Hasta La Gadget!

I’m huge fan of Mass Effect 3 and the other two games that make up the Mass Effect franchise. I love the way these games combine role-playing elements with exploration, with a dash of shooter on the side. If you’re a fan of the latest game the franchise, new DLC content is coming next month.

The new DLC content is called “Omega” and is described as twice the size of any previous DLC pack for the game. The game will see the blue alien Aria working with a new character as they attempt to gain control of the Omega space station. Word of the new DLC content surfaced last week in a video interview shot at the New York Comic-Con.

Apparently, that video has since been removed from the web. I watched it last week though and the game’s producer in the interview noted that the content would cost 1200 MS points ($14.99 USD) for Xbox 360 gamers and would land on November 27 for Xbox 360. BioWare has since confirmed the same release date and price for both PS3 and PC.

[via MCVUK]

If you’ve somehow managed to miss out on BioWare’s three Mass Effect games, then good news: BioWare and Electronic Arts announced a new Mass Effect Trilogy bundle today. The compilation naturally features all three games in the Mass Effect series, so it should be perfect for those who have yet to jump aboard the Mass Effect bandwagon.

What’s surprising about this announcement is that the Mass Effect Trilogy will be coming to Xbox 360, PC, and PS3, meaning that PS3 players will finally get to enjoy the first Mass Effect title. It was looking bleak for a long time there since Microsoft acted as publisher on the first game, leading many gamers to believe that Mass Effect would never come to PS3. Not only is Mass Effect launching on PS3 in the Mass Effect Trilogy, but it will also be available as a standalone download on PSN.

Unfortunately, PS3 players are going to have to wait a bit longer than Xbox 360 and PC players. While the Xbox 360 and PC versions of the Mass Effect Trilogy will be launching on November 6, PS3 owners won’t be getting it until “a later date.” The announcement from Electronic Arts doesn’t get any more specific than that, so PS3 players might have a while yet before the Mass Effect Trilogy launches on their console of choice.

The Trilogy will only cost $59.99 when its released, which is surprising considering that it features three full games and Mass Effect 3 isn’t that old. BioWare will be celebrating the release of the Mass Effect Trilogy with the first “N7 day,” which is slated for – surprise! – November 7. Details on N7 Day are still pretty slim, but we’re told that there will be a number of in-game and online events to celebrate the new gaming holiday. More information on both the Mass Effect Trilogy and N7 Day should be coming soon, so stay tuned.

Mass Effect Trilogy announced for 360, PS3, PC is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Yesterday, we found out that BioWare co-founders Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka will be leaving the video games industry (possibly for good), which left fans with some burning questions about the future of the studio. In an effort to reassure us that things will be business as usual at the studio from here on out, BioWare Montreal and Edmonton general manager Aaryn Flynn has published a BioWare Blog post of his own, giving us details on some upcoming projects BioWare is currently working on.

One of these is a brand new IP for next generation consoles. Details on this new IP are understandably light, but Flynn says that Casey Hudson and the other leads at BioWare are currently hard at work coming up with a new fictional universe for us to romp around in. Regardless of your feelings on the current state of BioWare, that’s some exciting news, because the studio has always been great at creating engaging and exciting in-game universes.

In addition to this new IP, there’s more Mass Effect in store. Flynn says that BioWare will continue to release multiplayer and single player story DLC for Mass Effect 3 over the course of the next six months, and he mentions the incoming Omega DLC specifically, which will be releasing later this fall. BioWare is also moving forward for plans for an entirely new Mass Effect game, which is news that will come as a shock to absolutely no one. This new Mass Effect title is apparently still in the very early planning stages, as Flynn says that the dev team is currently trying to tackle the question of “where to go next?” and telling readers that the studio is open to fan suggestions.

Finally, Flynn touched on Dragon Age III: Inquisition, but didn’t give any new details. He just said that the Dragon Age development team has been working with fans of the first two games to find out what they’d like to see in Dragon Age III, and discussed the excitement and difficulty that comes along with making a game with a new engine. In the end, Flynn thanked the BioWare Doctors for all of their hard work over the years, and promised that the company will always honor their legacy. It’s been a bittersweet couple of days for BioWare fans – the company’s two co-founders have left the studio, but BioWare has some exciting projects in the works. What do you think?

BioWare working on new next-gen IP, more Mass Effect on the way is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Today is a sad day for BioWare fans, as studio co-founders Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka both announced that they will be leaving the company to pursue other interests. They aren’t just leaving the company they founded either, but the games industry altogether. Both Zeschuk and Muzyka announced their departure from the industry in separate posts on the BioWare Blog, and it seems that we might be saying goodbye to both of them for good today.

In Zeschuk’s letter, he writes that his passion for gaming has left him. That has to be a depressing realization, especially when you created a company that is historically one of the most important companies in the industry. He does say, however, that his passion for the people he’s worked with throughout the years is still alive and well:

After nearly twenty years working at BioWare I’ve decided it’s time to move on and pursue something new. This decision isn’t without significant pain and regret, but it’s also something I know I need to do, for myself and my family. I’ve reached an unexpected point in my life where I no longer have the passion that I once did for the company, for the games, and for the challenge of creation. For the people I have had the privilege of working with, however, my passion burns as brightly as it did the day we started.

Looking forward, Zeschuk says that he won’t be working on games for a while, and that there’s a “strong possibility” that he won’t ever return to the games space. Instead, he’ll be spending time with his family and friends and will be focusing on his passion for craft beer. He’ll soon be hosting a new web show called The Beer Diaries, where he’ll be interviewing brewers and showing off their beers.

Muzyka, on the other hand, says in his letter that he craves a new “entrepreneurial challenge,” which will include mentoring up-and-coming entrepreneurs and focusing on the field of social/impact investing. He’ll also be getting more involved in education, animal rights, health care charities along with his wife. Muzyka says that he hasn’t lost his passion for video games, but that he just realized it was time for a new chapter in his life:

The decision to leave the videogame industry is hard to explain, but essentially I feel similar now to how I felt in the early days of BioWare over the decade post-medical school, while I was still practicing as an ER physician, back when I first realized that the world of video games was my next career ‘chapter’. Two wonderful decades working at BioWare and later EA was the result of that decision. It’s not often that you can truly say you were able to pursue and achieve your dream job; I know how lucky I am to be able to say that now, in my early 40s.

Zeschuk and Muzyka founded BioWare in 1995 after graduating from medical school, and under their watch the studio went onto create titles like Jade Empire, Neverwinter Nights, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Perhaps one of the most important game series made by BioWare is the Baldur’s Gate franchise, a groundbreaking computer RPG franchise that is regarded by many as the best RPG series ever created. More recently, BioWare has been responsible for the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series, along with the MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic. What do you think of Muzyka and Zeschuk announcing that they’re leaving the games industry?

BioWare co-founders to exit games industry is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Welcome to Monday evening, folks. Today, we entered the final few days before the iPhone 5 releases, and we found out that the device has netted 2 million pre-orders in its first 24 hours of availability. Some of those same pre-orders began shipping out from China over the weekend, and AT&T is claiming that the iPhone 5 is the most successful iPhone launch ever, which everyone could have probably already guessed. We take a look at the iPhone 5′s already astounding success, while Samsung was busy comparing the iPhone 5 to the Galaxy S III in a new ad that was rolled out over the weekend.

The HTC One X was spotted in a leaked photo earlier today, and it would appear that many of the world’s online retailers are having some trouble keeping Wii U pre-orders in stock. Google Plus has grown to 400 million users total, with 100 million of those people using the social networking service actively. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer thinks that Windows 8 may prove to be as big as Windowws 95 (and talks very briefly about the “sweet spot” for Surface pricing), while we’re hoping that Microsoft’s Windows 8 event on October 25 will give us some more solid details on the price of Surface.

The Kindle Fire HD 7-inch tablet was the subject of a teardown earlier today, showing us just what exactly is under the hood. Speaking of the Kindle Fire, today Nokia confirmed that it has licensed its Location Platform to Amazon for use in the Fire line up, meaning that Amazon will be giving Google Maps the boot. JetBlue says it will soon be offering free Wi-Fi during its flights, and HP CEO Meg Whitman has looked to Apple for inspiration when it comes to redesigning the PCs and laptops it offers. Dragon Age III: Inquisition was officially announced today too, something we’re sure will get the anti-BioWare crowd all riled up.

The Angry Birds spin-off Bad Piggies was given its first gameplay video today (no it isn’t the same as Angry Birds), and today we got word that the Samsung Galaxy S IV may be launching as early as March 2013 – less than a year after the S III hit shelves. The Nokia Lumia 820 has been outfitted with a new bumper shell, and in one of the day’s more interesting stories, archaeologists may have uncovered a fort that was critical to Caesar’s conquest of Gaul. Canon revealed a number of new cameras today, but perhaps the most important reveal was of the Canon EOS 6D. Not to be outdone, Olympus had a couple of reveals as well, announcing the new Stylus XZ-2 iHS and the M.Zuiko Digital ED 60MM F2.8 “Nature Macro Lens.”

Finally tonight, we invite you to check out new review of the Sony Reader PRS-T2. That does it for Monday’s Evening Wrap-Up, so go out and enjoy the rest of your night!

SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: September 17, 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.