Retake Mass Effect 3 protest claims victory

The Retake Mass Effect campaign has come to a close, ending a long-standing protest against the ending of Mass Effect 3.

After achieving their end goal of raising $80,000, which will be donated to the gaming charity Child's Play, movement spokesperson Robb declared the protest "victorious".

For the past few weeks, the Retake Mass Effect protest has been appealing for funds to get BioWare's attention that fans of the series aren't happy with the way the developers handled the ending of Mass Effect 3.

In a post on the campaign's website, Robb said the decision was made following BioWare co-founder Ray Muzyka's promise that the development team was working on "content initiatives" to answer questions left by the open-ended, controversial Mass Effect 3 ending.

This, coupled with some concerns expressed by charity organizer Penny Arcade have brought the high-profile, but somewhat debatable protest to an end.

"I don't believe anyone can or should consider this effort to have been anything but spectacularly successful. As evidenced by the statement from Dr. Myzuka yesterday, we have made our voices heard," said Robb. "Those of you here have taken special care to be heard in a polite, positive manner, and I believe that this is a major contributor to that success."

"We have shown our sincerity and passion. We have brought positive attention to the Retake Mass Effect movement."

"Make no mistake. This effort has been victorious," he emphasized.

Robb did say that the Retake Mass Effect movement is not over "by any means".

"Dr. Myzuka's statement was welcome, but did not directly address our concerns. You have been heard. Now it is time to make sure they get the details right."

Penny Arcade recently posted on their blog that many fans who had donated to the charity were confused as to where their money was going.  Apparently, some people thought the money given was to go towards a new ending of Mass Effect, and not a charity.

While Penny Arcade supported the cause, it has drawn up a new policy as a result of the attention.  Child's Play can not be a tool to draw attention to a cause.  Instead, Child's Play must be the cause.

"Nothing like this has ever happened in the almost ten years the charity has been running," Jerry "Tycho" Holkins wrote on the blog, "so it kind of threw me for a loop."