One Wednesday, April 3, Disney announced that LucasArts would be shut down. LucasArts was Star Wars creator George Lucas' video game development branch.
Though LucasArts has released a steady glut of Star Wars-based video games over the years, the shutting down of the gaming company means the forthcoming Star Wars 1313 will no longer come out.
"But for the last couple of years the developer has been struggling," The Motley Fool says. "Four months into the happy marriage between Disney and Lucas, Disney thought it best to shut it down. 150 people were laid off. Games in development, like Star Wars: 1313 [sic], are being cancelled. Dinsey [sic] now plans on licensing LucasArts' video game properties out to third party developers."
The Motley Fool analysis goes on to break down a number of reasons why the cancellation of Star Wars 1313 may actually be a good thing, even if Star Wars fanboys are already in a tizzy about not being able to play the next-in-line game based on their favorite film franchise:
One: As previously mentioned (and well-known the world over), products of LucasArts have an intense "cult-like following" and this is something a savvy company like Disney can exploit in order to acquire the best licensing agreement on future projects.
Two: Third-party developers who are going to pay a (thanks to "One") higher fee for properties like Star Wars are going to make the games the best they can be, to make sure they see a viable profit on their investment.
Three: Future success will give Disney a "no-cost, all-profit situation."
Four: Now Disney has the freedom to shop other non-Star Wars properties around ( Monkey Island, Full Throttle). These games would otherwise not be developed if they remained in-house, the Motley Fool suggests.
As for third-party candidates for future Star Wars games, the Motley Fool points to recently flailing industry mainstays like Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts as potential candidates.
"Revenue for both Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts has largely flat-lined since 2009," the Motley Fool says. "Despite both companies having great properties and good reviews, there hasn't been that one thing that pushes revenues higher. Getting a hold of a major property like Star Wars or Indiana Jones could be just what the doctor ordered."
The logic is that since Star Wars 1313 and similar games are now not coming out from the shut-down LucasArts, bigger and better games will come out of the Star Wars universe instead from third parties like EA and Blizzard, who all but have to ensure that future Star Wars games (perhaps another Star Wars 1313, even?) are amazingly awesome.
On top of that, the Motley Fool suggests that by closing down projects like Star Wars 1313 and LucasArts, Disney will be able to focus more on what fanboys are really waiting for, namely the next Star Wars installment.
What do you think? Are you glad Star Wars 1313 was shut down so other companies can make a better Star Wars game, while Disney can focus on the next Star Wars film? Or are you wondering what it would have been like to play the game here and now? Let us know in the comments below!
Like what you're reading? Follow @profklickberg.
