Articles

LucasArts to deliver old games via Steam 06 Jul, 2009, 17:29 / 48 comments

By Gabez


"SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – July 6, 2009 – Fans have asked and LucasArts has delivered! Today the company announced a new initiative in its effort to revive itsclassic and beloved franchises by making its games available for the first time ever asdigital downloads online.

In this first round of releases, ten fan-favorite LucasArts PC games will be made available Wednesday, July 8 on Steam®, Valve Corporation's delivery and management platform for the PC. Scheduled for release are classic adventure titles like LOOM and The Dig and hit action games including Star Wars Battlefront II and Star Wars Republic Commando.

The complete list of games to be released on July 8 via Steam includes:
  • Armed and Dangerous
  • Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
  • Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure
  • LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventure
  • LOOM
  • Star Wars Battlefront II
  • Star Wars Republic Commando
  • Star Wars Starfighter
  • The Dig
  • Thrillville: Off the Rails
"This effort is going to make it possible to introduce a whole new generation of gamers to LucasArts' classic games," said Darrell Rodriguez, president of LucasArts. "It also gives more people a chance to play our games by making them available long after they’ve disappeared from store shelves. We hope our fans are as excited as we are about our plans and we can’t wait to share what's coming next. This is just the beginning. "This series of launches continues LucasArts' new mission to revitalize its deep portfolio of beloved gaming franchises."

Read the whole press release here, and keep updated on the details with LucasArt's twitter.

The press release also confirms the Special Edition will be released July 15th on XBLA and Steam.

Update: Darrell Rodriguez had had a few words with joystiq.

Source: LEC Twitter

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48 Comments

  • Icebox on 06 Jul, 2009, 23:41…
    Hell Yeah The Dig!
    Still holding out on Luftwaffe, though.
  • Bad Asp! on 06 Jul, 2009, 21:25…
    "Ask me about LOOM... and nine other games!"
  • ThunderPeel2001 on 06 Jul, 2009, 23:13…
    Lol! I guess that's why it's here :)
  • jp-30 on 06 Jul, 2009, 20:32…
    SoMI:SE is being released on othr PC download channels, not just Steam (as I first thought reading the above Mojo story).

    Phew!
  • Kroms on 06 Jul, 2009, 20:24…
    Be quiet, whiners. You're ruining the moment for the rest of us.

    Great news. I've always wanted to play "Loom".
  • valkian on 06 Jul, 2009, 20:09…
    This is great news. The Dig on Steam! (Holy cow!) and Loom!! and Fate of Atlantis!

    I agree that they should probably have never abandoned their classics. But this is way better than nothing!
    Way to go Darrell, way to go.
  • Remi O on 06 Jul, 2009, 19:58…
    Is it wrong I'd like too see this on the Xbox too? ¬
  • Metallus on 06 Jul, 2009, 19:28…
    Oh man I can play LOOM now.
  • bgbennyboy on 06 Jul, 2009, 19:26…
    Latest twitter update is that Loom and FOA are the talkie versions.

    It also seems that they are using updated interpreters rather than ScummVM. The question is whether the new interpreters will include graphic filters and aspect ratio correction (like the entertainment pack versions did).
  • Giygas on 06 Jul, 2009, 19:41…
    Weird. I was under the impression that LucasArts couldn't re-release Loom's talkie version because it was made by Software Toolworks.
  • Udvarnoky on 06 Jul, 2009, 20:33…
    I thought it was Mindscape?
  • Giygas on 06 Jul, 2009, 20:50…
    Software Toolworks is Mindscape.
  • jp-30 on 06 Jul, 2009, 23:22…
    LucasArts must own the rights, independently of who developed the game?

    1/2 their games are developed externally.
  • Udvarnoky on 07 Jul, 2009, 00:46…
    Yeah but he's right, there was some sort of legal complication surrounding that particular game that forced LEC to stop selling it sooner than they might have otherwise, leaving the talkie version of Loom to become more of a rarity than the original release.

    Of course, it's not that hard to believe that the situation could have been ironed out 15 years later.
  • bgbennyboy on 06 Jul, 2009, 19:06…
    Excellent news. Hell has truly frozen over and squadrons of flying pigs crowd the skies. Well done LEC.
  • Giygas on 06 Jul, 2009, 18:53…
    I want Zak.
  • The Tingler on 07 Jul, 2009, 08:46…
    I bet that's being considered for a Special Edition, along with MI2 and Maniac Mansion.

    Actually, no, scratch that, then why is Indy Last Crusade here?
  • Sven_Q45 on 06 Jul, 2009, 18:38…
    What did you expect?

    I think this is for the newer generation.
    And And there is ScummVm. But for newer not Scumm games for Vista this could be great!
  • Santar on 06 Jul, 2009, 18:20…
    If I were Lucasarts I'd go with steam over gog.com too. Steam = biggest digital disturbution. gog.com = niche service in comparison.
  • Jayel on 06 Jul, 2009, 17:58…
    Oh man I hope they port xwing and tie fighter games! I couldn't get them running properly on modern machines... dosbox helps but has shoddy joystick support.
  • Udvarnoky on 06 Jul, 2009, 17:54…
    I wonder if Last Crusade will come with the Grail Diary on PDF or something.
  • The Tingler on 07 Jul, 2009, 08:47…
    Yes, it will.
  • neon_git on 06 Jul, 2009, 18:01…
    Yeah I was thinking the same thing. Same goes for Loom's Book of Patterns too.
  • Jayel on 06 Jul, 2009, 18:06…
    and the audio tape?
    I hope they sell the original EGA version, not the subpar cdrom or vga remakes
  • jp-30 on 06 Jul, 2009, 23:23…
    How were the re-releases sub-par?
  • Jayel on 07 Jul, 2009, 00:55…
    Didn't the re-releases have less content? Less dialog, less closeup portraits, etc.
    At least that's how I remember it.
  • ATMachine on 07 Jul, 2009, 01:57…
    The talkie PC CD version indeed had less dialog and fewer character closeups.

    On the other hand, the FM Towns release of Loom is a straight VGA upgrade of the original EGA version, and thus it includes all the nifty content that was axed from the PC CD.
  • Udvarnoky on 06 Jul, 2009, 18:02…
    The recent interview suggests that they're not touching the games themselves, so scanned documentation does see like the only option.
  • clone2727 on 06 Jul, 2009, 17:48…
    Bah, Steam. Couldn't we get it on something like GoG instead?
  • Sven_Q45 on 06 Jul, 2009, 17:45…
    Mh.
  • Capn_Nacho on 06 Jul, 2009, 17:43…
    Finally, I can get a copy of the ultra-rare Thrillville PC version. Thanks, LucasArts!

    (Less cynically, though, it's good that there are more to come. And hey, LOOM. Cool.)
  • elTee on 06 Jul, 2009, 17:33…
    "Steam steam steam"

    Whoa, deja vu.
  • bgbennyboy on 06 Jul, 2009, 19:05…
    You are a prophet.
  • The Tingler on 06 Jul, 2009, 17:32…
    Oh, and SOMI SE is coming July 15th.
  • The Tingler on 06 Jul, 2009, 17:31…
    EEK!
  • JohnGreenArt on 06 Jul, 2009, 17:31…
    Yawn.
  • neon_git on 06 Jul, 2009, 18:23…
    STFU


    ...


    is not on the list of games being released.
  • JohnGreenArt on 06 Jul, 2009, 18:48…
    If ONLY Force Unleashed WAS coming out on PC!

    ;P
  • Udvarnoky on 06 Jul, 2009, 17:48…
    I don't know what you were expecting, but this is a big deal. Yes, people like us have and can already run all of the old games, but what is that thing that Mojo has been criticizing LEC about for the last several years? Oh, that's right, pretending that their back catalog doesn't exist. The tide has changed. It would be downright hypocritical of us to not respond to this with praise.

    LucasArts sanctioned the development of Monkey Island 5. LucasArts is selling The Dig, Loom, and the Indiana Jones graphic adventures for the first time in lord knows how long. They're making a MI Special Edition. They've apparently got a president who actually gives a fuck about their legacy. I don't understand how these announcements can be seen as anything but awesome news.
  • Capn_Nacho on 06 Jul, 2009, 19:49…
    Very, very well said, especially with "Loom" bolded. I must admit that my enthusiasm was tempered by the presence of Lego Indiana Jones and Star Wars Battlefront II on the list, but this is definitely an extremely exciting time. It seems like no more than a few months ago we were last able to ridicule Jim Ward for his arrogance and callousness, and now...

    Dave Grossman called it a Renaissance. How cool is that?
  • Glo_kidd on 06 Jul, 2009, 18:40…
    Hear Hear

    Very well put, it describes my feelings about this exactly

    Glad you said it, i probably wouldn't have been nearly as succinct
  • Haggis on 06 Jul, 2009, 17:58…
    "Yes, people like us have and can already run all of the old games"

    Actually, I'm missing some of the older adventures in my collection, and I may check out one or two of the other LucasArts games too! So yeah, this is good news. But not for my wallet.
  • Udvarnoky on 06 Jul, 2009, 18:01…
    I am all over the original TIE Fighter if that comes out.

    And heaven help me if they ever do the equivalent of this for their console games, on Virtual Console or whatever.
  • Capn_Nacho on 06 Jul, 2009, 19:45…
    FUCK YES Give me X-Wing!
  • Remi O on 06 Jul, 2009, 17:54…
    Mojoers being ungrateful bastards? What will be next?!

    But yeah, seriously, I agree. Stop whining, this is all a good thing.
  • JohnGreenArt on 06 Jul, 2009, 18:47…
    Hey, I *NEVER* said this isn't a good thing. I just yawned.

    Yes, this is nice and all, but this is something they should already have been doing. The hype they created what with the tweeting and stuff was not worth it.

    This is something they should've just come out and said.

    They also said it was something NEW for the old fans. A new way to buy the games we've already played?

    This is a good thing because it can lead to new adventures, or at least SE's of adventures (I want that CMI in HD!)

    We can complain when Uncle George puts the same movies out in another boxed set, but can't when the same games are again put up for sale?

  • Remi O on 06 Jul, 2009, 19:57…
    We can complain when Uncle George puts the same movies out in another boxed set, but can't when the same games are again put up for sale?

    I have a boxset, so I don't re-buy it, as the set isn't aimed at me.

    Same goes for the games. The majority of those who remember these games fondly don't know that ScummVM exists. Steam, however, they do likely know.

    (On another note, I didn't really aim the "whiner" at you as much as a reply to Jason's comment, which I think was more a generalization of everything above. So, sorry about that!)
  • syntheticgerbil on 06 Jul, 2009, 19:31…
    I yawned in unison with JohnGreenArt.

    They do have a good excuse against abandonware type piracy though now!