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Mass Effect Fans Donate $80,000 to Charity to Help Change the Ending of Mass Effect 3

L

littleworm

Member
RDreamer said:
But you're also missing or forgetting the other part of what he said in that post. People were literally thinking this was a Child's Play backed thing. They thought it was official. They were bombarding them with emails asking how much was needed to change the ending and all that. That is a huge fucking problem when you're running a charity or any business at all. You have strict rules in place so that your customers know what is official and what is not, and all kinds of businesses have to squash a lot of things, even things that might otherwise be beneficial because those rules need to hold steady. You can't have people believing you are literally behind some sort of cause that you have nothing to do with. If people are literally believing that Child's Play itself wants to change the ending to Mass Effect that's a big red flag, and that could change people's perspective on the charity and its actual mission.
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Agreed, 120% agreed. Though I feel other steps should of been taken to remedy the situation first, before just pulling the plug on it all together, and if he had just wrote that, I would have a less negative view. It's just the fact that he wrote what he wrote about "Child's Play MUST be the cause" comes of as not being genuine.
 
T

Trakdown

Member
Jintor said:
The deal is that they don't want unregulated activities to be able to hide behind the shield of charity, basically.
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Yep. There's a genuine concern that other parties might start looking at your charity as leverage rather than a charity, and the more that happens, the more your message gets watered down.

Or just read what RDreamer posted, that's pretty much on point.
 
R

RDreamer

Member
littleworm said:
Agreed, 120% agreed. Though I feel other steps should of been taken to remedy the situation first, before just pulling the plug on it all together, and if he had just wrote that, I would have a less negative view. It's just the fact that he wrote what he wrote about "Child's Play MUST be the cause" comes of as not being genuine.
Click to expand...

I think he's being genuine. I really do believe it's something new that's thrown him for a bit of a loop, and he's kind of piecing things together and trying to come up with a bit of a policy on it.
 
Z

Zen

Banned
God was it ever. Though the difference between a product like KZ3 and ME couldn't be more distinct.

Oblivionmancer said:
This is true, but it is a shame, because it has more to do with people being stupid than any intentional misdirection.
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The funny part is, that you can not find a single poll on the internet where the majority are happy about the ending, or angry over changes being announced (although the latter is a far closer race where as the former is a blowout), and many of these polls are on the very same sites where the 'journalists' are too busy polishing their soapboxes and holding opinions to do their jobs.

What is does show is a real world disconnect between the two groups. People working in gaming media probably feel defensive, because they have to stand behind their review scores, and people have never attacked the integrity of the games media more than they are right now.

You will not find a journalist in the industry (hyperbole of course) that agrees that the current system of reviewing games is remotely ideal, or allows for the same types of experiences that the consumers can have. The games media method of games reviewing, and the world they find themselves in, is insular, perverted from the norm, and very draining.

So it would be great if, instead of trying to further cement the gap between consumer and reviewer, that they don't essentially end up acting so vehemently as a PR arm of the companies that they are in the industry with.

Give your readers a little bit of credit, or at least don't attack them in your reporting of the situation. Save that stuff for opinion pieces.
 
P

PsychoSoldier

Banned
I can definitely see where he's coming from. The drive was well-intentioned, but less well-intentioned drives of this sort could attempt to use them as leverage, and that's not a position they want to be in.
 
S

Speevy

Banned
I'm going to create a trilogy in which everything happens exactly as the fans dreamed, and then the main character explodes for no reason.


The End?
 
Z

Zen

Banned
2 Slice Toaster said:
Has someone figured out what happens if the "majority" of fans don't like the changed ending?
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Given all the metrics we have (and Bioware/EA have much more than that), the fact that it's being changed seems to indicate that this won't be a problem. Even then, it sounds like we won't be getting 'it was all a dream' and they're going to attempt to work within the existing framework and fixing what we got.

Also the wording, 'ending content initiatives', makes it sound like it's an opt in, or you can choose the partake in some but not others.
 
H

hateradio

The Most Dangerous Yes Man
Rahxephon91 said:
official Jessica Chobot nude mod released.

I'm surprised they haven't given anything away free. They gave us ME2 on PC for free with the Dragon Age 2 dealy.
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I'm assuming that DA2 sold worse than ME3, but I don't know the numbers. It would be great to get a third or fourth ME2 code, I guess.
 
V

VeryGooster

Banned
Zen said:
God was it ever. Though the difference between a product like KZ3 and ME couldn't be more distinct.The funny part is, that you can not find a single poll on the internet where the majority are happy about the ending, or angry over changes being announced (although the latter is a far closer race where as the former is a blowout), and many of these polls are on the very same sites where the 'journalists' are too busy polishing their soapboxes and holding opinions to do their jobs.What is does show is a real world disconnect between the two groups. People working in gaming media probably feel defensive, because they have to stand behind their review scores, and people have never attacked the integrity of the games media more than they are right now.You will not find a journalist in the industry (hyperbole of course) that agrees that the current system of reviewing games is remotely ideal, or allows for the same types of experiences that the consumers can have. The games media method of games reviewing, and the world they find themselves in, is insular, perverted from the norm, and very draining.So it would be great if, instead of trying to further cement the gap between consumer and reviewer, that they don't essentially end up acting so vehemently as a PR arm of the companies that they are in the industry with.Give your readers a little bit of credit.
Click to expand...

The unfortunate part is that the "journalists" themselves do not help their own cause because it is one thing to stand by your review or your opinion and defend it no matter how much you may hate how the system works, but it's another to take to social platforms and actively mock, insult, and generally come off as condescending pricks to a (arguably) large group of dissatisfied consumers as a whole, whether people have genuine reasons for complaint or not. They have done nothing to understand all sides of the issue. It extends far beyond simply seeing an ad for a game on a site whose employee happens to cameo in it. They had an opportunity to use their positions to help readers understand all sides of this discussion, but many of them chose not to. Is it a wonder then when the most enraged gamer accuses them of being too close to publishers and calling out a conflict of interest?
 
T

Trakdown

Member
EmCeeGramr said:
Okay, someone just pointed out something.

Where does this leave the Humble Bundles?
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Unchanged, I would think. Child's Play doesn't cop a percentage of sales, it takes donations that are offered by the buyer when they're checking out. It's presented as an option to donate to Child's Play, not "CHANGE MASS EFFECT 3'S SHITTY ENDING...oh yeah, and give money to Child's Play too". There's a difference in focus, and when you checkout the HMB, you decide where the money gets to go to, as agreed upon by the devs, the HMB crew and Child's Play. RME had no such agreement with Child's Play and represented the drive as being more about the ending than about the charity, which is where the problem seems to lay.
 
M

MooseKnuckles

Banned
SerArthurDayne said:
Asking for donations back? Even if you misunderstood what you were doing, that is fucked up.
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It does seem like a case of incredibly fucked up priorities that people were alright with donating money when they believed it was going to Bioware/EA, a massive, multi-million dollar corporation - but then wanted that money back when they realises it was actually being used to help sick kids.
 
H

hamchan

Member
RDreamer said:
I can think of plenty of worse endings. Hell the reason I'm not as harsh on this one could likely be tied to the fact that the last game I beat was Final Fantasy XIII-2.
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FFXIII-2 was the last game I beat too but the amount of shits I give about that game's story is near zero, so that's why its bad ending doesn't make me feel bad like ME3's does.
 
B

bhlaab

Member
MooseKnuckles said:
It does seem like a case of incredibly fucked up priorities that people were alright with donating money when they believed it was going to Bioware/EA, a massive, multi-million dollar corporation - but then wanted that money back when they realises it was actually being used to help sick kids.
Click to expand...

Ummm, where do you think the money goes anyway? It's a charity to buy video games.
 
G

GSR

Member
Child's Play is perfectly within their rights here to ask the drive be stopped, especially if people were getting the impression it was a Child's Play-backed thing, or that there was somehow some sort of contract with Bioware of "raise $X for charity and we'll change the ending." However, I still think the original idea was an excellent way to show disapproval of Bioware's actions and ensure some positive outcome regardless of what the company ultimately chose to do.

That said, as someone who spent a lot of time in the hospital as a kid and who frequently donates to Child's Play, fuck the people retracting their donations. While I can understand the train of thought of "I thought I'd get Y if I donated to charity Z, but now that I found out I'm not getting Y I want Z to pay me back", that doesn't really apply here because the drive's non-charitable goal was a success. Bioware is addressing the ending controversy in some form or another.

And as said above, it's just incredibly fucked up if people somehow thought they were directly paying Bioware/EA to change the ending and now they want their money back once they see it's actually going to charity instead and not towards some mythical shiny-new-ending fund.
 
2

2 Slice Toaster

Member
Hero said:
So it’s not okay to use Child’s Play as a platform for when the millions of fans want to change the ending of Mass Effect 3 and show their seriousness with real money but it’s okay to use Child’s Play as a platform for when a giant company like EA wants to do a publicity stunt for that very same game? Is this irony?
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Where in that link is EA using Child's Play as a publicity stunt?
 
W

WanderingWind

Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
2 Slice Toaster said:
Where in that link is EA using Child's Play as a publicity stunt?
Click to expand...

...seriously? How about...the entire thing?

Event Description

To celebrate the release of Mass Effect 3 and the end of Commander Shepard’s epic journey across the galaxy, the Mass Effect Marathon team is proud to be bringing viewers a live play through of Mass Effect 3 for everyone to enjoy. The event will be broken up into three Saturdays in May, allowing people to watch as little or as much of the play through as they want.

Viewers and fans will also have the choice of determining whether we continue the story of our Male Shepard from MEM1 or our Female Shepard from MEM2. In addition there will be polls determining class, alignment and much more!

As always, the Mass Effect Marathon team will be on hand to interact with you in chat, play multiplayer games of Mass Effect 3, and perform various challenges in return for donations to Child’s Play Charity. We are willing to sing, dance and generally embarrass ourselves for your entertainment! Oh yeah, and you can win prizes by donating and watching!
 
H

HP_Wuvcraft

Banned
WanderingWind said:
As always, the Mass Effect Marathon team will be on hand to interact with you in chat, play multiplayer games of Mass Effect 3, and perform various challenges in return for donations to Child’s Play Charity. We are willing to sing, dance and generally embarrass ourselves for your entertainment! Oh yeah, and you can win prizes by donating and watching!
Click to expand...

Is MEM directly related to EA, though?

I thought it was just one of those Desert Bus rip-offs.
 
W

WanderingWind

Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
HP_Wuvcraft said:
Is MEM directly related to EA, though?

I thought it was just one of those Desert Bus rip-offs.
Click to expand...

There is enough official branding on their site - http://masseffect.g33kwatch.com/ - and enough exposure that they're sanctioned, at the very least.

And that's fine. "It's for a good cause."

Bottom line. If you're taking money away from sick kids due to not wanting to ruffle corporate feathers, or conversely, because you personify whiny, petulant bratiness, you're doing the wrong thing.
 
J

jimmy5150

Member
Hero said:
So it’s not okay to use Child’s Play as a platform for when the millions of fans want to change the ending of Mass Effect 3 and show their seriousness with real money but it’s okay to use Child’s Play as a platform for when a giant company like EA wants to do a publicity stunt for that very same game? Is this irony?
Click to expand...

Edit: Beaten, I see.

Anyway, I think there's a big difference between "we are playing this game we like, and you can watch us and donate to charity" and "We demand this company do this! Here's some money for charity!"
 
T

Trakdown

Member
Hero said:
So it’s not okay to use Child’s Play as a platform for when the millions of fans want to change the ending of Mass Effect 3 and show their seriousness with real money but it’s okay to use Child’s Play as a platform for when a giant company like EA wants to do a publicity stunt for that very same game? Is this irony?
Click to expand...

First, LOL @ "Millions of fans" wanting to change the ending. If that's true, 80k's a pretty pathetic fund raising number. Try a vocal minority.

Secondly, many of them who "showed their seriousness" just showed how petty they were by pulling their donations the minute they found out Child's Play wouldn't be joining them on their quest to change a video game ending. Guess they figure sick kids aren't important enough.

Third, this Mass Effect event is a fund-raiser. They are explicitly asking for donations to Child's Play from people who *gasp* actually ENJOYED THE GAME! I'm not seeing any mention of "EA" in the press release, nor am I seeing a logo for EA. This is Child's Play using a game as a platform to raise money for a charity rather than using a charity to leverage a position.

Finally, if you go to the Mass Effect Marathon page, you'll see that they take donations to give to Child's Play. No other agenda involved - it's a group of gamers playing a game, a la Desert Bus, no affiliation with EA (least not that I can see). The point is, this isn't using Child's Play for anything, it's donating to it and letting it perform its mission.
 
H

Hero

Member
jimmy5150 said:
Edit: Beaten, I see.

Anyway, I think there's a big difference between "we are playing this game we like, and you can watch us and donate to charity" and "We demand this company do this! Here's some money for charity!"
Click to expand...

I don't think the latter statement is quite true. I believe it was more along the lines of "We're outraged that this beloved series ended so horribly and instead of doing anything rash, harmful or wasteful we want to spend even more of our money to show how serious we are but instead of buying the game we want to give money to sick kids in hospitals."
 
M

MooseKnuckles

Banned
bhlaab said:
Ummm, where do you think the money goes anyway? It's a charity to buy video games.
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The money goes to helping sick children through very difficult periods in their lives. Just because a large portion of that money is spent on video games (they also buy books and other toys) and therefore results in additional sales for publishers does not make it remotely equivalent to handing money directly to a video game company.
 
H

Hero

Member
Trakdown said:
First, LOL @ "Millions of fans" wanting to change the ending. If that's true, 80k's a pretty pathetic fund raising number. Try a vocal minority.

Secondly, many of them who "showed their seriousness" just showed how petty they were by pulling their donations the minute they found out Child's Play wouldn't be joining them on their quest to change a video game ending. Guess they figure sick kids aren't important enough.

Third, this Mass Effect event is a fund-raiser. They are explicitly asking for donations to Child's Play from people who *gasp* actually ENJOYED THE GAME! I'm not seeing any mention of "EA" in the press release, nor am I seeing a logo for EA. This is Child's Play using a game as a platform to raise money for a charity rather than using a charity to leverage a position.

Finally, if you go to the Mass Effect Marathon page, you'll see that they take donations to give to Child's Play. No other agenda involved - it's a group of gamers playing a game, a la Desert Bus, no affiliation with EA (least not that I can see). The point is, this isn't using Child's Play for anything, it's donating to it and letting it perform its mission.
Click to expand...

Your whole post here is pretty shitty but none of this changes the fact that Child's Play is picking and choosing what is an acceptable "event" for their charity.
 
T

Thunder Monkey

Banned
EmCeeGramr said:
Honestly, at this point I'm more interested in this whole thing because it's such a turning point for the industry.

Billion dollar corporations turning games and franchises into platforms and services, while simultaneously attempting to elevate them to the status of art via imitation in a bid for legitimacy and validation, the erosion of "middle class" games as the costs to feed this model keep increasing, the growing legitimacy (and monetization) of indie games as more "artistic," and the concept of what a video game IS.

These issues have been steadily building up for nearly 15 years now, and I have a feeling that the resulting fallout from this controversy is going to be a guidepost or warning sign as the industry goes forward.
Click to expand...
But the chaos in the interim is going to be interesting to say the least.

Gamers quitting, developers closing down, manufacturers leaving. The industry after this coming decade is going to look a lot different.

I'm really worried about the concept of free-to-play with pay for extras. Gah. Paying for a powerup.

*shivers*
 
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