Star Wars 1313 on hold?

[CommanderOtto]

lol look what I found, and it says precisely what I was thinking!!!

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/11/disney-lucasarts/

highlights:

So what is it that LucasArts does? Its only announced game in development is Star Wars 1313, a big-budget, hyper-realistic console game that its developers say is going for a “Mature” (17 and up) rating. Not quite in alignment with Disney’s stated strategy.

So given Disney’s stated goals, what exactly does it need LucasArts for?

Star Wars 1313 may determine its own fate. Sometime in a short while from now, the following will almost certainly happen: Like Darth Vader arriving on the Death Star, Disney executives will visit LucasArts and get a full rundown of the studio’s activities. Its sharpest gaming guys will pick over 1313 and get a sense of whether it’s a project worth proceeding with, or another boondoggle.

[WD-40]

If there's money to be made, Disney will launch it. Why else would they pay off Lucas so many millions to go-away?

[CommanderOtto]

If there's money to be made, Disney will launch it. Why else would they pay off Lucas so many millions to go-away?

i'm not saying it's completely dead, but there is a good chance that will happen. Not only did they just buy star wars for 4 billion dollars, but they also have to invest considerable money to make the new movies. I don't think they would be willing to put a few million more into a division that has been doing bad lately. There are only two reasons this game could go out into the market:

1. the game is almost finished
2. a lot of marketing was done for this game... so they might want to finish because everyone knows about the game already.

remember, they bought lucasfilm only because they wanted the movies... everything else is secondary and can be cancelled. Maybe there is money to be made, but the business world is full of money hungry executives that will kill a project even if the ROI (return of investment) is not good enough.

[WD-40]

If there's money to be made, Disney will launch it. Why else would they pay off Lucas so many millions to go-away?

i'm not saying it's completely dead, but there is a good chance that will happen. Not only did they just buy star wars for 4 billion dollars, but they also have to invest considerable money to make the new movies. I don't think they would be willing to put a few million more into a division that has been doing bad lately. There are only two reasons this game could go out into the market:

1. the game is almost finished
2. a lot of marketing was done for this game... so they might want to finish because everyone knows about the game already.

remember, they bought lucasfilm only because they wanted the movies... everything else is secondary and can be cancelled.

True, but profit is profit. Sounds like the 'Ferengi' of Star Trek, I know. But business is business. Heck, Disney will sell new books, toons, and new gaming to make money just so long as it does not disrupt their image as a family entity. If 1313 can reasonably make $$$$, it's gonna get their blessing. Lucas is a has-been in that decision making. It's 'corporate' now.

[CommanderOtto]

we will have to wait and see

[WD-40]

we will have to wait and see

Yes...we shall indeed. Hope it comes to life.

[CommanderOtto]

Sounds like the 'Ferengi' of Star Trek, I know.

totally!!




EDIT: just found some more info that might give us an idea of what is coming:

http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/lucasarts-chief-steps-down/

LucasArts promises that Meegan’s leaving the company won’t effect any games currently in production, including the much hyped 1313. Developers still working within LucasArts couldn’t be blamed for worrying though. The corporate culture at the studio has been unhealthy for years now. Eurogamer’s May article Free Radical vs. the Monsters chronicled how that studio was brought to bankruptcy and closure due to the instability of LucasArts’ corporate hierarchy while it attempted to finish the cancelled Star Wars: Battlefront III.

that same instability and sad working atmosphere, where everyone knows that the company is about to fail is the same instability that will probably kill lucasarts after 1313 is released (if it is released, which is unlikely)

Meegan also isn’t the first high profile figure to leave LucasArts this year. Far Cry 2 director Clint Hocking joined LucasArts in 2010 alongside Meegan but left the company at the beginning of July for a position with Valve.

these guys would have probably stayed if there was a real chance the lucasarts would survive the disney buyout. Most company negotiations take several months, so Meegan knew the buyout would happen so he left just before the situation got ugly. Bad sign....