28 days left until I completely jump ship.

If you have time...no need to do it just to satiate my curiosity. I'm not calling you out for proof...just curious

OMG yes I have. Since, well, they came into existence.

So when did it start going wrong?

Yup back in 2007 Gamespot did an interview with Ray Myzuka and Greg Zeschuk:

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/qa.../1100-6180866/

GS: Now one of the main reasons EA gave for acquiring BioWare/Pandemic was the upcoming massively multiplayer online role-playing game you're developing in Austin. After listening to John's comments in the conference call, one walks away with the impression that said MMORPG is a wholly owned IP of BioWare--and therefore EA. Is that correct?

RM: We haven't revealed any details about the game. It's super secret right now. It's got all the characters and story arc that BioWare is known for, and I wish I could say more. It's the best of breed of MMO, with the magic BioWare's associated with, and our goal is to make sure people can't stop playing it.

Clearly talking about this game.

Another quote that made me LOL

GS: So is the name going to still be BioWare or is going to become "EA BioWare"?

GZ: Well we're still BioWare...

Yup. It awes me (from a pragmatic viewpoint) the success of WoW and the amount of money Blizz made from it. Love it or hate it, they scored huge. I always felt it was too ... too ... something...cartoony (which is the style and apparently appeals to a great many folk!) for me but on the plus side, some of their humour really made me LOL.

I have to admit to a certain aversion to "but it's what everyone does"-itis. I always seem to enjoy the outliers more than the mainstream. (Heresy) I am not even that great of an SW fan (more a LoTR sort) but I love this game, warts and all. I'm frustrated by it at times, downright cranky at other times but then there are just enough (for me) times where I fall for it again.

Wish BW could have stayed independent, so much. I don't know if that would have mattered in the end, but I like to think it might have.

When they dived into the "Impossible to please everyone" pool known as an MMO

Edit to add: ESPECIALLY post-WoW. Hard act to follow unless being showered with buckets of cash for development.

So you didn’t like the ME franchise?

Well, the funny thing is that BW was showered with buckets of cash for development. I agree that you can't please everybody but they certainly made easy targets out of themselves.

Mass Effect: Andromeda is also an example of how BW gets themselves in trouble and EA tightens the reins.

Wow...that was short lived lol. The Doctors bailed within the first few months.

Thanks for the link...interesting.

I haven't played it...yet. Have all the s'ware but have been saving it for one of those "droughts" which happen in gaming. I was enmeshed in the DA series, some of their older works and, for years now, SWTOR.

I *almost* dived into ME this past summer but RL issues got in the way. As it stands, I expected to give it a go early next year, depending upon what happens with SWTOR.