Fans dissatisfied at the ending of Mass Effect 3 have ramped up their aggression against BioWare and EA today by filing complaints with the Federal Trade Commission of the US Government. They also filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau for false advertising.
They claim that the EA and BioWare's advertising campaign and PR interviews were misleading, and that the final product "did not live up to any of those claims."
The original post, started by a user named El_Spiko, contained the following statement:
This is not somethign I was happy to do, but after the terrible ending that was in no way the product that had been advertised to me and the lack of any kind of response from Bioware/EA to address this, I felt it was one of my only recourses. I'll be returning my copy of the game before the end of my 30 day return policy if the ending still hasn't been addressed by then.
It has since been locked by BioWare forum moderators.
Many gamers were quick to criticize the fan action. On reddit, user hungryroy wrote: "Really? It's a bit like filing a complaint because you didn't like how a book ends." Another redditor, macnbc echoed the sentiment: "False advertisement would be if EA ran a commercial saying "Available on PS3", when they never actually released a PS3 version. False advertisement would be if they said "Multiplayer modes available!" when it was impossible for the game to connect with other players. It's OK to hate the ending. But saying that EA broke US law just because you happen to disagree with how the plot played out is crazy."
Others were more sympathetic to the cause. Games writer Sparky Clarkson made a strong argument for the disappointed fans: "People came to Mass Effect and invested in that universe precisely because it wasn't a book. It wasn't just BioWare's story, it was also theirs. If participatory creation of culture is something that makes you laugh your ass off then perhaps videogames aren't the right art for you. FTC complaints are going too far, but if you ridicule the place those feelings come from then you are a dick. Go review books."
It remains to be seen whether any action will be taken by either the FTC or the BBB, but needless to say, the drama is far from over. BioWare is expected to provide a response at the end of the month.
