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LucasArts Restructures, Moves More Development Off-Site

Posted by simoniker on from the gunganned-down dept.

Thanks to LucasArts for its press release indicating a significant restructuring of the company's internal development teams. It's explained that "31 people from the development studio were laid off as the company will be concentrating on fewer titles", and GameSpot has further details, noting "the publisher has farmed out development on its as-yet-untitled Episode III game to [recent Indiana Jones developers] The Collective", and "an informed industry source said the team attached to the early stages of development on Knights of the Old Republic 3 was let go in yesterday's layoff." We previously reported on earlier layoffs at LucasArts in April.

20 comments

  1. If it's worth saying once, it's worth saying again by LeninZhiv · · Score: 2

    I think this is exactly the message the gaming community has to offer the 31 new lay-offs: credit where credit's due

  2. Fewer titles? by mbourgon · · Score: 5, Insightful
    I had to do a double-take on this quote.
    31 people from the development studio were laid off as the company will be concentrating on fewer titles.

    Fewer? Fewer?! Fewer??!?!?!

    Hell, pretty soon I'll be working on more titles than they are. And I don't.
    --
    "Sometimes a woman is a kind of religion, she can save your soul & set you free from all your sins" - Bad Examples
  3. Loss of talent... by dmayle · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It must have Jar-Jar, because people don't seem to want to work at LucasArts any more. They lost Tim Schafer, noted for "work on Day of The Tentacle, Full Throttle, and Grim Fandango" who's currently doing work on Psychonauts. (I'm eagerly anticipating this.)

    I'm of the opinion that LusArts ditched what they were good at so they could try to milk the Star Wars franchise. Whatever happened to DOTT, and Loom, and Full Throttle? I used to eagerly await LucasArts new releases, and nowadays it's YASWG (Yet Another Star Wars Game)...

    1. Re:Loss of talent... by Lisandro · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I still can't beleive they could be stupid enough to can titles like the sequels to Grim, Full Throttle and Sam & Max. It's not like those games wouldn't sell well (and, looking back through LucasArts history, be any good). But just like you said, they went for the quick bucks with Star Wars franchises. Result? People get bored and don't care about the company anymore. Nice going.

      After seeing Family Guy cancelled, i thought no one could make poorer management decisions. Oh well...

    2. Re:Loss of talent... by ksiddique · · Score: 1

      It's totally off topic but, hey, you might want to know this...

      Family Guy is coming back in 2005!

  4. Did any heads roll? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Lucasarts has been putting out alot of crap in recent years.

    Did they can any of the managers who were responsible for developing the crap?

    Do we really need so many Star Wars spinoff games?

    How about the creative genius behind Jar-Jar and the Ewoks... have they been let go?

  5. I have a bad feeling about this by genrader · · Score: 3, Funny

    I don't know Chewie, fly casual.

    --
    the Political Inquirer
  6. The only SW game that matters... by Picass0 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ...would be a new X-wing vs. Tie Fighter.

    I don't want to play an online rpg. I don't want to play a Starcraft clone. I'm bored with first person shooters. I just want another XvT.

    1. Re:The only SW game that matters... by hibiki_r · · Score: 2, Informative

      They made W-Wing alliance, and nobody bought it. I guess that the bigwigs at Lucasarts think that only FPS RTS and RPGs sell. Since space sims are not one on the list, we won't see a new XvT any time soon.

    2. Re:The only SW game that matters... by Frank+The+Tank · · Score: 1

      God, one out of four doesn't sell as well as expected, and they decide to sell the farm... I'm glad they're going under. Good riddance. Lucas already dug his hole with the new movies... By the by, start spreading the word: don't see Episode III. I want to see some real momentum behind this. And why not SW games, as well? They're crap too, nowadays!

  7. In other news by Pluvius · · Score: 2, Funny

    LucasArts plans to change its name to "Star Wars Games," awaiting approval by its president, chairman, and majority owner, Satan.

    Rob

  8. Perhaps... by agraupe · · Score: 1

    They should just make new versions of KOTOR. Make it so the next one will be ready when the average gamer has finished the current one :)

  9. Amen! by metallicagoaltender · · Score: 1

    The X-Wing, Tie Fighter, and X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter games are some of my favorite computer games ever made, and I'd be first in line for a new XvT game. Hell, even if it was just a rehash of the same plot, but new and improved graphics I'd go for it.

    Sure, some would look at it as a cash-grab - another Star Wars game, and worse yet a rehash of an old one, but at least it would be a rehash of a classic...

  10. pow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Lucasarts will probably just go away altogether and a real publisher will take over the star wars license. They had lots of talented programmers & artists but jar-jar was running the front office.

  11. Hopefully he was part of that 31 by Frank+The+Tank · · Score: 1

    "After careful evaluation of current market place realities and underlying economic considerations, we've decided that this was not the appropriate time to launch a graphic adventure on the PC" - Mike Nelson, Luca$Farts acting manager on the cancellation of Sam & Max 2. Seriously, this guy was probably promoted for this, and the guys that were let go were probably the only ones to suggest not making a Star Wars game ripped of from another popular game. Let's see: Republic Commando? Dumbed down Rainbow Six... Battlefront? Battlefield 1942... Most companies get back to what made them popular after such setbacks. I guess we'll have to see... Well, if The Family Guy can come back, then anything is possible (crossing fingers for the next few years, as before).

  12. Death of Lucasarts years ago by MemoryDragon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think LA has been creatively dead for almost 10 years now. Face it, the best people left the company around the mid nineties. The once creative company just put out one garbage star wars game after the other. The spark of creativity which once kept this company running was lost back then.

    They tried to revive older franchises with mediocre sequels instead of getting the old peopled on board (monkey island) and the only good game in the last years was done by the ex Black Isle division which has reformed under another name (Obsidian)

    I think the doom of this company was the day when Tim Schaefer and others left the company. The final nail onto the coffin was the day they decided to focus on mediocre Star Wars games. (The ones which came out after X-Wing and Tie Fighter, which were both excellent)

    1. Re:Death of Lucasarts years ago by DreadPiratePizz · · Score: 1

      As much as you all may moan at the thought of no more adventure games, the fact is that many simply can't compete in the gaming industry these days. With all the 3D shooters and such, an average gamer will not give much thought to an adventure game. Add on to the fact that they have little or no replay value, I'm not suprised that most gamers turn to MMORPGs and FPSs. Games like Curse of Monkey island were excelent, but just couldn't compete. It's no fault of lucasarts. You have to sell games to make money, and adventure games did not sell enough to cover increasing costs.

    2. Re:Death of Lucasarts years ago by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is less the ack of adventure games, others fill the niche quite nicely. In fact the last two years there was a revival of the genre by independent developers (the games are cheaply to produce and make their money, but are not mega sellers)

      It is more the lack of creativity which basically went into the company after people like Schaefer and a bunch of others left it.
      Back then you knew whatever genre whatever game LucasArts was known for original highly creative games. (See me references to Tie Fighter and X-Wing which were extremely good games.)

      Nowadays Lucasarts is known for mediocre Star Wars games which are replaceable by the dozend.
      That Kotor was as good as it was, is caused by the fact that the people responsible for Planetscape Torment and Fallout did it with the help of Bioware and not Lucasarts. Lucasarts probably would have made another lame fps or some konsolish action game without any heart.

    3. Re:Death of Lucasarts years ago by _Sexy_Pants_ · · Score: 1

      Shhh! Too much truth. I'm hurting

      --
      Look it's a joke about my sig IN MY SIG! LOL!