Bioware Releases Official Response to “From Ashes” DLC Leak + Screenshots!
When the Xbox Live Marketplace accidentally leaked Mass Effect 3’s DLC “From Ashes“, people were outraged. People were angry that Bioware/EA had seemingly taken out content developed alongside the main game and are selling it as DLC, especially since there are supposedly voice files for the DLC character simply known as “The Prothean” already packed into the demo. Whether this is the real voice of the character or not, people were raging pretty hard at Bioware and EA. One of the more common complaints is that the character was already built into the game during development and was subsequently removed to become paid DLC for an already pricey game. Its 60 dollars for the standard edition of the game and having to pay 10 more dollars for DLC that was supposedly developed alongside the main game on Day One is definitely outrageous and can also become pretty expensive as further DLC is released.
Three days ago, Michael Gamble (Producer of the Mass Effect franchise) posted on the Bioware Forums regarding the leak and wanted to clear things up. This is from his post:
As most of you know, yesterday there was a leak that revealed the upcoming DLC “ME3:From Ashes” on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace. This leak took place before we were prepared to make an announcement about the details of that pack (slated for this Friday).
There has been a lot of discussion about the DLC offering but we wanted to clarify a few things…
– “From Ashes” includes the Prothean squad mate, an adventure on Eden Prime, a new weapon, and an alternate appearance for every squad mate. Note that these alternate appearances are in addition to the ones already advertised in the CE.
– The Collectors Edition has been advertised from the beginning as containing a bonus character/mission, but we were not at liberty to provide the details. The Prothean is optional content that is certainly designed to appeal to long-time fans, which is why he is part of the CE offering (the version many fans would be likely to purchase). Mass Effect 3 is a complete – and a huge game – right out of the box.
– The content in “From Ashes” was developed by a separate team (after the core game was finished) and not completed until well after the main game went into certification.
– The Collectors Edition has been sold out in most places for some time now, and is becoming very hard to find (many players prefer not to purchase the digital version). As such, we wanted to make this content available so that SE buyers could also incorporate the Prothean into their game.
As always, we are extremely thankful for all of your support. We pulled out all of the stops to make Mass Effect 3 the best game ever, and we can’t wait for you all to experience it.
Mike
So that’s the official response from Bioware. Interestingly enough, Gamestop’s facebook also leaked screenshots ahead of when Bioware was planning to announce From Ashes officially. Screenshots are below if you can handle minor spoilers.
To the geeks out there, what do you think? Feel free to let us know in the comments below!
Source: http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/323/index/9403705
