of course, I'm just spitballing at this point...but he did get Drew Karpyshyn to write for Anthem...so he was obviously putting his best into the new franchise.

Again, speculation...tired, exhausted and barely realistic speculation...but there it is.  I could be totally wrong on all counts...I have been before.

No kidding!
IMHO BioWare should stop listening to their so-called "fans" because they will never be able to please them and they are in a constant "damned if you do and damned if you don't" situations even when the criticism has valid points those are constantly drowned out by the their so-called "fans" (you know: the angry entitled hardcore gamer trolls) which is constantly putting their all their games, and regardless of what you think of their overall quality, against a growing and dangerous mob mentally that is causing more harm than good. That is not just hurting BioWare and EA but is hurting every aspect of the entire video game industry and all of video game culture across the board.  

Which is such a shitty hateful thing to do. BW at one time clearly had some very mentally unstable fans who now hate them. I am wondering if there might be a link between relationship roleplaying and batshit crazy. Not that everyone who relationship roleplays is batshit crazy, but if you catch them during their formative years it might increase the odds exponentially if there were any hints of instability to begin with. 

They are stuck in their anger and hate and perhaps lack the coping skills to find ways to feel better and move on. I also think it's mood related. I wonder if there could be depression issues involved. Seems like the ability to process emotions and move on is limited. There is definitely some lack in coping skills in anyone who stays stuck on anger or any unpleasant emotion if they aren't dealing with depression as a factor. 

BW forums:  

'Abandon hope all ye who enter here'