Mass Effect Andromeda failed because of Zelda and a crowded RPG release window?

financially successful becasue it acted as a loss leader just as they had assured investors it would in the 16>17 financial period (when the games creation costs were posted), and yet they still managed to make a profit in the 17>18 financial period (when the games sales were posted), you can tell this was the case by just how fast they price crashed the game and then yanked active support from it....

not that its a bad thing, but just like in the movies some titles are utilised as loss leaders so that investors can "loose money" and thus reduce their tax bills...

This made me remember something  i heard a person said during my time on university. He said that gays didn't bother him, he just didn't want them close to him.

Um OK but that would be a strange strategy to adopt because it impacts future success. I am no Warren Buffett but why would any company want to put something in the public domain that damages their reputation just to write off some tax. I doubt highly that EA or Bioware would adopt such a strategy it just makes no financial sense unless either company was in a bad financial situation which they aren't.

*looks at Star Wars*

I dont care if two guys/gals want to hold hands or swap spit or grope each other in public, more power to them I am glad they feel happy in their own skin and feel free to display their love for each other in public just as I feel free to do so with my spouse, even if we prefer not to most of the time (mostly because we're older and have grown out of that early relationship period) 

what annoys me is folks acting all camp then claiming discrimination because their request for service is denied or the random wierdos that think its fine to goose you and when you politely explain thats not your bag and despite being flattered they are only human and thus find you irresistible further attempts will leave them requiring first aid and the dumb fuckers do it anyway then cry.... like how hard is it to understand plain speech????

ehh I waited for ages to make that reply, 

I wont bait anyone but you cant expect me not to respond when someone insinuates that I'm some kind of homophobe 

Because it’ll affect future games. Mark may forget ME: A fans while appealing to those who dislike the game.

Maybe, but it wouldn't be the first group of fans they have alienated, every time they try something new there will always be at least one group of people they alienate, making the jump to action based combat in Jade Empire and Mass Effect would have no doubt alienated those who prefer tactical pause and play combat, the streamlining of classes in the Dragon Age series would have no doubt alienated those who prefer more complexity in their class systems (though arguably Origins was still pretty simple in this regard as well), hell they managed to piss off a vocal group of people with Mass Effect 2 because they did not keep Mass Effect 1's shitty equipment system, imagine how many people they are going to alienate with Anthem going after the online Destiny style approach to gameplay?

And to be totally honest with you I really don't think developers should be beholden to doing exactly what fans of their previous games want. Sure it is good to keep fan suggestions in mind but in the end you can't really listen to them too closely and in the end you have to create the game you want to create and stay true to your own creative vision making the decisions you think are right for the game rather than what some of the more vocal elements of the fanbase tell you that you should do, and while I am sure EA could care less about "creative vision" and more about what is profitable and how they can monetize it beyond the initial purchase they too have to do what they think is the right course of action and not what the "fans" think the right course of action is, though I will concede in the case of EA at least I do think they could benefit a bit more from listening to some of the criticisms of their latest games and trying to do better.

There are certainly some aggressive 'fans'.
I quite like the certain chutzpah that DICE and EA have employed, basically saying: 'deal with it'...

I have some sympathy for the Reddit mods too... 

I don't understand how Darrah saying DA:I launched in a comparatively barren gaming year means Darrah thinks DA:I is bad. It doesn't. However, if Darrah wants to make the argument that Andromeda was affected by a relatively tough release window, he cannot turn a blind eye to the comparatively easy ride Inquisition got because of its release window. Doing so would make his argument inconsistent.

Similarly, acknowledging that Andromeda has flaws is not giving into the edgelords of the internet. Everyone knows Andromeda is a heavily flawed game, and there is nothing wrong with acknowledging it. It makes him more genuine and less of a corporate mouthpiece.

Aye, I have to agree with this entirely. My first thought when I saw her was "When did Battlefield become Steampunk? This is news to me, they actually did something different!" Then I heard "World War 2" and I was like...Wait what? why do we have a Steampunk character in a WW2 game?

First Battlefield game I've pre-ordered.
The 4 person co-op sounds fun... 

We'll know in a few weeks whether EA's "accept it, or get lost." strategy has been successful.