'Mass Effect Legendary Edition' Sold Better Than EA Expected-- Here's Why

"Mass Effect Legendary Edition" seems to have done pretty well in terms of sales. And it's also even better than what EA originally expected.

According to a report by IGN, Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson said that the remastered trilogy's sales numbers were strong enough for them to decide to continue investing in the "Mass Effect" franchise for the foreseeable future. They did not, however, specify actual numbers.

But how can a remastered game trilogy which ended nine years ago still manage to sell well? There are multiple reasons, all of which are testament to the legacy that "Mass Effect Legendary Edition" brings into the modern-day.

'Mass Effect': A Technical Leap in RPGs

RPGs in the video game industry (especially the earliest ones) have almost always followed the trope of voiceless protagonists. If you're among the older generation of gamers, you likely remember titles such as "Baldur's Gate," "Planescape Torment," and "Diablo," to mention a few. As for more modern examples, you can include "Skyrim" in that mix.

These games leaned on with the idea of letting players create a character from a blank slate. They choose the character's name, race, abilities, and almost everything else. But in-game, the character didn't have a voice because it's supposed to bring about the idea that the player is the character. They project their own voice onto the character as they role-play throughout the game world.

The "Mass Effect" series was among the first to break that "rule," and it worked out pretty well. According to an article on BlizzardWatch, Commander Shepard being fully voice-acted and animated infused the character with a level of gravitas and sometimes even levity, which defined the character as a whole. You don't role-play as yourself or any other person you created yourself. You role-play as Shepard, and it was made even more immersive when Bioware introduced the iconic dialogue wheel.

Since the original trilogy's debut in 2007, more RPGs likely followed Bioware and EA's lead with the fully voiced and animated protagonist. Just think: how many modern RPG titles still feature the voiceless main character? Aside from relatively unknown games, nothing else is major. That's one of the technical legacies that helped "Mass Effect Legendary Edition" gain the interest of a younger generation of gamers.

Mod Support For Next-Gen + Inclusion of DLCs

Bioware and EA also did another great thing for the remastered trilogy: allowing players to use mods still. They could've just locked the games out of modding support because they are going to run way better on next-gen consoles and modern gaming PCs anyway. But they never did. That's because both companies know how important the modding community is to "Mass Effect" as a whole.

Plus, pairing mod support the fact that the trilogy contains almost all DLCs, and the players already have a complete experience to improve further. But since the immense visual and gameplay upgrades are already there, you technically don't even have to mod the games for a satisfactory experience. It already is by default. This is why in a review by GamesRadar, "Mass Effect Legendary Edition" is an excellent way to play an "unmissable" game series.

In other words, whether you choose to mod the trilogy or not, you will have an amazing playing experience either way.

An Engaging Plot With An Extremely Interesting Cast of Characters

Yes, the ending for "Mass Effect 3" might have been a little controversial. But that's just a tiny blip in an otherwise spotless overarching story.

For one, plenty of RPGs have more or less one-dimensional villains and characters, all of which have no real depth. But the "Mass Effect" trilogy's cast is full of very memorable people, and that one is an absolute truth. As soon as players finish the games, they'll always remember the likes of Garrus, Tali, Liara, Wrex, and many others, who have been loyal to Commander Shepard over the course of the journey.

It's these strong, fleshed-out characters that made people sorely miss the original trilogy after the release of the sub-par "Mass Effect Andromeda." And for gamers who have been stuck at home during the pandemic, the characters provided a deeper-than-expected level of social connection that they've missed out on due to the dangers of COVID-19.

As sci-fi contributor Swapna Krishna of WIRED writes, the games' so-called "parasocial relationships" have been beneficial to her mental health during the pandemic.

An Absolute Must-Play

"Mass Effect Legendary Edition" is more than just a love letter from Bioware and EA to the series' legions of fans. It's also a great effort to bring one of gaming's best game trilogies up to speed with modern hardware, so a younger generation of gamers can be their own galaxy-saving heroes.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by RJ Pierce