Lucasfilm Rumored to Ditch EA for a New Game Publisher

[dirtyferret]

Obsidian still exists?

They have been making games on a regular schedule

2004 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords
2006 Neverwinter Nights 2
2007 Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer
2008 Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir
2010 Alpha Protocol
2010 Fallout: New Vegas
2011 Dungeon Siege III
2014 South Park: The Stick of Truth
2015 Pillars of Eternity
2015 Pillars of Eternity: The White March – Part 1
2015 Armored Warfare
2016 Pillars of Eternity: The White March – Part 2
2016 Pathfinder Adventures
2016 Tyranny
2018 Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

keeps game current and interesting to play? Using that phrase loosely don't you think? More like withholding content that should have been included with the base game in the first place so they can charge for more later. Seems like nowadays anything that remotely resembles what you described just gets repackaged as a whole new game instead of proper dlc or an expansion.

But that isnt the point. If they didnt include it as DLC and threw it into the base game, then youd bitch about how the developer doesnt do anything to add life into the game and that they never update it. I could understand if one or two developers did it and no one else did. But literally every developer has been doing it for at least 10 years. This isnt new. Bitching hasnt changed it. Its here for a while. Deal with it.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

If it will make Activision more adventurous instead of milking Call of Duty, I hope Activision gets it.

Ubisoft, Square Enix, and Zenimax Media already have plenty of IPs to exploit.

 

[Totally]

But that isnt the point. If they didnt include it as DLC and threw it into the base game, then youd bitch about how the developer doesnt do anything to add life into the game and that they never update it. I could understand if one or two developers did it and no one else did. But literally every developer has been doing it for at least 10 years. This isnt new. Bitching hasnt changed it. Its here for a while. Deal with it.

I never "bitch" about such things unless there were promises made. Before dlc you got a game that there were tons of things to do and then one played it the until they ran out of things to do and/or then get bored. Now you get a game and have just enough to get to the next content update, that is why there is bitching. When the model changed is when the bitching began. Devs made no effort to hide what they we're doing when all this nonsense started during the PS3/Xb360 days where 'future' dlc was already included on the game discs, it just from there.

They have been making games on a regular schedule

:Shrugh: I own everything they made prior to stick of truth and just seemed to stop noticing them thought they went bankrupt or something. Somehow missed the fact that they worked on Stick of truth considering how much I played it.

 

[jabbadap]

If I had to pick one, it would be SEGA.

 

[dozenfury]

I would 100% vote for Activision. Every big game dev is going to do all they can to maximize profits one way or another; season passes, DLC, collector's editions, microtransactions, etc. I have no problem with them trying to make money. The problem is trying to make money at every turn with a flawed game. The lack of a campaign in BF1 was unforgivable, and the issues with BF2 were more about the game itself and massive server problems. The microtransaction flop was just icing on the cake.

Ubi is great more often than not at SP games. But their track record with large multiplayer games and server issues leaves a lot to be desired (For Honor, for 1 example).

Activision would pour their heart into it and they have a good history of strong servers. I have no doubts they'd angle every way they could for profits, but I'd take a good game and servers that don't constantly rubber-band or lag with some optional (non-P2W) microtransactions anyday. And at least they'll delay if they need to if a game isn't ready. Not saying Activision isn't without their own bad consumer practices, but if it's lesser of 2 evils EA or Activision it's not much of a contest.

As a side-note I do feel bad for Janina Gavankar and the other in-game actors in this whole mess. In interviews before BF2's release you could tell she was really sincere about being ecstatic about getting the role and being part of the Star Wars universe. IIRC she even invited he mom to the release premier.

 

[mcraygsx]

EA, Activision, Ubisoft... these big "gaming" companies can all go die in a hole along with their damned DLC and micro-transaction garbage.

I am more then happy with UBISOFT and never had any issues with their DLC. Enjoyed every title from FarCry, Assassins creed, The Division and Rainbow Six Siege.

 

[bug]

Yeah, I'm sure the reason they're looking elsewhere is because EA tried to do as little work with as much client milking content as possible. Because they did their due diligence before signing their agreement and totally didn't see this one coming.

Does anyone remember who was the publisher for X-Wing and TIE Fighter was? Yes, that's right, it was Lucas!

 

[FreedomEclipse]

I heard about this yesterday...

Its probably been mentioned but by current standards Ubisoft would be the lesser of two evils. Activision would be a bad choice given their current track record with loot crates in Call of duty and patenting a matchmaking system that's designed to make you buy stuff and lets not forget the mess that is Destiny/Destiny 2.

UBisoft will just lock the game behind layers of DRM but the game will probably be pretty solid.

I have heard from the PC community that they want the license/rights to be handed over to CDProjeKtRed but those folks are too busy working on their cyberpunk game. People have said they wanted SquareEnix to get it too, this could work too!


Sigh..... Remember back in the 90s when there were dozens of studios to choose from? Microsoft shut 90% of theirs down or rolled everything into one and pushed for development for their Xbox. THQ are dead, and the rest got eaten by big publishers like EA and never saw the light of day again.

So many people used to make games. Now its just come down to chasing the next CoD or Battlefield game every single damn year. Whatever happened to consumer choice?

 

[rtwjunkie]

There's still another big publisher, THQ-Nordic, and its parent company, Nordic Games. Their portfolio is diverse, with ever increasing numbers of games being released. A number are big titles, so the experience is there. Also, no track record yet of micro transactions.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_THQ_Nordic_games

 

[TheOne]

If they do find another developer I just hope they will do a SP RPG.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

I'm sure Lucas can't back out of whatever contract they have with Electronic Arts. When that expires though, I suspect they'll not use another exclusive license and instead license games individually. No reason why they couldn't license Battlefront to EA and an RPG (KOTOR3-like) to Obsidian.

 

[silapakorn]

Activition seems to be the best candidate. They are an expert in milking the series, just like what Lucasfilm has been doing to SW.

 

[eidairaman1]

If I had to pick one, it would be SEGA.

If they would drop sammy holdings

 

[HisDivineOrder]

Just sounds like a way for Lucasarts to pressure EA to do more. Then again, perhaps they'll finally see fit to give us the Knights of the Old Republic game we all deserve...

 

[evernessince]

Will never happen since the ones calling the shots at EA are the investors. Activision has the same affliction, Ubisoft seems to be partially immune since their crowd seems to be bent on DRM instead of hellbent on trying to milk it's customers.

Ubisoft isn't based in america, that's why. America is significantly more anti-consumer, taxes on the rich are much lower, and worker's rights are in the shitter. It's a whole culture that's built around putting the rich on a pedestal while fucking over everyday people, and that most certainly extends to it's companies. Trump is a prime example of this.

 

[rtwjunkie]

Ubisoft isn't based in america, that's why. America is significantly more anti-consumer, taxes on the rich are much lower, and worker's rights are in the shitter. It's a whole culture that's built around putting the rich on a pedestal while fucking over everyday people, and that most certainly extends to it's companies. Trump is a prime example of this.

What you said just now was you 100% blowing your own political views loudly, and 0% why Ubisoft is making better single-player games now, albeit with a ton of DRM.

It literally had nothing to do with the text you quoted. Everything is not political.

 

[lexluthermiester]

This can only be a good thing. Star Wars games have taken a distinct downturn in quality and appeal under EA's watch. Kinda hoping Disney gives the franchise to a more competent developer/publisher who actually care about the artistic value and substance of content.

Empire at War was easily a masterpiece of the RTS genre. KOTOR 1 & 2 were excellent Action RPG's. That list could keep going. EA has brought little to nothing of any real substance and value to the Star Wars universe.

Ubisoft is making better single-player games now, albeit with a ton of DRM.

That's as good a reason as any to not support Ubisoft getting rights to Star Wars games.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Ubisoft has a long history of using the most draconian DRM available.

Ubisoft stands out because most of their AAA games are open world.

 

[Dux]

Switching EA for Activision? What's the point?

 

[Udit]

In my opinion CD Projekt Red should get the job.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Too busy on Cyberpunk 2077.

 

[Udit]

Too busy on Cyberpunk 2077.

That will be done eventually then they can make the best Star Wars game.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

If it sells well, they'll probably start working on expansions and a sequel. Sequel can easily take three years to make.

CD Projekt RED goes for low profile/regional IPs. Lucas would want way more money than CD Projekt RED is willing to pay. Also bare in mind that Star Wars has little (and diminishing) appeal outside of the West.

 

[windwhirl]

I want a remake of the X-Wing and TIE Fighter series. I don't care who grabs the licenses next, if they give me such thing and it's well done.