ELECTRONIC ARTS SELECTED FOR MULTI-YEAR AGREEMENT FOR THE FUTURE OF STAR WARS GAMING May 06, 2013 "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" http://www.guru3d.com/news_story/ea_secures_exclusive_rights_to_star_wars_games.html
As long as they don't embed crippling DRM on the games so bad you'd want to force choke them. (and of course as long as they turn out great; 'decent' or 'good' no longer does the franchise justice) How long before a Mass Effect-style (a.k.a. cover shooting) Star Wars game, though? =b
Considering EA is the lesser of the two evils when it comes down to those companies. Even when they have Origin, I'd rather buy their games.
Well, we could probably get COD: Jedi Warfare and Sith Ops with Activision. Or maybe Jedi's Creed with Ubisoft.
Ohh baby, the prospect of a Dice made Battlefront is just to much - I want it NOW!!!. In saying that, I'd love to see what Visceral come up with.
Its EA which probably means they'll be attached to origin, or maybe not. But I'm betting they'll require it in some form.
I would have rather Bethesda, Take-Two Interactive or Square Enix instead. I'm surprised they didn't go with Square Enix seeing how Disney has had prior collaborations with them. deltatux
Such a shame. Was hoping for a nice Rebellion reboot. Since it's EA I won't buy out of principle. Though better than ubisoft.
i'm just gonna leave this here also I didn't think the dark side could get any darker http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpE_xMRiCLE
Wouldn't it be funny if Disney spent all that money to get their hands on the Star Wars franchise only to find out no one cares about it... Haven't we had enough Star Wars? It's not like there is anything new which could be added to either a film, book, game that hasn't been seen before in the existing mythology/chronology, is there? Dunno, but any 'magic' the Star Wars franchise has just seems really outdated in 2013, let alone two summers from now when the film gets released.
I consider Origin about as much DRM as Steam is, or UPlay. I'm more concerned about the additional always-on requirement like with SimCity and some Ubisoft titles.