Apparently work on the next Mass Effect started a month or two ago, and is scheduled to come out at the end of 2014 or early 2015. So, the oft-cited problem with recent Bioware games, the accelerated production schedule for RPG output every other year, is going to continue on. Not only is that going to continue being an issue, likely robbing the sequel of significant depth, but it will also likely be on next-generation hardware,so they'll have to deal with adapting to new consoles as well.
You'd think after the criticisms of Dragon Age II, The Old Republic, and Mass Effect 3, they'd take a little more care for their next few games. This isn't necessarily terrible news, but it's certainly a bad sign. I gotta tell you, I'm already excited...
For those that remember, DA II and ME 3 had about 2 years of dev time too... although they both had the benefit of building off of their predecessors.
EDIT: So did Mass Effect 2, which was pretty great, despite any personal feelings people may have for it.

Apparently the source for the article I linked to removed the interview. Sorry for spreading misinformation. See here:

@TullyAckland said:

Just wanted to let you know that the source of this article [LINK] has confirmed that the original article was completely inaccurate.

At no time did EA or BioWare provide any answers to questions from Gamer Syndrome.

When we do have something to discuss you'll hear about it through official channels.

Well, shit. Hopefully it's not straight up Mass Effect 4.

I'd be alright with Mass Effect Citadel Cop or Mass Effect Turian Wars, I guess.

I feel like there are three kinds of AAA games being made these days.

1. There's games that come out every year because people will buy them no matter what and publishers know that

2. There's games that come out every other year because a publisher has a franchise they want to squeeze money out of and it does nothing for them when games aren't released

3. There's games that only come out every so often because a company/publisher knows inovation and iteration is very important in making a great game

It really saddens me to see a franchise like Mass Effect or Assassin's Creed move from the third category to the second (or in Assassin's Creed's case, second to first) because it takes something we all love and kind of runs it dry. I know publishers and developers need to make money, but when will they learn that going back to the well to often will cause it to dry up?

I mean, I would call it just sequel fatigue, but look at GTA. That franchise in on its fifth game and people are super excited about it because there's not one every other year. I understand some developers don't have the resources and money to wait and iterate like the Rockstars or Blizzards of the world, but there's got to be a better way than this.

@DoctorWelch: GTA is actually on its eighth console iteration. Unless you count the London 1969 expansion, which makes it nine.

There's been a lot of GTA since the late 90's, is my point.

Mass Effect 2 only had 2 years of development and I recall that being quite good.

DA2 came out less than 18 months after Origins, they fucked that up. ME3 was delayed 4 months to fix something, obviously it wasn't enough time. As long as it doesn't continue the story of the Shepard then I'm mildly curious, if it is a sequel.....FUCK them. DA3 on the other hand they just fucked up 2 so much that I have no interest in the game, that saddens me.

@devilzrule27 said:

Mass Effect 2 only had 2 years of development and I recall that being quite good.

There is a difference. We knew going in to the original that it was the beginning of a trilogy. I assume that BioWare had some rough plans for the second or third game. I doubt this is the case with this next game. It's just the next ME game. Not to say it won't be good, but this will be the first game in the franchise not part of the initial trilogy.

I just wonder what they can do with it. They kind of ruined the entire universe with that ending. Whatever, I'll probably buy it. Mass Effect is the best new franchise this generation.

This just seems like EA wants to make more money on Mass Effect while they still can. They can make more money sooner instead of making a better game in 4 years. At least I assume that is what they might be thinking.

@devilzrule27 said:

Mass Effect 2 only had 2 years of development and I recall that being quite good.

But also less complex than the original.

the thing that rubs me the wrong way about this "next Mass Effect" is that it's Bioware going back on what they said Mass Effect is. That is a console generation spanning trilogy where choices mattered and would carry from one game to the next. At this point, the story has been told and there's no reason to venture back into that galaxy, whatever the world state it's in. Whether it's a sequel or a prequel doesn't matter. It's over.

I'm not normally "that guy," but I'm pretty damn sure that this is EA trying to wring every last drop of credibility out of Bioware that they can. Bad enough that their meddling and asinine deadlines ruined two should've-been great titles in DA2 and ME3, but now they're going to keep beating the dead Mass Effect horse?

Fuck them.

I'm not going to get on their case on this. If it comes out in two years, good on 'em. If it's good, better on 'em.

You know, it might just be me, but is anybody else hoping this next mass effect is going to be L.A. Noire in space?

@DonChipotle said:

I'm not going to get on their case on this. If it comes out in two years, good on 'em. If it's good, better on 'em.

Yeah, I don't think it's an automatic failure, but it does concern me that they might not be giving it the time it needs. Hope my fears are unfounded though.

@Oldirtybearon said:

@DoctorWelch: GTA is actually on its eighth console iteration. Unless you count the London 1969 expansion, which makes it nine.

There's been a lot of GTA since the late 90's, is my point.

Yeah I know, that's kind of my point too. There are a ton of GTA games, but I think they've been smart enough about when to make a quick turn around, and when to wait a good 4 years to put out a new one. They haven't just blindly mined that resource until it's gone. Instead, they've actually had some self restraint and it's turned out pretty good for them.

Whatever they call it I'm not interested. Dragon Age is somewhat salvageable but Mass Effect ended with 3 for me.

Always good to remember that ME2 came out around 2 1/2 years after ME1, so this isn't necessarily the end of the world. I think Brad's point on the podcast about the turnover at creative is more to blame. Though I actually liked the ending, so maybe I'M the insane one.

I want to play a bad guy in Mass Effect kind of like the GTA games, a space pirate would be cool. They can't possibly go for the white knight of the universe story again. Want more options to how I play my character like a Fallout or KOTOR. Really love the ME series so more is better for me.

@Masterherox said:

You know, it might just be me, but is anybody else hoping this next mass effect is going to be L.A. Noire in space?

Always wanted the LA Noire team to be given the Blade Runner license.

That length of development cycle doesn't necessarily doom it to failure, although it certainly doesn't help. This one needs to be a new story though, because Shepard is totally done as far as I'm concerned. Maybe Mass Effect: Valkarian Chronicles. You can't ever have enough Garrus. I would have said Solus Chronicles ... but Mordin .... :(

@devilzrule27 said:

Mass Effect 2 only had 2 years of development and I recall that being quite good.

There's a big difference here, and I think it's been demonstrated by many franchises. Look at Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, and Uncharted. The first game in each franchise was a nice prototype of the ideas, and the second game was a fantastic iteration on those ideas. Then the third games in those franchises came way too quickly because the new ideas and iteration wasn't there. It was basically a "Well, let's just do that again" attitude, and I think that third game is really the thing that's killing these companies.

No one really knows what to do with a franchise after they hit that amazing game. I guess it's sort of similar to the theory behind the Madden Curse. Since every player on the cover of Madden was amazing in the previous year, it can be really hard to live up to that in the next season. Similar things happen with games. It's really hard to live up to that amazing game that everyone loved. That's why I said it's smart when companies like Rockstar wait a little while to release a sequel. They don't wait until the memories of the last game burn out, rather, they wait long enough for the new game to feel fresh. Either that, or they wait until they don't feel the need to stick directly to the formula of the previous game.

All I care about is that when the game comes out, the people who review games for a living think it's alright. I defer to developers to make it work in whatever time schedule they have. The final product is always the one that determines how "well" their dev time was spent. I don't know about anyone else but I can't remember the last time I read a preview or "worried" that a game might be bad or as good as I want or as good as the last one.

If it turns out this next ME game is a bit tired and not new enough, than that's what it is but until then I'm going to care about games as they come out. Not directed at the OP but this thread reminded me of how much I can't stand this cynical hype game that fans play as a weird bizarro world version of the one publishers play. Also I bet there are plenty of people in the company who feel exactly the same way fans do about this kind of stuff but if that's not reflected in the final product then that's the bummer. But like I said, it's all that ever mattered anyway so I'm just going to focus on that.

@Bioware Check Yourself Before You Wriggety-Wreck Yourself

A Mass Effect game set outside of the Shepard story could be really cool. Unfortunately it seems like Bioware isn't the same company it was when they made their most beloved and respected games.

I'm really disappointed with Bioware's direction. I mean ME 3 was great but that ending was so damn bad. It started with DA 2. It was fun but I thought the story was pretty weak for the most part. I liked the Qunari rebellion aspect but beyond that it was lame. I always thought some of the quest would have a sweet unique enemy like that haunted level and it turns out to be just a Sloth demon or something nothing unique. I think the first game had some of that too but not as obvious as 2. With this 2 year development trend they seem to rush a lot in certain stages, which is obvious with ME 3's awful ending, but then they also lose that extra time for bugs and tweaks. Maybe must of all what is upsetting is they give the notion that you should go with quantity over quality which is what COD has been doing forever and it seems a lot of devs want in on that. It's sad to see Bioware fall from so high.

@Wrighteous86 said:

@DonChipotle said:

I'm not going to get on their case on this. If it comes out in two years, good on 'em. If it's good, better on 'em.

Yeah, I don't think it's an automatic failure, but it does concern me that they might not be giving it the time it needs. Hope my fears are unfounded though.

After what happened with 3 I think they're very conscious of what they're doing and how it's going to be received. Bioware needs a super solid hit to get fans back and to recoup some of that Star Wars money they blew. I'm not saying that it's a guarantee the game will be good but I think they're gonna be trying real damn hard to hit the mark. If they're using the ME3 tech then 2 years isn't unreasonable. Hopefully.

I just wanna play Mass Effect: C-Sec Stories starring Garrus.

I just want my Garrus/Wrex Citadel space detective agency game.

I liked Mass Effect 3, I think its a far superior game to ME2 in every way imaginable. However, I honestly just wish they'd give up on the series and move on. Bioware had a pretty diverse catalogue a few years back. Now all they fucking do is Mass Effect and Dragon Age.

Why can't they just move the fuck on and make a different IP?

I'll parrot Gerstmann's thoughts about this: Mass Effect 3 drew so much ire for so many different reasons that it doesn't matter what they do with the franchise anymore.

Personally I loved the multiplayer stuff they did with the last game, and I'm hoping they lean into that stuff--perhaps aping the AI Director from Left 4 Dead--to get away from the core Shepard/Reaper story. There's so much more to the universe than what we saw. In my mind the only categorically ignorant decision would be to rehash that down-trodden ground again.

@BoG said:

@devilzrule27 said:

Mass Effect 2 only had 2 years of development and I recall that being quite good.

There is a difference. We knew going in to the original that it was the beginning of a trilogy. I assume that BioWare had some rough plans for the second or third game. I doubt this is the case with this next game. It's just the next ME game. Not to say it won't be good, but this will be the first game in the franchise not part of the initial trilogy.

I just wonder what they can do with it. They kind of ruined the entire universe with that ending. Whatever, I'll probably buy it. Mass Effect is the best new franchise this generation.

It has to be a prequel with a different main character. That way they can separate themselves with Shepard's story while still expanding on the Mass Effect universe. Plus they're not obliged to account for all the various decisions that Shepard made over the last 3 games and can start anew. It's just too convenient to pass up otherwise. I can see a lot of potential that has Bioware here, but I don't have much confidence in them anymore.

Also take into account that they've been putting there effort lately into creating ME 3 DLC and not the next Mass Effect game. I doubt that they've still left the "idea stage" with it.

I thought it was a different studio doing Mass Effect 4 and I thought they had already been working on it for at least a little while now? Bioware's doing something different. Well, I know it's a studio with the name "Bioware" on it, but a different one. I thought. Maybe I'm wrong.

Anyway, we can't know 'til it's out if it's just a cash-grab or a decent entry. What Bioware really needs to pull off, in my opinion, is Dragon Age 3.

@DoctorWelch said:

1. There's games that come out every year because people will buy them no matter what and publishers know that

2. There's games that come out every other year because a publisher has a franchise they want to squeeze money out of and it does nothing for them when games aren't released

I think the problem could also be players (and parent purchasers in some cases, e.g. a consistent birthday present for Jimmy) putting a lot of valuation on sequels and known items above other considerations. Maybe it is to the point that 2 slightly less polished games in a shorter time period leads to an overall happier (or at least higher sales) type environment for whatever the next title in the series is compared to less frequent releases that the general public does not get to see on the shelf every year. Like if they release 6 months early, as long as it is already decent, it will end up with better sales because more people will be thinking of the previous title (Like dragon age II and re-used art assets / levels).

If that were the case, you can't exactly fault a dev for doing what the majority of the fan base seems to be demanding via sales numbers.

Yo. Check this. A game set in the Mass Effect universe where you play as a bounty hunter. Billion dollars.

They should make Mass Effect: The Indoctrinated Chronicles

You're Shepard in a what-if scenario. Your Shepard gets indoctrinated, and if you're a paragon, shepard becomes DICTATOR OF THE UNIVERSE. If you're renegade, HE KILLS EVERYTHING IN THE UNIVERSE. And than the game ends with him sitting alone on the last reaper he just killed and is no longer indoctrinated and is like "OH SHIT, I was indoctrinated all along... but how did I manage to kill everything even this reaper if it was indoctrinating me... unless he wanted to commit suicide, which is what I'm gonna do now because I'm the only living thing left in the UNIVERSE." Than he kills himself and game is over.

Okay I'm going to bed now

@Bioware Check Yourself Before You Wriggety-Wreck Yourself

so am i the only one who can't wait to play more mass effect.

I want more Mass Effect, but I want it to be good. I would love to see them take the series in a different direction. I would love a Privateer type game set in the Mass Effect universe. Imagine you could walk around in your ship and fly it... Ok, now I am just dreaming. The reality is I am not sure what we are going to get, but the trend seems to be we are getting products that are less ambitious. I hope I am wrong, but I am concerned about the future of this brand.

Well, I'm waiting to see what happens with DA3 next year.

@Masterherox said:

You know, it might just be me, but is anybody else hoping this next mass effect is going to be L.A. Noire in space?

I now want more than anything for a game to be made called "L.A. Noire In Space".

It could just be a mod where everyone's lines are ended with "IIIIN SPAAAAACE", and I'd be satisfied.

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

@Masterherox said:

You know, it might just be me, but is anybody else hoping this next mass effect is going to be L.A. Noire in space?

Always wanted the LA Noire team to be given the Blade Runner license.

Oh my god yes.

To me, the most worrying part is that they've straight up asked people what they want from it. That doesn't seem like a group having a clear direction.

Just wanted to let you know that the source of this article [LINK] has confirmed that the original article was completely inaccurate.

At no time did EA or BioWare provide any answers to questions from Gamer Syndrome.

When we do have something to discuss you'll hear about it through official channels.

@TullyAckland: Phew, good to know.

I've never been so physically offended by a game I haven't played yet ever. Mass Effect 1 & 2 were great games, how the fuck do you fuck this up? Okay the first game had mediocre combat and the second the terminator baby. Your mileage may vary, but still the ending made me angry.

I probably haven't been this upset about something game related since I heard Tim Schafer explain why Grim Fandango is and probably will never be up for sale digitally due to LucasArts being peices of shit. I'm a pretty mellow dude. Man fuck EA and fuck Bioware, I'm not playing it and I'm certainly never buying it.

The genophage was such a great concept, and exquisitely presented but all of it feels like it didn't matter.

@thabigred said:

I've never been so physically offended by a game

Physically...? Did the game...touch your naughty bits?

@Wrighteous86: A 2-year development cycle for a new entry in an established franchise that has seen as many iterations as this one, and already had enough years of development put into it to mature and become technically robust, really doesn't sound "accelerated" or "rushed". But sure, go get your pitchforks over nothing, whatever floats your boat internet.

If anything programming for new hardware might be an issue that would require a longer development cycle, maybe, but I'm going to hold out preemptive judgment on that. It seems really unnecessary at this point.

@TullyAckland said:

Just wanted to let you know that the source of this article [LINK] has confirmed that the original article was completely inaccurate.

At no time did EA or BioWare provide any answers to questions from Gamer Syndrome.

When we do have something to discuss you'll hear about it through official channels.

Putting that in the first post. Thanks for the info and sorry about spreading misinformation!

You know what? I really enjoyed ME3. Was it the best game ever? No. Was it as good as ME2? Also no. But like Jeff said around ME3's release I'd rather play a middling Mass Effect game than pretty much any game out there. I'm excited to see what they do in the Mass Effect universe.

well that was a colossal amount of anger over nothing

@Masterherox said:

You know, it might just be me, but is anybody else hoping this next mass effect is going to be L.A. Noire in space?

Sounds good to me.