We've known since E3 2011 that Mass Effect 3: Special Edition was in the works for the Wii U; EA and Bioware wanted to introduce the series to a whole new potential audience of gamers who may not have had the chance to play it previously.

At first it seemed odd they would release just Part 3 of this successful franchise onto the WiiU; but promised an interactive intro comic that would bring new players on the WiiU up to speed with the events of the previous 2 games. This also would allow them to make choices in this interactive intro which would have affects on the story of ME3 when they played, similar to how players on other consoles had been able to import their save game data from previous games to the next.

Prespective WiiU owners came to terms with just getting one game of the trilogy, especially those that might not have played Mass Effect before and all seemed well.

But recently EA and Bioware have just announced a Trilogy disc for PC, Xbox360 and PS3. With no mention of a WiiU version and no indication (at time of print) that ME3:SE might be pushed back to allow for it to be turned into a Trilogy pack. This Trilogy pack is expected to retail at the same price as Mass Effect 3: Special Edition will on the WiiU; meaning WiiU gamers will be asked to pay the same price as a Trilogy disc would cost on other systems but only getting 1/3 of the content.

In recent days this news has caused a bit of stir so we have opened the doors of this roundtable to give our Staff and Readers a chance to have their say.

1: Were you planning on getting Mass Effect Special Edition on the WiiU before this news?
2: If so are you still planning to get it or have you changed your mind?
3: What are your views of the situation EA & Bioware have just created and do you think this could impact on future 3rd party support for WiiU?

Aaron Clegg - N-Europe Staff

Perhaps what needs to be said first and foremost is what a solid job young studio Straight Right seems to be doing on the Special Edition for Wii U, implementing both clever GamePad implementation and a full "off-TV mode" for those who want to escape from the television.

However, there is a clear need to reconcile this £40 re-release with a £40 collection of the entire Mass Effect series. The cushy, unargumentative nature of big-name video games journalism means EA will almost certainly not be challenged very forcefully on the issue, but I imagine they will throw Nintendo fans a bone in the form of an explanation that they "didn't have time" to build a Wii U version of the Trilogy pack.

Few would accept that as a satisfying answer, and you can expect EA to refuse to commit to releasing Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 on Wii U in due course - either separately on the eShop or just as a late Trilogy release. It would be the most sensible way of going about releasing the games on Wii U, and it probably says much about EA that so few of us really expect the company to do that.

EA's silence on the matter has unfortunately exposed their aloofness on Wii U already - the exact same aloofness that saw them admitting they should have supported its predecessor more from day one.

Ultimately, it does not deter my interest for Mass Effect: Special Edition, which is quite high given the solid quality of the port and the much-appreciated back-story content. It's just a shame it will be released with the underlying stench of EA's poor publishing strategies.

Sam Gittins - N-Europe Staff

While I wasn't planning on getting Mass Effect 3 Special Edition on the Wii U I would have definitely considered it if it were the whole trilogy re-released but not just as a simple port. As many will surely be aware the original Mass Effect had several issues - mostly technical - which would need to be ironed out before they should even consider re-releasing the game in any form yet Bioware - perhaps with a little pressure from EA - have seen fit to just go with the 'quick and dirty' port option for the other platforms that they are releasing the Mass Effect Trilogy on this November which is a shame but at least it all comes in a nice box I suppose.

As aforementioned I would only consider getting Mass Effect again as a trilogy because without all three games it's an incomplete experience which isn't really worth anything to me as a gamer who has already played the trilogy before on another console, so for me it's all or nothing.

The situation that has been created by Bioware and escalated by EA is nothing short of baffling as from a business perspective why wouldn't they choose to delay the release of the standalone game - which not many people now want - in favour of porting across the entire trilogy with tablet controls along with various other bonuses; they basically have the opportunity to create what could be in many ways the definitive version of the Mass Effect Trilogy and I feel that if they now choose to ignore fans and go ahead with Mass Effect 3 - not so - Special Edition then this would be regrettable for all concerned parties.

Agent Gibbs - N-Europe Forum Member

1: I was probably going to buy it, its a great game and i might have fun with the new controls etc on a fem Sheppard playthrough

2: I'm a little unsure i must admit, do i boycott this game out of protest... or do i buy it to prove them wrong? i really don't know now

3: Madness pure unadulterated madness! Either they want ME to fail on the WiiU (which is terrible from a business point of view) or they don't see the problem with releasing a trilogy on other consoles for less than a single game on another, Either way its just not good.

There has obviously been a point where both ME3 Wiiu was in development and ME Trilogy was (needed ps3 development), surely it would have been better to have a unified development create ME Trilogy for all consoles!

I just don't understand, no matter which way i come at this, it flies in the face of logic! EA are not earning enough money to be purposefully vindictive, and can't be stupid enough to compete with themselves else they'd have died years ago....

Dean Jones - N-Europe Staff

I am a massive fan of the Mass Effect franchise. Bioware have created a wonderful universe rivalling that of Star Trek and Star Wars with a lot of attention to detail, amazing backstory and a massive array of wonderful characters with top-notch actors. It also goes a long way to make it feel like it's your story, and that Commander Shepard is your Shepard. It is full of very emotional moments and is the only video game that made me feel like crying (in a good way) because of how events have progressed.

I wasn't keen on just having Mass Effect 3 on the Wii U from the start. When the Wii U was announced, the tablet looked great for giving commands for your squadmates. I told myself that if Bioware released a Mass Effect Trilogy on Wii U, I would gladly buy it again. So here we are. The Trilogy has been announced. But it's not on the Wii U.

Zechs Merquise - N-Europe Forum Member

I was definitely interested in Mass Effect 3. I'm a Nintendo gamer, so I've never played a ME game and have heard many good things about them. So although it wasn't going to be a launch day purchase for me, it would definitely have been a game I would have picked up in the launch window and happily paid full price for.

With the announcement of Mass Effect Trilogy (MET) for the PS3 and 360 the majority of gamers who were going to pick up ME3 on Wii U will no doubt be put off. Any hardcore fans can now purchase the box set and play them all again. The guy who missed ME3 and was curious about the special edition can now get all three and complete his collection that way. Finally there's the Nintendo fan who I'm sure will also be put off buying this as they know they're being given the short end of the stick and will want to boycott ME3.

It's not just the fact it's happening but it's the pricing and the timing. ME3 on Wii U is going to be released after MET comes out on the other systems. What's more both titles will be the same price. So consumers are given the choice of getting ME3 on its own or getting all three ME games together for the same price [ed: assuming they own another console].

I'm not just angered about the fact that already the Wii U is being given the shaft by EA, but I'm also worried by what the effects of this may be.

If ME3 sells badly on the Wii U I can imagine EA citing it as a reason for reducing support for the system. Conversely, and equally as worrying, if ME3 did still sell well it would send the message that the Wii U is system where the users are grateful for anything they get which justifies EA giving Nintendo gamers a raw deal again in the future.

João Lopes - N-Europe Staff

For some reason, I never played Mass Effect, so I wasn't planning on picking up the Wii U version of the latest game right now. If a trilogy pack came out it would be the perfect opportunity to finally play the series and I'm sure I'm not the only one in this position.

In a series that's new to Nintendo consoles, it's reasonable to conclude that there are some people who are new to it and would welcome the chance to have all three in one tidy package, especially when talking about three games intricately connected by story.

So, instead of catering to a new crowd and creating interest in the series with a product that has a lot of bang for the buck and instead of cutting costs, manpower and time by releasing the same game on three consoles, EA decided to undermine the sales of one of their own products and the efforts of the team behind it, which seem to be doing a solid job.

Is this new though? Konami showed Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, containing Metal Gear Solid 2, 3, Peace Walker, Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2 for PS3, Xbox 360 and Vita before the launch of Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D for 3DS.

Capcom announced that Resident Evil 4 would also come out on PlayStation 2, a game so GameCube exclusive, the director Shinji Mikami "vowed" to cut his head off if it ever came out on another console. This announcement came two months before its release on GameCube.

I don't believe this history of 3rd parties undermining the launch and sales of their own titles on Nintendo consoles to be a conspiracy or something done out of hatred for Nintendo, publishers only see one thing: money. To me, this is simply a case of completely atrocious management and lack of vision. We've seen this before and know where it leads, we saw the "test games", the shoddy ports, the lack of ports and the absence of marketing.

Nintendo certainly puts itself in a very uncomfortable position when it comes to third parties, but these are also to blame for all the money they leave on the table. It's obvious that most publishers have absolutely no idea how to deal with Nintendo consoles and their audience and I can even understand that it's hard to think outside of the box and break the status-quo, but I still hoped that the executives who rake in the dough would avoid making the most obviously stupid decisions that stop them from raking in even more dough.

So in the end, I'm just worried about you, the guy in the $5,000 suit making your decisions in a fancy office with a great view of the city: don't you want to make more money? Come on!

Kav82 - N-Europe Forum Member

1. Yes, I was going to pick this up.

2. Yes, I have changed my mind. I'm not paying the same price for one third of the content!

3. EA have seriously made a huge error here and it just leaves me dumbfounded. I just don't know what to say to this...

DeathJam - N-Europe Forum Member

1. Was never going to buy it as I have the PC versions and care about the decisions I made carrying onto the next game.

2. IF I had been planning to get it, this would have totally changed my mind, and would have made me buy it on the PC or PS3 as I do care about the value I am getting for the cash I spend.

3. Personally I am confused as to the point of such a venture from a business point of view, unless EA plan to release a trilogy of the games in the future for the Wii U, depending on how well ME3 sells. Either way, EA are just taking advantage of consumers whom do not know of the ME3 universe, how it works, and it's availability on the consoles and pc.

Iun Hockley - N-Europe Staff

As much as I love the Mass Effect Universe, Mass Effect 3 was a huge disappointment for me - enough has been said about the ending for it to be unnecessary to re-tread that ground. I would, however, be willing to purchase this if all DLC was included on the game disc. I live in China and it's an absolute nightmare for me to get either an un-modded console or an internet connection on a modded console, therefore I have to miss out on all internet-based content for absolutely everything on my home consoles.

That said, there's no way that this is a priority purchase for me: a remake, even if it is a nice, shiny one with extra bells and whistles is STILL a remake of game that will be a year old by the time I get hold of it. Maybe I will pick it up when the price drops, but frankly there are other games I want to play on day one.

Dcubed - N-Europe Forum Member

I have no interest in the series or any of EA's other titles, despite owning every console, and did not intend to pick up the Wii U version.

However I see this action as a complete insult to me, fans of the series who were interested in the Wii U version and to Nintendo themselves.

Whether it's being done on purpose or not, EA has set this game up to fail and I view this as a no win scenario for Wii U owners.

If it succeeds, then EA will conclude that they can get away with low quality efforts for Wii U in the future. If it fails (which is the likely scenario), they will probably cut off any future noteworthy support completely.

It's the same garbage Wii owners were fed by the 3rd parties who refused to give the console any significant support. I don't expect EA to give the Wii U the time of day and that's fine by me; I'll just give my money to the publishers and developers who actually choose to give the console solid support (and the Wii U's lineup looks just fine even without them)

Wii got a lot of quality 3rd party games, despite it being snubbed from the likes of EA and Take Two. If the Wii U's 3rd party support no better or only slightly better then we'll still have a lot of quality titles to look forward to - despite the lack of effort from the likes of EA.

Those are some of the thoughts of our Staff and Reader/Forum members. What do you think? Why not leave your thoughts in a comment below or join up on the forums and follow the discussion over there.