EA, let me help you, here is how you save the Mass Effect franchise.

You are aware digital sales, which aren't included in the sales figures released, are now the overwhelming way games are sold, right?  So comparing them to the physical sales figures of ME2 from 5 years ago isn't fair.

And I gotta say I'm getting quite tired of everybody throwing around terms like 'weak writing', 'bad creative decisions' and 'lack of vision' at everything they just don't like. Get over yourself.

How do you know how much it sold. I haven't heard a thing. Also unless they do what they did with the skyrim remastered (add a ton of stuff into it)I don't see how selling a "remastered" version of the ME3 trilogy. Although I will admit if they do an ending in ME3 where it changes to something else I will gladely throw my money at it. But most people wouldn't

That's also a lie. ME2 has a 96 on xbox, and even there it's tied with Skyrim. On PC, BG2 scores higher.

Not that we should care too much about this since Skyrim is barely more than a walking simulator, but you decided to worship at the altar of "professional critics" metascore.

Well... you're right.

Here is how you save the franchise:

Regardless of whether it's a reboot or a sequel, write the story first before starting on the game design. Go back and read over your own lore and be as faithful as possible. Even small things like how gun works, how are things armored and shielded. You can make a few drastic recton if you must, but be really careful and make sure it really pays off. And don't be lazy on the nitpicky details either, a lot of the time wild and ridiculous setting are believable because of attentions paid to details.

Designs should be limited to what the story calls for. Don't make a game based on a check list of features, even if sometimes it's a list fans want.

Go easy on the romance. I feel this has gotten out of hands, people are treating this like a must have feature. I actually like the more relationships based on family or profesion, something I appreciate this game has done. Seriously, don't write every characters with a romance subplot, in fact, I would impressed if your next game just skip it completely.

Get the tone right. If you do a light hearted, hopeful game, make the main quest something not so serious, with limited scope and limited consequence.

Go easy on the open world. Particularly don't put an open world between us and important quests. make the mission area larger, the hubs larger for sure, but don't go open world UNLESS, there is something specific you have in mind.

Don't mess with player's suspension of disbelief. Once you establish the rules in the beginning of the game, don't fuck with it.

And people said I was exaggerating...

The idea still holds, a remaster still the way to go, at least on short term. It would make people hopeful again.

A full reboot maybe, where they go back wipe the entire slate clean and start over from the beginning.  Maybe you keep Shepard and the initial premise of fighting the Reapers but you throw everything else away.  I might be interested enough to buy that if reviews end up being spectacular.

If they just take the OT as is and remaster it with some new textures and graphical enhancements, not interested at all.  I've already paid for and played the OT, not really wanting to do that again.

Still think the best thing they can do for ME is to let it rest and move on to something else.

Well, I think the substance of the proposal is to make the endings happier; the remaster is just a delivery system for the new endings.

If nothing else, I'll give it points for the intellectual honesty.

I wouldn't mind seeing mE1 and ME2 brought up to ME3's gameplay. Not sure about new endings, since that doesn't solve any problem I have. But would I pay for it? I dunno.

Reboots and re masters are lazy. Just improve on what you did wrong and go from there.

Well, I'm not sure I'd class BG2 or NWN  as open-world (although you could set up an NWN mod for OW if you wanted). BG1, sure.

I've been with this thing since the first beta, and I actually have everything up to RoI, and despite my numerous problems, there are times when I simply can't put the game down, though largely now because of PvP and the various friends I have online that I have a good laugh with. I'm also optimistic about the new game. I really like what I see so far, even if the beta is so scant this time around.

It isent it's actually arguably worse. Plus it was just an idea floating out there, never confirmed.