Rumor: SOE, LucasArts Building A Casual Star Wars MMO

[Earnest Cavalli]

Rumor: SOE, LucasArts Building A Casual Star Wars MMO

If rumors are to be believed, Sony Online Entertainment and LucasArts are working on a casual MMO set in the Star Wars universe and based on the technology behind SOE's recently released Free Realms.

This rumor comes courtesy of MMO fansite Ten Ton Hammer [http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/73904], who claim to have heard all of this from an "inside source." Here's their take on the situation:

Ten Ton Hammer has learned from an inside source that Sony Online Entertainment has once again partnered up with LucasArts to do another Star Wars MMO. While we have not yet learned the title of the upcoming game, it sounds like SOE is planning to use the browser-based Free Realms engine to power the game, and the game's setting will be the Clone Wars.

This news is far from certain, but it does create a number of interesting questions. Assuming this casual MMO is for real, would it not cannibalize players from BioWare's Star Wars MMO Knights of the Old Republic? Even if the two are aimed at vastly different market segments, just how many lightsabers and Ewoks can the market bear before becoming oversaturated?

Plus, given that SOE's other attempt at a Star Wars MMO (the above-pictured Star Wars Galaxies) is widely seen as a catastrophic failure by anyone with a pulse and two eyes, why would LucasArts again entrust the company with their most valuable franchise?

Then again, after the last three Star Wars films we have no trouble imagining George Lucas signing off on absolutely anything if presented with a large enough bag of cash.

Permalink

 

[sturryz]

Slow down on the MMOs, make one at a time please.

 

[PS2MAN]

Is there no end to the amount of milk George is willing to squeeze out of the tits of his beloved cash cow? I mean seriously, enough is enough.

 

[El Poncho]

Why... Old Republic is looking good why make another one. Also there competing with themselfs.

 

[USSR]

Slow down on the MMOs, make one at a time please.

Agreed, I don't have enough money for all of them <.<

 

[Woodsey]

Seems utterly pointless.

PUT THE EFFORT INTO KOTOR 3!

 

[Ancientgamer]

&#3232;_&#3232;




Woodsey, they're being done by completely different studios.

 

[Woodsey]

Seems utterly pointless.

PUT THE EFFORT INTO KOTOR 3!

If SOE and Lucasarts partnered to make kotor 3 I think I'd have to kill myself.

No no no No no no No no no No no no No no no No no no xD

Wrong end of the stick my friend, I simply meant Lucas Arts - and they'd only be allowed to give it to Bioware.

Trust me, I love KotOR too much to see it f*cked over again (after it was with The Sith Lords and now this Old Republic MMO).

If it was my choice LA wouldn't have the Star Wars license - they don't deserve it.

 

[IxionIndustries]

Why are they making another one? Their first MMO was a pile of shit. Especially if you want to be a trader.

Just stop the shit stream...

 

[Rathy]

Considering how much love/horrible murder they are doing to the Clone Wars area with their cartoon releases, this actually wouldn't surprise me. Though it does make me die even more than normal on the inside.

 

[MR T3D]

but what if it were free...

 

[samsonguy920]

This does have bad idea written all over it. With Sony involved, it makes it worse.

 

[seule]

Yeah most people forget that SWG was a decent game to start with, until SOE felt the need to improve it. Case Study of how not to run an mmo really. But... George would do it for the money, he doesn't care if bioware and soe would be competing, both would be paying him money, and thats all that matters.

 

[AceDiamond]

Yeah most people forget that SWG was a decent game to start with, until SOE felt the need to improve it. Case Study of how not to run an mmo really. But... George would do it for the money, he doesn't care if bioware and soe would be competing, both would be paying him money, and thats all that matters.

I was just about to say that "Sony + MMO = Horrible Idea"

 

[cainx10a]

Even if the two are aimed at vastly different market segments, just how many lightsabers and Ewoks can the market bear before becoming oversaturated?

Wouldn't be too bad if the "casual" version was to be F2P with micro transaction.

 

[uppitycracker]

ahhhh galaxies, how i miss thee.... was such a wonderful game before they decided to completely change how the game plays..... hell, even the combat upgrade wasn't so bad.... but ya, anything else SOE ever does with the Star Wars universe will be met with unforgiving bitter hatred, by at least me.

 

[Ricardo58]

This game will completly suck! PPL wanted and Kotor 3, not a F***ing pay 2 play MMO.
And you know why it was made an MMO? Because EA (crappy and robbed) games is partially involved in it!

RIP Kotor
RIP Command and Conquer

 

[hypothetical fact]

Seems utterly pointless.

PUT THE EFFORT INTO KOTOR 3!

If SOE and Lucasarts partnered to make kotor 3 I think I'd have to kill myself.

No no no No no no No no no No no no No no no No no no xD

Wrong end of the stick my friend, I simply meant Lucas Arts - and they'd only be allowed to give it to Bioware.

Trust me, I love KotOR too much to see it f*cked over again (after it was with The Sith Lords and now this Old Republic MMO).

If it was my choice LA wouldn't have the Star Wars license - they don't deserve it.

The Sith Lords would have been a great game except Obsidian had crap all time to make it, hence the skip from Jedi temple straight to end game invasion. They had to cut a planet and the HK47 droid factory though some modders are getting it back in the game.

 

[Woodsey]

Seems utterly pointless.

PUT THE EFFORT INTO KOTOR 3!

If SOE and Lucasarts partnered to make kotor 3 I think I'd have to kill myself.

No no no No no no No no no No no no No no no No no no xD

Wrong end of the stick my friend, I simply meant Lucas Arts - and they'd only be allowed to give it to Bioware.

Trust me, I love KotOR too much to see it f*cked over again (after it was with The Sith Lords and now this Old Republic MMO).

If it was my choice LA wouldn't have the Star Wars license - they don't deserve it.

The Sith Lords would have been a great game except Obsidian had crap all time to make it, hence the skip from Jedi temple straight to end game invasion. They had to cut a planet and the HK47 droid factory though some modders are getting it back in the game.

Yeah, Lucas Arts is the problem. They seem to be so out of line with their fans (if there are any left) I'm surprised they can afford to make games still. They must be about the only publisher/developer that DOESN'T read their own official forums.

It's a shame for Obsidian, because they are a very good company. They just seem to inherit other people's IPs (mainly Bioware's). The original KotOR had an entire planet cut as well, but it doesn't feel like it's supposed to be there any way, and I only found out when reading about the game pretty recently.

Even with all the cut content from KotOR 2, if they'd of had time to refine it so it didn't feel like there were chunks missing it would of immediately felt 100 % better to play.