Disney Shuts Down LucasArts

[DizCaptain]

It's a sad day for us gamers.... Read here:

http://kotaku.com/disney-shuts-down-lucasarts-468473749

 

[ChoppityChops]

It's a shame for the 150 people who were laid off, but the last good internally developed Star Wars game was Force Unleashed, which was only "ehhh" IMHO. I'm hoping that the licensing will bring back into play stuff like Battlefront 3, which was a licensed dev, and maybe another KotOR.

 

[DizCaptain]

It's a shame for the 150 people who were laid off, but the last good internally developed Star Wars game was Force Unleashed, which was only "ehhh" IMHO. I'm hoping that the licensing will bring back into play stuff like Battlefront 3, which was a licensed dev, and maybe another KotOR.

Exactly my thoughts. LucasArts went into a decline after Force Unleashed (which I also thought was only eh), and became a liability for Disney upon acquisition. I'd do anything for Disney to find a good developer to license Battlefront 3 to since that's one of my favorite game series (I still play BF2 today).

 

[Pumbaa7287]

I just recently bought a refurb PS2 so I could play BF and BF2 again, so if this move gets me a BF3 I will be ecstatic. If not, and it's more cost-cutting, I will not be a happy pumbaa.

 

[wiigirl]

I am a bit sad. Some of my favorite games growing up were made by LucasArts.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I am a bit sad. Some of my favorite games growing up were made by LucasArts.

so where mine....

only they were X-wing and Rebellion...

this was coming for a longtime. there apparently isn't any money in games anymore - thanks to apple, android, and moronic pay as you go app type things - so there was no interest or investment. And platform games are basically 1,000 different takes on the same shooters.

sad for some...a mercy killing for me. ( i haven't had times to play games in years...just an observation)

 

[tjkraz]

I, too, grew up on games like X-Wing and Dark Forces (one of the first of the "shooter" genre.) But as the article states, LucasArts was already a shell of its former self.

My kids fell in love with the LEGO Star Wars games but those were externally developed. The article mentions Star Wars Battlefront and Knights of the Old Republic as also being external. I'm no expert but those seem like the only SW titles worth mentioning from the last decade.

Sad to see the company go but hopefully this will lead to some better SW content in the future.

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

It's a sad day for us gamers.... Read here:

http://kotaku.com/disney-shuts-down-lucasarts-468473749

~I do feel bad about the lay-offs, but hopefully it's a step in the right direction.

 

[Twin Dad]

I loved Rebellion and X-Wing too. I liked the idea behind The Force Unleashed but felt it was far too short. Lucas Arts seemed to be stuck in neutral the last several years. I'm not surprised by this move. What surprises me is how fast Disney is streamlining their new acquisition. Less than six months after purchasing LucasFilm, Disney has relaunched the film franchise, canceled The Clone Wars, delayed Detours and the 3D rereleases, and now shut down LucasArts. That doesn't include the rumor mill exploding over Star Wars land at the Disney Parks. Disney got their new toy and they are not hesitating to use it.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

What surprises me is how fast Disney is streamlining their new acquisition. Less than six months after purchasing LucasFilm, Disney has relaunched the film franchise, canceled The Clone Wars, delayed Detours and the 3D rereleases, and now shut down LucasArts. That doesn't include the rumor mill exploding over Star Wars land at the Disney Parks. Disney got their new toy and they are not hesitating to use it.

I think that just shows that Disney was looking at Star Wars/ Lucasfilm like most died in the wool original fans like myself were and thinking:
This thing was horribly off the rails. Run by the Hollywood equivalents of Moe, Larry, and Schemp (Lucas couldn't find anybody with Curley's talent level)

Sci-fi isn't what it used to be...you can do fantastic movie quality TV with good stories and characters...like battlestar galactica and B5...among others...and movies sell themselves and are highly profitable so there no problem getting money to make good pictures either....it's a mainstream money maker, not for geeks locked up in their rooms.

But Lucas resorted to cheap as dirt parlor tricks and just whoring his franchises for every penny...

If Disney hadn't bought him out...I would have preferred that lucas go out of business instead of constant quality erosion.

Disney has made all the right moves so far.

 

[tjkraz]

I think that just shows that Disney was looking at Star Wars/ Lucasfilm like most died in the wool original fans like myself were and thinking:
This thing was horribly off the rails. Run by the Hollywood equivalents of Moe, Larry, and Schemp (Lucas couldn't find anybody with Curley's talent level)

Hard to argue with that.

It also seems like Disney is circling the wagons around this new trilogy (and likely other spinoffs) they have planned. Lucas allowed projects to grow out of this "expanded universe" which encompassed not only multiple generations but even different millennia. It's my understanding that some of the novels, comics and video games are set thousands of years before the films.

My suspicion is that Disney wants all attention focused on the timeframe immediately surrounding the upcoming films. Video games, cartoons and other media will point in that direction, so that they can appeal to as many casual fans as possible.

 

[mm1971]

This will actually be a positive for the Star Wars gaming titles. They will license the rights and it will force (no pun intended) the licensee to do a better job in design to generate the sales. The recent games were just so-so. Let a designer with more experience and better assets design and market the games while you collect the license fees. Win-win in my opinion.

 

[Tlrhodes]

The writing had been on the wall for years...the only thing that kept Lucasarts open was George's complacency. The Force Unleashed (the first one, definitely not the second one) was the only decent thing they have produced in a long time.

What surprises me is how fast Disney is streamlining their new acquisition. Less than six months after purchasing LucasFilm, Disney has relaunched the film franchise, canceled The Clone Wars, delayed Detours and the 3D rereleases, and now shut down LucasArts.

I don't find this all that surprising. These types of changes had been needed for a long time. Disney knew they would need to make changes to the Lucas empire...why wait?

 

[Brocktoon]

Yep, I feel bad for the jobs lost, but really, most of the great games were 3rd party anyway:

X-Wing / TIE Fighter game series - Totally Games
Jedi Knight - Raven Soft
Battlefront games - Pandemic
Knights of the Old Republic - Bioware

Seems like a decent business move, even though it puts more on the unemployment line

 

[MouseketeerMMC]

They will license the rights and it will force (no pun intended) the licensee to do a better job in design to generate the sales.

I think the license will go to highest bidder.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I think the license will go to highest bidder.

Only if you're using 100% of the cases in Disney's history to base your judgement upon...

 

[tjkraz]

I think the license will go to highest bidder.

There's no question Disney will dictate terms. But they will also have developers lining up to pitch ideas.

In the end, a better approach than expecting LucasArts to develop quality products internally with whatever staff Disney is willing to provide.

 

[JoeKir]

Was a little upset to hear this, but totally understand it.

Day of the Tentacle is by far a favourite of mine, and definitely have it installed on my iPad and iPhone (although I really wish they would release an official version - guess that's off the table now )

Secret of Monkey Island 1 and 2 were pretty awesome as well. Oh well, here's hoping we get something awesome out of this!

 

[DCTooTall]

Was a little upset to hear this, but totally understand it.

Day of the Tentacle is by far a favourite of mine, and definitely have it installed on my iPad and iPhone (although I really wish they would release an official version - guess that's off the table now )

Secret of Monkey Island 1 and 2 were pretty awesome as well. Oh well, here's hoping we get something awesome out of this!

Oh crap....

Guess that means no more special editions of the classic "Lucasfilm Games" Graphic Adventures.


They were great back in the classic Graphic Adventure era, From Maniac Mansion and Loom all the way up to Grim Fandango.... but once that game genre started to die, things just weren't the same.


Honestly, It's almost like Sierra Online in that regard....Without having daddy owning Star Wars to keep them relevant.

 

[tjkraz]

Oh crap....

Guess that means no more special editions of the classic "Lucasfilm Games" Graphic Adventures.

Not if there's money to be made in those iOS/Android ports. Disney still owns the intellectual property. All they need to do is farm-out the conversion to Disney Interactive or some third party.