My main gripe with modern EA games is the need to signup for their own online account service, and the fact that they really don't make that great games anymore.

But with the older games getting released here on GOG, they seem to be cooperative in that regards, so no reason to hate them.

Westwood killed Westwood....

Why doesn't anyone blame Bioware for that?
They made the game and the same could be said about Dragon Age 2.

Personally, I don't think it was that bad. It's an ending that leaves a lot open for interpretation. I find it more interesting to imagine the whole thing was just some kind of indotrination virtual reality thing. Simply saying "they messed up" feels rather disrespectful and frankly boring, methinks. Sure, they may actually have messed up, but isn't it more fun to find an explination in the actual game universe rather than beyond it? I for one am not about to let a five minute downer destroy an entire franchise that I have loved for years. Same thing with TV shows like Lost or Battlestar Galactica. It is much more interesting to dream and imagine rather than rage.
I got my money's worth, if I could go back in time, I would buy and play it all over again even knowing what I know now. I will still do the latter, for sure.

In my opinion. :-)

Oh, Bioware get their fair share of the blame, alright. Thing is, though, that many people believe that the recent problems at Bioware really started when EA bought them.

With a company history that EA has Bioware should have known better, this is like blaming the devil that he is evil.

The problem is that, AFAIK (!), Bioware were in danger of going belly-up before EA acquired them. After Jade Empire did not meet expectations, they apparently had no choice but to attach the company to a big publisher. It saved them for the time being and enabled them to finally release DA:O and ME.

Question is: how long can BW keep this up, with all the controversy surrounding Bioware for more than a year now? There's also the fact that, despite all the hype and huge marketing effort, their recent games do not appear to be doing all that great. :/ Makes me wonder how long BW can stay afloat.

EA buying Bioware was not the problem, but their shift in corporate policies was. EA was the Dr Evil for a longest time but for a good few years. When Riccitiello took over in 2007 they were gaining a lot of good press for things like Mirror's Edge and encouraging stuff like that. Unfortunately a lot of the stuff EA did around that time was not that successful, and they've shifted more back into the mode they had before 2007.

I look at it like Pixar and Disney. First while was golden, and they still make some good stuff, but they seem to be on a decline, culminating in making stuff like Cars 2 and Monster's University.
No, Bioware was fine, they partnered up with Pandemic and another firm but the other firm was bought out by EA. Was not a matter of Bioware needing a publisher. They didn't really have much choice in the matter, their deals with Pandemic and the other firm didn't really give them any wiggle room. They hadn't even released a game since their partnership with Pandemic.