EA Vancouver Star Wars game - the shadow of Visceral Games

EA called it Bioware’s most successful release, greater than Mass Effect 3 or any other Dragon Age title, so we know it was quite popular among consumers for the first few weeks. They also mentioned it as a major contributor in helping them beat earnings estimates for the quarter.

I recall the reception being mixed but positive overall for my part.

So I think EA might be willing to let Bioware release Dragon Age 4, but if Anthem fails it would certainly put the studio in jeopardy.

Bioware and DICE are probably the most "important" companies EA has under its wing. I'm sure they are willing to let them fail once more (say Anthem), but things will look pretty grim for them if it happens. At least that's what I think based on EA's previous actions.
It's unfortunate that, as said above, there's no way of knowing how well their games did, because apparently there's no on-line tracker like there is with say Steam games (and even then it's more complicated than that because they don't reflect console sales).
I think I've read somewhere that Inquisition did "okay" as in good, but not good enough. ME:A is uncertain, but the rumors said it failed to achieve expected sales, whatever that means. No surprises there.

I doubt it was planned, but let’s look at the circumstances.

I think EA had very high expectations for Mass Effect. I think Andromeda fell short of them or at least their hopes and I think the fact that Montreal had to be bailed out by the other studios after flailing for three years without a clear vision told EA this studio wasn’t ready to be trusted with more content.

So EA had a choice, either they stop DLC for Andromeda or they increase the burden on the other studios, thus further delaying Anthem and other projects. Those projects had already been delayed by the work they had to do on Mass Effect Andromeda.

I think that was their decision process anyway.

It is honestly impressive that EA has mismanaged a license to print money this much

Okay, interesting update in the article, it seems like this game was still in early development and EA decided they needed a Star Wars game out sooner so they had the team pivot to working on a smaller Star Wars project due out in 2020.

When you think about how badly EA has handled the Star Wars license, it becomes easier to understand why people fear BioWare's future. Just make Kotor 3 already - that should really have been a no brainer. At least they had the sense to make another Battlefront (or 2) but they really screwed up the execution (twice).

I recently heard a rumor about EA’s CEO’s attitude that might explain a few things.

Apparently Andrew Wilson has never been a fan of the Star Wars deal, which was made by his predecessor, and believes EA’s resources are better spent on the IP’s they actually own rather than on Star Wars. From a business perspective... that actually makes sense. Though it’s certainly disappointing.

How does this make sense from a business perspective?

They paid top dollar for an exclusive deal on one of the most valuable franchise in video game history, and have wasted the opportunity by and large. They have as a result earned some angry fans and lost goodwill with many gamers.

The whole handling has been disastrous from a business perspective, and who cares what Wilson is a fan of? The shareholder's sure don't! They care about dividends and profit statements. Sell Star Wars. Make profit. Simple, super simple equation.

I guess we'll agree to disagree. Tanking in the short term leaves you vulnerable. You cannot make good on long plans if you don't live long enough.

Ever heard the expression,

"Death by 1000 cuts".

Give me a paper cut, I'm fine. Give me 1000 at the same time, and somehow I'm bleeding to death.