Can a Mass Effect like game be successful with younger and casual gamers?

[CheerfulAshlee]

Younger gamers don't have a good space game like Mass Effect. I imagine Freddie Prinze Jr would love to introduce his kids to Mass Effect but the M rating is a problem.

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Can a Mass Effect game like aimed at a broader audience be successful?

Would moral choices bore younger gamers and the Nintendo fanbase so the story would have to be linear?

Should romance be taken out or would you include toned down romances like they have in The Old Republic?

Would interpersonal relationships involving spaceship crews be boring?

There are also serious themes like racism, politics, and science. Can you tell an exciting story about characters of different backgrounds embarking on an epic journey without all that serious stuff?

I only played the first ME. I didn't care about the sci fi or the moral choices as much as the romance and relationships you can build with your crew.

 

[Romaki]

Well, kids have Mass Effect. It might not be the most appropiate, but it's not like kids are just going to play kids-friendly games. As a kid I watched my sister play the original Tomb Raider series and I myself started playing Grand Theft Auto pretty young as well. You definitely need to be of a certain age to really follow something storydriven, but ME has gameplay that many kids enjoy.

We really shouldn't treat kids and casual gamers like they aren't capable of making their own decisions or understanding their own taste in entertainment. Most of them don't just play Nintendo, if they like sci-fi they'll surely know of Mass Effect and can choose to play it or not. Should there be a GA/Casual Mass Effect? No, there should be original titles made out of passion.

 

[fenris]

Well, kids have Mass Effect. It might not be the most appropiate, but it's not like kids are just going to play kids-friendly games. As a kid I watched my sister play the original Tomb Raider series and I myself started playing Grand Theft Auto pretty young as well. You definitely need to be of a certain age to really follow something storydriven, but ME has gameplay that many kids enjoy.

We really shouldn't treat kids and casual gamers like they aren't capable of making their own decisions or understanding their own taste in entertainment. Most of them don't just play Nintendo, if they like sci-fi they'll surely know of Mass Effect and can choose to play it or not. Should there be a GA/Casual Mass Effect? No, there should be original titles made out of passion.

This! If Mass Effect had been a thing when I was a little kid, I probably would've ended up watching my dad play it, and then played it myself when I got older. That's what happened with Diablo and Resident Evil - I watched my dad play them when I was like 8, then tried them myself in middle/high school. I was a mature enough kid that it didn't give me nightmares or anything (though some of Birkin's transformations did creep me out a little bit, and I was scared enough of the Butcher that I would start the game over repeatedly until I got a world state where his quest didn't appear). Some kids just handle "grownup" material better than others, and it should be up to them and their parents to dictate their media consumption.