Disney shuts down LucasArts, cancels Star Wars 1313, First Assault

Breaking news.

But April Fools was Monday...

I'm tempted to believe this considering Disney's poor handling so far but like hell am I taking a Kotaku source seriously.

EDIT: Oh, well, uh, sorry about that.

edited 3rd Apr '13 10:40:43 AM by hass

Not cool Disney. I wasn't interested in either of those two games, but LucasArts has been around for a long time and seeing them closed is just not right.

One of my closest friends is the marketing manager for LucasArts, so this hits very close to home.

Aw man, Disney! Why?! D:

This is just the gaming division of Lucas Arts, right? Or is it the whole damn company? Because if it's the former, that's stupid, and if it's the latter, that's incredibly stupid.

Didn't see this coming.

Well, fuck you too, Disney.

Seriously, you have enough capital that you can afford to take a risk restructuring and rebuilding Lucasarts. You're massive. You can gamble. People want good Star Wars games. You could have resurrected the "Cleverness division" More Monkey Island and Day of the Tentacle Style games.

The whole point of being a giant studio is so you can afford to take risks, not play it safe and stupid. Break new ground.

Grim Fandango. Flight Sims. Rogue Squadron. Adventure games.

edited 3rd Apr '13 10:44:14 AM by DrTentacles

Oh for fuck's sake.

You know, usually I try to be a blind optimist about these sorts of things... but god damn it, Disney.

Just... fuck you.

Maybe we're seeing a return to that idiot that very nearly killed Disney. I forget his name but he's mentioned on Executive Meddling that he burned bridges with a lot of Disney's allies (including Pixar) and actually drove Roy Disney to quit with all their stockholders rebelling once he was gone.

I'm pretty sure we'll see Star Wars games in the future, especially if the new trilogy is financially successful, which it almost certainly will be. That said, it's sad to see Lucas Arts go, even though I really can't think of anything good they've made in the past decade.

edited 3rd Apr '13 10:46:52 AM by Archereon

Okay, I can't say I didn't see this coming, because this is what happens when one company buys another. It's Standard Business Practice.

I just didn't want this to happen.

Unless there's any brand recognition going on with the bought out company, though given how far Lucas Arts has fallen, I'm not surprised if Disney thinks there's no goodwill left to draw on.

Jimmy Fallon is the new host of The Tonight Show on the same day this happens.

There has to be some sort of Illuminati-style connection there. Has to be.

Okay, officially boycotting Disney now. It might lift if the new movie they are making is any good.

I'm hoping that the Lucas Arts division is just being absorbed into Disney and re-branded.

I'm just getting the feeling that Disney doesn't understand Video Games, so isn't willing to try. After Epic Mickey didn't do as well as they hoped, (though it was a fine game) they just decided "Fuck it, not worth it."

It's a shame. They're willing to try new things, take risks with Marvel, but don't seem willing to do the same with Lucas Arts.

From the Lucas Arts page:

"After a $4 billion buyout of its matrix Lucasfilm, the videogame branch and its intellectual property were acquired by Disney in 2012. While the focus would be set in licensing rather than publishing, underway productions such as Star Wars 1313 are not affected by it according to Disney's CEO."

(derisive snort)

Can't say I approve of this.

Ok, so who the hell's telling the truth then? Or is Disney's Public Relations department just full of BS?

Either way, this is incredibly stupid. The problem with Lucas Arts wasn't a poor development team, it was poor upper management and short deadlines in most cases. And yet, they're willing to kill these ideas off despite their excellent potential?!

Until the source is something more substantial than "a reliable Kotaku source", I'm going to assume this is a false news story designed to get clicks...

The news has exploded all over.

Everyone is reporting it.

In fact Variety is reporting it. That's basically a lock down.

edited 3rd Apr '13 10:58:37 AM by JAF1970

More info.

Any news of them at least shifting the staff to a new studio or brand name? They've gotta have something in mind, no way in hell Disney's gonna suddenly ignore the videogame market.