BioWare Considering Dragon Age: Origins, Jade Empire, and Mass Effect for Handhelds

Speaking exclusively to Eurogamer Germany, BioWare’s Miles Holmes stated that the developer is considering doing DS versions of Mass Effect, Jade Empire, Dragon Age: Origins, and possibly a few others.

Holmes, who is the lead designer of the upcoming Sonic Chronicles (DS), is looking at games that will reinforce the franchise  and bring the handheld team’s goal of running at full capacity to fruition.

“I tell you which one I would want. I want the Mass Effect one. We have a lot of big plans for Mass Effect. Having a DS version would be an awesome way to keep interest alive and keep it going in addition to Mass Effect 2.”

Purchased by Electronic Arts last October, BioWare is hoping that Sonic Chronicles, slated for a September 26 release, is a way to get the handheld division off and running. Holmes’ thinking is similar to Mark Darrah, fellow Sonic Chronicles team member who stated back in June that BioWare was looking into the possibility of developing titles for the PSP and WIi in order to broaden their horizons a bit.

While the idea of bringing RPGs Jade Empire and Dragon Age:Origins to handhelds seems plausible, one would think that bringing such a large and detailed game like Mass Effect to the DS would be a massive undertaking. Maybe if they were to make the game a “lost chapter” of sorts it could work, but as a whole, the original port would just be too time consuming for handhelds. Titles that can be completed in one to three days tops are more marketable on a casual gaming systems such as the Nintendo DS and PSP, not huge open-ended RPGs like Mass Effect.