http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/gaming/2013/04/03/disney-lucasarts-closing-star-wars/2050055/
To summarize, Disney has decided to close LucasArts, laying off 150+ people, and has effectively cancelled the games that were in production. This means 1313 and the rumored First Assault are dead. Instead of creating their own games, it seems Disney is going to license out the Star Wars brand (like Lucas did a lot in the past) and have other developers make games for it.
Sucks that we're losing 1313, which sounded like it was going to be a really good game, but we might see more Star Wars titles released because of this change. After all, the JK-series, BF-series, KOTOR-series, etc, etc. were all produced by third party studios. Maybe we'll see a bit of a renaissance as far as Star Wars games are concerned
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As long as a new JK-style game comes out soonish, I'm good. Or a flight sim.
Sort of a slap in the face, as far as I'm concerned, but it does give great opportunity for either more or better made games to come out. As Tarax said, a new flight sim would be grand.
Well... Look at TOR.
That was pretty much all Bioware...(and then EA ruining it) .. and that worked out well.
So, maybe developers like Bethseda will pick up on a license. There is some hope, it just sucks that those people lost their jobs. Also, Bounty Hunters :'(.
I have always liked all of the Star Wars games developed by Bioware, although I agree that EA is getting greedy with their releases. Although I am sad to see that 1313 will likely never resume development, as well as First Assault (Of which I haven't even heard of until now.) A flight sim would be grand, as would a new epic lightsaber-battle sim like the JK series. Good thing I still have a copy of the Monkey Island series...
Lame
Hmm... maybe Disney will do the smart thing and A; contract Obsidian, then B; GIVE THEM A DECENT DEVELOPMENT TIME.
The Elder Scrolls: Star Wars
I'd melt!
KOTOR II, anyone?
Flame-resistant jacket
I jest.
Yech... KOTOR2... it made me very sad in my pantaloons.
Beyond that though, this is entirely a wait and see thing, in my view. LA, while iconic, hadn't had an in-house produced hit in years. I thought that 1313 was going to reverse that trend, but who knows, maybe the 1313 team will work out a deal where they set up a new shop and they get contracted out (I see that as highly, highly doubtful.)
TIE 2 would be Amazing, but I have long since given up hope of that.
They did make The Force Unleashed, which was fun... if sadly not designed for DB purposes (MP). And the original Dark Forces/Jedi Knight, which are just fond memories now :P
suxs to see 1313 go but as long as someone makes a decent flight sim, ie TIE2, i would forgive them :D
also suxs Disney did not move the workers into there company, some of thous guys/gals have major experiences and skills to offer up, perhaps to another company...
I'm sure they'll get snatched up. Arenanet (guild wars 1/2) tweeted that they were hiring as a response to the news about the layoffs.
It's nice to see some of the other companies willing to lend a hand. Always liked Arenanet as a developer.
Also, I think there was a mod floating around somewhere that converts a game called 'freelancer' (I have yet to even find a place to get this game) into a Star Wars flight sim. At the moment, i'm playing around with a mod for Sins of a Solar Empire that converts it into the Star Wars universe.
Hopefully we'll see some new titles within the next few years worth looking into (And hopefully geared towards DB purposes.) If Bioware is contracted again (Or Obsidian is given a nice timeframe,) hopefully we can see more story-driven titles, as well.
I'm not sure you can say "it's EA just being greedy." EA has a a Board of Directors who answer to shareholders. And when you're in that position. You have to maximize profits for your shareholders. It's great to think about the consumer, but if the consumer's desires are being met at the cost of shareholder equity, you're going to find your company's net worth plummet and have a hell of a time raising capital. And this move, by Disney, is being scrutinized by its shareholders. As a DIS stockholder, I think it's great. LA was just a giant hemorrhage in the LF portfolio that was propped up by the parent company.
This move, to make LA a licensure, means that DIS can reap rewards off of other people taking the risk on AAA game development. Look at Ubisoft and EA. They had 3% and 7% profit overall in 2011. In EA's case they spent upwards of $40M to make a $56M profit on ME3. If DIS had decided to keep LA operating, with those kinds of numbers from the "big" gaming companies floated around, the shareholders would not be nearly as complacent as they were during the March meeting.
So, hey. Let someone else take the risk on developing an AAA title and I can reap the equity rewards as a shareholder? Totally for it? As a DB member? I'm a little wary of what will come down the pipe, because DIS made large gestures last year towards mobile/casual gaming.