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Disney Closes LucasArts

Posted by Soulskill on from the if-you-strike-me-down-i-shall-become-more-powerful-than-you-could-possibly-imagine dept.

An anonymous reader sends news that Disney is closing LucasArts. The game studio has been around since 1982, and brought us classics such as Labyrinth, The Secret of Monkey Island, X-Wing, TIE Fighter, and Star Wars: Battlefront. They also published Star Wars: Galaxies, Knights of the Old Republic, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. The company held a meeting today informing employees of the layoffs. "In some ways, the news is not a surprise. LucasArts had seemed directionless in recent years. The company's core business of games based on the Star Wars license have been largely disappointing in both quality and sales. While the company had some success with games like Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and the Battlefront series, both of those franchises seemed to have died on the vine. The cancellation of Star Wars Battlefront III was particularly ugly, which led to nasty public fingerpointing between LucasArts and developer Free Radical. ... LucasArt's other big franchise, Indiana Jones, has failed to make much of a dent in games in recent years, with the exception of Traveller's Tales LEGO Indiana Jones series that, once again, was not developed by LucasArts. Meanwhile, series like Uncharted and Tomb Raider, which are both heavily influenced by the Indiana Jones films, have thrived." If only they hadn't abandoned the X-Wing series of games. I would have bought a new one of those in a heartbeat. Update: 04/04 18:09 GMT by T : Dice.com's news service (Dice.com is the corporate parent of Slashdot) mentions one small silver lining for those employees who stuck it out to the end: the best kind of parting gift. "Soon after the acquisition, a number of people departed LucasArts, deciding the time was right to head out in search of a new job. Many others remained, encouraged to hang on as long as they could by talk of generous severance packages. Sources among those laid off say the packages were, indeed, generous."

9 of 299 comments (clear)

  1. First No! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Noooo!

    1. Re:First No! by ackthpt · · Score: 5, Funny

      Noooo!

      First I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    2. Re:First No! by interkin3tic · · Score: 5, Funny

      If it makes you feel any better, eventually the official story will be that LucasArts shot at Disney first.

    3. Re:First No! by davester666 · · Score: 4, Funny

      and then I realized...nothing really important actually happened.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
  2. Re:I guess Free Radical is exonerated by Colonel+Korn · · Score: 5, Funny

    When there's fingerpointing and one of the two dies suddenly...

    the other guy wins, right?

    Finger pointing followed by death usually implies force lightning.

    --
    "I zero-index my hamsters" - Willtor (147206)
  3. Re: instead of developing in house by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    That way I can always shoot first.

  4. Re:Swtor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yup, not even the person you "quoted" said it!

  5. Re:Swtor by wisnoskij · · Score: 4, Funny

    Ya, because they have been doing great things with the universe recently. -> Angry Birds: Star Wars

    --
    Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
  6. Re:Not shocking. by Wookact · · Score: 3, Funny

    Shh, don't point that out. Thats how we collect rent from him.