The fallout from Mass Effect 3‘s controversial ending still hasn’t dissipated from some corners of the Internet, and those still angrily believing they were misled by Electronic Arts have suffered a dint in their argument today — Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority has sided with the company.
While a significant number of players felt that their choices in the game did not influence it as promised, the ASA (which was contacted along with other groups) found all three of ME3‘s endings “thematically quite different,” certainly different enough to lend credence to EA’s promise that the choices influenced the conclusion.
The ASA said it does understand why some customers felt lied to, but that the advertising, as presented, was not false. This decision runs counter to the Better Business Bureau’s decision, which concluded EA told a naughty fib.
While I personally get several of the problems people had with Mass Effect 3, the thought of getting EA caught on false advertising charges always seemed a bit too far of a stretch. At the end of the day, the company said you could make choices that changed the ending, and that is what you got. The endings weren’t that great, and to dislike that fact is legitimate, but EA’s marketing folks didn’t exactly lie. They just didn’t stop people taking what they said and imagining something grander.
Mass Effect 3 advertising was not misleading, determines ASA [Gamasutra]
