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"If I were EA, I would go in to George Lucas and try to buy LucasArts," says analyst 06 Jun, 2008 / Comments: 9

By Jason


Once again over at Kotaku there's a rather interesting and depressing bit of speculation about the present and future of LucasArts on the part of Analyst Michael Pachter in the wake of this week's substantial layoffs:
"If I'm Rodriguez and I know that I'm going to do most of my games with EA going forward, then I'm a lot less anal about double-checking everything EA is up to," said Pachter.

An anonymous former LucasArts employee had the same speculation: "My guess: EA cut a deal and is already making Star Wars games! That's just a guess, but on the heels of the Bioware/EA thing and the hiring of EALA's COO as Lucasarts' new President... that math ain't hard to figure."

Film studio politics could be playing a role here too, said Pachter. Traveller's Tales is owned by Warner Bros., and can be expected to focus on making games based on WB properties like Harry Potter in the future. It would be highly unlikely, said Pachter, that WB would allow Traveller's to work on future Indiana Jones games when rival studio Paramount (Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull) would reap the benefits.

Lovely. Pretty sad that what once could accurately be called the most innovative and creatively vital developer on the planet is now mere steps from being "Star Wars and Indiana Jones licensor," but I would think (hope) that being bought out by EA is a future that's less than probable. The fate suggested by this article is one we've all suspected for years, and I'm sure to many people here the company in question has been dead for some time, but it would be still somewhat saddening to see what the quoted parties hypothesize start to really come true.

Source: Kotaku

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9 Comments

  • WorldMaker on 07 Jun, 2008, 06:41…
    I'm curious if the new "new EA" that hasn't managed to kill Bioware (yet, knock on wood) might not be able to in fact revitalize a new "new LucasArts"... Maybe. Possibly. We can at least try to hope.
  • Capn_Nacho on 07 Jun, 2008, 00:08…
    Damn, you're right. As much as I'm loathe to even compare the Lucasarts of today to that of yesteryear, this is truly saddening news. Hope the future isn't quite so grim as we might suspect.
  • jp-30 on 06 Jun, 2008, 23:50…
    I think the TT Games only making Warner properties is a bit of a stretch. So long as TT has a partership with LEGO, they'll keep making games based on LEGO Licenses. They must be huge sellers, and the more they make the lower the development costs will be. So, Warner Bros gets a cut of a popular Star Wars / Indiana Jones gaming franchise - I doubt they'll be complaining.
  • The Tingler on 07 Jun, 2008, 08:12…
    Yeah, agree with you there. Another Lego Indy game is inevitable, even if it's just the same one with Indy 4 added.
  • The Tingler on 06 Jun, 2008, 23:24…
    I had hope. I really did. The way all the employees talked about LucasArts, they sounded really like they thought they'd get the company back to solid ground. It looks like The Force Unleashed will be their legacy rather than the new beginning they'd planned.
  • Kroms on 06 Jun, 2008, 23:01…
    I'm heartbroken. I really am.

    Oh yeah btw I really hate EA. If you thought I hated LucasArts, then you have no idea how much I hate EA. Somone bring Jim Ward back. Or Simon Jeffrey.
  • The Tingler on 06 Jun, 2008, 23:21…
    Yeah, it really makes me want to take back a couple of the things I said about Jim Ward. "Better the devil you know..."
  • Udvarnoky on 06 Jun, 2008, 23:27…
    It doesn't sound like Jim Ward was great so much that the execs controlling him were even worse.
  • sladerlmc77 on 06 Jun, 2008, 22:21…
    Fools...beaurocratic fools! They don't know what they've got there!