I don’t even have words. Nimoy drops the f-bomb, Star Trek references everywhere. Incredible.
Assorted thoughts on the Lucasfilm/EA exclusive game deal
Reaction to yesterday’s news that Lucasfilm will be licensing the Star Wars IP exclusively to publisher Electronic Arts was, to put it mildly, a mixed bag. First off were people happy that there were going to be new Star Wars games at all. Then there was the anti-EA crowd upset that Disney was licensing to the least popular company in the gaming industry. So what is it? Good news for fans, or Disney making a mistake and hurting fans?
Some assorted thoughts…
- Disney and Lucasfilm were never going to break things up and offer rights individually on a per-game basis. There’s more leverage in locking a company up in on an exclusive multi-year deal. Because of this, only two publishers were realistic options: Electronic Arts and Activision. Given that neither company is particularly well regarded in gaming circles, it’s pretty much a pick-your-poison. For me, Electronic Arts has the better game developers in its portfolio so going with them is far and away the preferable option.
- While Electronic Arts is hated by gamers (some would say irrationally hated), they’ve got fantastic game developers working under them. From the onset, they’ve announced that Bioware, DICE, and Visceral Games are going to be working on future Star Wars titles. This is good news. These are studios that have produced some fantastic products and are capable of doing great things with the Star Wars IP.
- Yes, even Bioware is a fantastic studio. Whether or not you liked the ending to Mass Effect 3, they are a developer that has consistently put out above-average games that have featured top-notch writing efforts to create deeply immersive games. Knights of the Old Republic 3? Maybe that’s finally back on the table now that Lucasarts isn’t pulling the strings. Maybe it means a single-player RPG experience in a completely different era. Either way, it’s exciting and turning Bioware loose on a new Star Wars title is great news.
- For fans that have long wished for Battlefront III, this news is nothing short of a miracle. DICE is the company that produces the Battlefield titles, multiplayer online shooter titles with a remarkably similar feel to the Battlefront games. Critically lauded multiplayer online shooter titles along with warzone cheats for all first-person shooter games, I might add. You might not get Battlefront III specifically, but I’d say odds are high you’re going to get a game remarkably similar to it.
- Visceral Games is responsible for the acclaimed Dead Space games, a franchise that’s textbook core market. They’ve shown they can do atmospheric titles that can push the action angle. Good fit for Star Wars? I think so.
- Disney and Lucasfilm were never going to leave money from the core gaming market on the table. Claims that they would abandon more grown-up titles to only produce Facebook and iOS titles were simply overreaction to the news that LucasArts was closing down. Maybe it’s time we recognize that Disney isn’t out to make Star Wars fans miserable by cancelling everything we love and acknowledge they just might know what they’re doing?
- LucasArts was having an increasingly difficult time producing games, so Disney handing the IP off to a company with a stable of high-quality developers was not only a smart business decision, it was a good gesture to fans. At the very least, it’s hard to get much worse than where the IP has been. It’s been a long time since the last critically acclaimed Star Wars title. Giving Electronic Arts a go might be just what the franchise needs to produce something special again.
Boil it down and I just can’t find much to be upset about. There is way more good news than there is bad news involved in this announcement. As of right now, three top-notch studios are going to get to work on the Star Wars IP and I, for one, can’t wait to see what they do with it.
Review: Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void
Into the Void is unlike any Star Wars book you’ve ever read before and that’s not a bad thing. In fact, it turns out to be a rather good thing.
Set over 25,000 years before the Skywalkers were playing leading roles on the galactic stage, Tim Lebbon adds to this new era in the Star Wars universe with the tale of Lanoree Brock, a Je’daii Ranger. She has been summoned by the Je’daii Council to embark on a mission to stop one man from trying to open a hypergate and incidentally destroy the entire Tythan star system. It is a mission of utmost importance. As if the mission wasn’t pressure enough, the Council reveals that she has been chosen for the job because the man is believed to be Dalien Brock, her brother thought to be dead for years.
Lucasfilm Licensing selects Electronic Arts for exclusive multi-year game deal
When LucasArts was closed down, Disney and Lucasfilm said that the Star Wars IP would move towards a licensing model with out-of-house talent handling development duties. Fans were skeptical that anything would come out of this, naturally. Today Lucasfilm put those concerns to bed with the announcement that publisher Electronic Arts has been selected for an exclusive multi-year game deal.
Today it was announced that Lucasfilm Ltd. and Disney Interactive are entering into a multi-year, multi-title exclusive licensing agreement with Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) for the creation of new high quality Star Wars games spanning multiple genres for console, PC, mobile, and tablets.
Industry leaders and creators of best-in-class blockbuster games, the development and publishing teams at EA will collaborate with the creative teams at Lucasfilm to provide audiences with all-new gaming experiences set in the ever-expanding Star Wars galaxy. As part of the agreement, EA studio teams DICE (Battlefield series) and Visceral (Dead Space series) will join BioWare (Mass Effect series, Star Wars: The Old Republic) in the development of new Star Wars games.
“Our number one objective was to find a developer who could consistently deliver our fans great Star Wars games for years to come,” said Kathleen Kennedy, President of Lucasfilm. “When we looked at the talent of the teams that EA was committing to our games and the quality of their vision for Star Wars, the choice was clear.”
While EA studios will develop for the core Star Wars gaming audience, Disney Interactive will focus on delivering new Star Wars games for casual audiences on mobile, social, tablet, and online gaming platforms.
“This agreement demonstrates our commitment to creating quality game experiences that drive the popularity of the Star Wars franchise for years to come,” said John Pleasants, co-president of Disney Interactive. “Collaborating with one of the world’s premier game developers will allow us to bring an amazing portfolio of new Star Wars titles to fans around the world.”
“Every developer dreams of creating games for the Star Wars universe,” said EA Labels President Frank Gibeau. “Three of our top studios will fulfill that dream, crafting epic adventures for Star Wars fans. The new experiences we create may borrow from films, but the games will be entirely original with all new stories and gameplay.”
More information, including titles in development, will be announced in the coming months. Continue to check StarWars.com for updates on the future of Star Wars gaming.
Take a moment to look at the studios that are going to be involved. DICE, Visceral Studios, and Bioware. These are three big-name players that command a lot of respect in the gaming community and have produced some incredible game portfolios. Lucasarts may be gone, but the Star Wars gaming IP is perhaps in better shape than it has been in years.
Episode VII targets early 2014 filming start
Collider.com caught up with Bad Robot producer Bryan Burk to discuss some of the production details behind Episode VII. Among the questions: Just when does filming start? Burk says that while things are fluid, they have a window in mind.
“We’re progressing on a schedule to hopefully begin next year, or the beginning of next year, and the location is still kind of floating around in the air all depending on script and a whole bunch of other issues. As I just said, everything is kind of a free-flowing thing, and when we feel like the story level on this script and everything is really coming together and schedules are all working and pieces line up, we prowl ahead, and Star Wars will be no different.”
That would make sense, especially if summer 2015 is the target to get the new installment into theaters. Whether or not this holds up remains to be seen and like many other aspects of the film, depends on just what the Michael Arndt-written screenplay looks like.
Mark Hamill crashes Return of the Jedi screening, awesomeness ensues
Amidst all of the Jacen Solo Day celebrations, Mark Hamill dropped by the CapeTown Film Festival’s screening of Return of the Jedi to discuss all things Star Wars. Among Hamil’s answers to questions was a response that gave his insight to CGI versus traditional effects:
“That’s what the challenge is, is to try and meet expectations of what you guys want. I think there’s nothing wrong with CGI, but I think you have to have a balance, because the camera perceives the width and the depth and the weight – even if it’s a miniature model, the camera just realizes that. So when you have too much CGI and the clouds are CGI and the trees are CGI and the buildings are CGI, you’re getting to a point where the figure in the shot is like a hybrid of an animated film and live-action. And I want it to have an organic look so that we don’t get into Roger Rabbit territory.” He then added, with a laugh, “But I don’t imagine that the priority is what I want!”
For a more in-depth recap of the interview and other fun from the event, be sure to head over to Club Jade and read over James’ writeup.
Via Club Jade. Video courtesy of Jason Ward.
Cosplay Monday: Wakanda
Welcome back to another edition of Cosplay Monday where we try to help your week get off to a great start with some awesome costumes. This week, we’re featuring another costume group from Megacon this year and it comes to us via Albotas (and Tumblr). Behold, the best group of Black Panther and Wakanda related characters that you will ever see. Not only do they all look AMAZING but it’s a very unique group. Personally, I wish I could’ve seen them in person. Wow, folks. My metaphorical hat is off to you.
Full Guest List for Star Wars Weekends
With less than two weeks to go, it’s finally out – the full guest list for Star Wars Weekends! Along with hosts James Arnold Taylor and Ashley Eckstein, the celebrities appearing are as follows:
MAY 17-19
Ray Park (Darth Maul)
Jeremy Bullock (Boba Fett)
Dee Bradley Baker (voice of Clones – Star Wars: The Clone Wars)
MAY 24-26
Ray Park (Darth Maul )
Warwick Davis (Wicket)
Jim Cummings (voice of Hondo Ohnaka – Star Wars: The Clone Wars)
MAY 31 – JUNE 2
Warwick Davis ( Wicket)
Tim Rose (Admiral Ackbar – Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi)
Sam Witwer (Voice of Darth Maul – Star Wars: The Clone Wars)
JUNE 7-9
Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian)
Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca)
Tom Kane (Voice of Yoda – Star Wars: The Clone Wars)
Celebrate Jacen Solo Day with the SWEU
What better way to celebrate a day of terrible puns than with the Star Wars Expanded Universe, home of the best punster in the GFFA, Jacen Solo?
(Yes, it’s May the 4th. Yes, I’m grumbly about it. But hey, more Star Wars!)
If you can’t wait for Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void, coming out Tuesday, Suvudu released 50 pages of the book in their 50 Page Fridays feature.
Excited for Troy Denning’s Crucible? Suvudu has also released the first chapter.
Finally, the kind folks at Del Rey are offering deep discounts on four ebook titles: Heir to the Empire, Tatooine Ghost, Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, and Darth Plagueis. If you are building up your ebook collection, or have just been waiting for an excuse to get copies of these books, go buy them today! (Barnes and Noble) (Amazon)
Happy Jacen Solo Day, everyone! Don’t turn into a Sith Lord!
Free Comic Book Day
The first weekend in May is usually a busy one in the geek world and this year is no different. Not only do we have the premiere of Iron Man 3 on Friday and then May the 4th but the first Saturday in May is always Free Comic Book Day!
Maybe you’re not really a comic book person though. Maybe you’re not sure that you really want to go check this out. Well, to quote NPR:
Yes, Free Comic Book Day is about you, O person who hasn’t set foot in a comics shop in years, or ever. It’s the industry’s attempt to change that state of affairs: Walk into a participating shop this Saturday, and they will hand you a bunch of free comics. Or maybe just one free comic. Or maybe they’ll let you pick from a table heaped with piles of free comics.
The point is: Free comics! Woo!
For most comic stores, this is a day about more than just handing out the freebies provided. It’s much more of a celebration of the comic book world. Many stores will have local artists and writers on hand (or big names in the comic world if they were lucky enough to get them to agree to appear) and even more will have costumers. Just in case you thought this was only a superhero related thing, don’t worry because Star Wars always has a presence! Dark Horse’s contribution to the day this year involves a comic with Vader and Fett and it’s not unheard of for 501st and Rebel Legion members to appear at stores. In other words, it’s a great and fun way to dip your toe in the comic book waters. Who knows? You might find some new books to love!
You can check out all of the titles that will be a part of the promotion and find a local comic book store near you over on the Free Comic Book Day site. Now go get some free comics!