The whole thing just reeks of stupid decisions by EA. Just look at the timeline.
1) The guys that did Mass Effect want to do a new IP. Neat, but we can't be without the big IP, so find someone else to work on it
2) Take the studio that made such, uh, "hits" as Boogie Superstar, Spore Hero and The Sims 3: High-End Loft Stuff and get them to do ME3 multiplayer content
3) You're now ready to make a big game after that string of successes, clearly! Start work in 2012 on the new Mass Effect
4) Several years pass without a peep
5) It's 2017 and the game still isn't done. Considering the unfinished animation, bugs galore and already said character creation wasn't finished and will be patched, but EA has given them 5 years and they need it out this financial year
What a mess.