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Darth Vader: The Game™

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/17/te...in&oref=slogin

An excerpt of the article (click on the link for more):

Quote:

SAN FRANCISCO — In September 2004, Jim Ward met with the director George Lucas at his office at Skywalker Ranch near here. At the time, LucasArts, the video game company created by Mr. Lucas in 1982 and run by Mr. Ward, was in disarray. The division was making too many mediocre "Star Wars" games, it was rife with internal rivalries and it was in such lackluster financial shape that bonuses for employees were scrapped that year.
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/...lucas.1901.jpg

Mr. Ward, a veteran Lucasfilm marketing executive who had been named president of LucasArts only four months earlier, was there to present Mr. Lucas with a business plan, but he had a few questions of his own. Most important, did Mr. Lucas have the desire to turn LucasArts into one of the top five video game publishers? Indeed, Mr. Lucas said, he did.
"We can do this ourselves," Mr. Ward recalled Mr. Lucas telling him. "We will put our resources behind this."

LucasArts is not No. 5 yet. But last year it ranked No. 8 in sales, up from No. 13 a year earlier, according to the NPD Group. And, Mr. Ward, 46, is being credited with a turnaround. While No. 8 may seem low in an industry obsessed with No. 1, LucasArts got there selling a fraction of the games its competitors did.

The success was buoyed by two new "Star Wars" games, Star Wars Battlefront II and Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith, which were the second- and third-top-selling games last year, after Madden N.F.L. 2006, according to NPD. And LucasArts had a hit with Mercenaries, a war game published by LucasArts and developed by Pandemic Studios that became the best seller based on a new property. And there are more non-"Star Wars" games on the way, including one based on the Indiana Jones character.

Analysts and others in the industry agree it is a promising turn for LucasArts and, in particular, Mr. Ward. But his most challenging days may be ahead. The video game industry has been in the doldrums for months; video game sales are lagging as consumers wait to buy the next generation of consoles, including the PlayStation 3.

And perhaps most important, Mr. Lucas has no plans to make any more "Star Wars" movies. That means LucasArts will have to work that much harder to come up with ideas of its own. "We are not the 'Star Wars' game company," said Micheline Chau, president of Lucasfilm. "And Jim knows what he has to do."

While the games division makes up about 25 percent of overall revenue for Lucasfilm, Ms. Chau said, it accounts for only 10 percent of the company's operating profit. This is why one of Mr. Ward's main goals is to create original franchises.

"The 'Star Wars' brand is a massive advantage, but they are going to have to market new innovation," said John Riccitiello, a partner at the video game investor Elevation Partners, who has known Mr. Ward for several years. "It's early. It may take another five years for their story to develop, but it is going to be interesting."

Looks like LA has finally embraced the idea of exploiting every possible aspect of Star Wars for all eternity :shifty: Perhaps I'm wrong, but I doubt this will be much more than a mediocre "action-adventure".

edit: oh and the Darth Vader bit for you lazy people ;)

Quote:

Their excitement was palpable on a recent afternoon, when Mr. Ward, Mr. Hirschmann and Haden Blackman, the project leader of a forthcoming "Star Wars" game, reviewed all of the company's recent projects. Mr. Blackman outlined a new storyline that delved deeper into Darth Vader's history.
Mr. Hirschmann later demonstrated a test game, shouting and jumping each time a storm trooper tumbled onscreen, the character barely catching his fingers on the pixel ledge. And he gleefully explained how researchers had tracked down images of San Francisco buildings from 1915 for the future Indiana Jones game.

Would be cool if it was on the revolution.

Especialy if you could grab people by the throat with the force thingy and swing them about using the revolution controller....that would be awesome, It would be like a Dismount game :D

I would rather have a JarJar:The Game tm. The whole point of the game would be to ram jarjar into the wall till he bleeds to death using the revolution controller. Then you make him take his very long tongue, and hang himself with it. What a sweet ending :z

Will the new Indy game be a tie-in with the new movie? In that case, we'll know that the movie is set pre-WW2 and around 1915.

I am a detective.

Don't worry! I sence a never ending wave of Star Wars titles for years to come.
Titles like:

-Death Star Tycoon
-The Sims 2: Star Wars edition
-Star Wars: Combat evolved
-Yoda Force Age
-Tom Clancy's Dark Forces: Jedi Knight4: Outcast from the Jedi Academy 2: The revenge of the Siths
-Star Wars: Droid Builder
-Star Wars Farmer
-You don't know Star Wars!
-...etc

Quote:

"We are not the 'Star Wars' game company,"

Oh my, I never laughed so hard , and then cried ,and then laughed again ... and then cried again. :frusty:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flux

Will the new Indy game be a tie-in with the new movie? In that case, we'll know that the movie is set pre-WW2 and around 1915.

I am a detective.

How are they going to manage that?

An Indy movie needs to have Harrison Ford :frown:

So much for LA changing their focus.

Quote:

Originally Posted by insane_cobra

So much for LA changing their focus.

Yep, I guess the lure of the dark side was just too much for them to handle :P I could forgive them if they'd let BW or Obsidian make another great KOTOR/similar-quality game, though :D Yes, I'm a KOTOR-whore.

More star wars crap. :P

With the new tech that LEC is working on with Natural Motion, all of a sudden these games have a lot more potential.

Nah, they'll probably just look better and more natural. Whatever. It's fine, but won't make up for boring gameplay, cliched stories and unimaginative game design.

Quote:

Originally Posted by XiaNaphryz

With the new tech that LEC is working on with Natural Motion, all of a sudden these games have a lot more potential.

The opposite of my thoughts exactly :D

First of all, as far as I know, the new Indy movie is taking place after WW2, in the 1950s I think.

Secondly, as far as LucasArts being the Star Wars company........I have no problem with them producing Star Wars games, as long as they produce other things as well. After all, they wouldn't exist without Star Wars. And furthermore, the last several Star Wars games have been quality games -- although I don't really like FPS games, Republic Commando was supposedly an incredible game and pretty innovative. Knights of the Old Republic was good, and Empire at War is a solid game -- it has some flaws, but it also has a lot of potential, and if they release a sequel it could be very very good.

It's not as if they stopped making adventure games because of Star Wars. In fact, they were making their best Star Wars games while they were making those great adventures......TIE Fighter was released in 1993 I think and it's probably one of the top 10 PC games ever made.

Anyways, my point is that Star Wars games themselves aren't the problem. The problem was CRAPPY Star Wars games, which they didn't always make. The problem was dumb business decisions and poor game design, because they've shown they're capable of making excellent Star Wars games in the past, and are starting to do so again. I'm just hoping this means they'll also spread out and start making other quality games too, and that's what this article suggests.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karmillo

Especialy if you could grab people by the throat with the force thingy and swing them about using the revolution controller

Ooooh, I really like that idea! Now I have an urge to force-choke Admiral Motti using the revolution controler, while saying "I find your lack of faith disturbing..."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jat316sob

Ooooh, I really like that idea! Now I have an urge to force-choke Admiral Motti using the revolution controler, while saying "I find your lack of faith disturbing..."

It would be kinda like this game series :D

^ With the Revolution's inferior graphics, sure :D

:P Nah I think revolution games will be surprisingly beautiful, perhaps not so much as its competition, but enough to give them a run for their money. If there's one thing I've learned about 'the industry', it's not to underestimate Nintendo ;)