Disney Acquires LucasArts

[Oct 31, 2012, 3:01 pm ET] - Share - Viewing Comments

The Walt Disney Co. has agreed to acquire Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion in cash and stock, in one of the big stories the storm prevented us from reporting when it was announced yesterday. As noted by latimes.com, the deal includes ILM and most everything else from the Star Wars franchise to LucasArts, the company's gaming arm. The story focuses on plans to imbue Disney's theme parks with The Force and on plans to continue the Star Wars film series, but Forbes has word on the gaming implications of this, suggesting that this might make LucasArts' gaming efforts less focused, rather than more. They say Bob Iger indicated PC titles will likely be licensed, and "In its core division, Disney will likely be focusing on social and mobile games based around Star Wars." In the meantime, Star Wars 1313 is still on track, but they also note the complications of persuing other projects gamers dream about: "As for all those other dream titles? It’s more complicated than just Lucas being out of the picture. KOTOR 3 for example is under the license granted to EA/Bioware currently, and after the disaster of The Old Republic, it’s hard to imagine them gambling on a game so similar, even if the old ones were classics."

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26.

Re: Disney Acquires LucasArts

Oct 31, 2012, 18:20

DangerDog

They need to make this a reality, I would probably visit the park if they did. http://i.imgur.com/7XSEf.jpg

25.

Re: Disney Acquires LucasArts

Oct 31, 2012, 17:39

Julio

The most recent trilogy blew chunks, but still I feel like Star Wars has been sold to the Sith.

24.

Re: Disney Acquires LucasArts

Oct 31, 2012, 17:36

SlimRam

TOO CYNICAL???

Yeah, RIGHT!!!




The Can Opener Wasn’t Invented Until 48 Years After the Invention of the Can...

23.

Re: Disney Acquires LucasArts

Oct 31, 2012, 17:23

jdreyer

With Jar Jar and Dex, Star Wars had already started down the path to the dark side. With it's acquisition by Disney it's journey to the dark side is complete.

Perhaps I'm too cynical. Disney has made some excellent Marvel movies over the past few years.




Man is equally incapable of seeing the nothingness from which he emerges and the infinity in which he is engulfed.

22.

Re: Out of the Blue

Oct 31, 2012, 17:21

Rigs

NegaDeath wrote on Oct 31, 2012, 17:08:
Edit:
New vehicle design revealed!

You'll be crying when that actually happens...

Wildone wrote on Oct 31, 2012, 17:05:
Yea its so dead Star Citizen raised over 2 million already..just dead int he mind of the console kiddies..

I didn't say it was dead, I said it's considered dead and niche...

=-Rigs-=




*'Now, we gave you a promise and we are bound by that promise and damn you for asking for it! And damn me for agreeing to it! And damn all of us to hell, because that is exactly where we're going!'*

21.

Re: Disney Acquires LucasArts

Oct 31, 2012, 17:15

ASeven

Hah, Disney finally took the plunge and did what they kept saying they would do. Now let's hope the next trilogy doesn't end up as the last one.

20.

Re: Disney Acquires LucasArts

Oct 31, 2012, 17:13

Panickd

nin wrote on Oct 31, 2012, 15:22: Seriously though, this is a lot of hemming and hawing over nothing. The same kind of outcry was heard when Disney bought Marvel and what happened? They just let Marvel do it's own thing and got a gem of a film out of it. Most folks generally seem to be in favor of the purchase. So "couldn't possibly fuck it up more than Lucas" is favorable? Seems like a pretty low positivity bar to get over, but OK. Of course that could have been part of his cunning plan. Shit all over it so that even the sale to a large media company looks like a good thing.

19.

Re: Disney Acquires LucasArts

Oct 31, 2012, 17:08

NegaDeath

theyarecomingforyou wrote on Oct 31, 2012, 16:56: Pre-production for Episode VII has already started. They released the first photo from the set yesterday, where George Lucas denied reports that the new trilogy would be targeted at children. Episode VII set No JarJar... Best sequel since Empire! Edit: New vehicle design revealed!

18.

Re: Disney Acquires LucasArts

Oct 31, 2012, 17:07

Dr. D. Schreber

I'm more worried about the fan-work community Star Wars enjoys. Disney is the company that's thrown copyright at preschools; on the one hand, maybe they won't have that attitude towards Star Wars since it's not their flagship characters. On the other hand, I wouldn't call it paranoid to save copies of Star Wars parodies and fan-films in case they drop the Cease and Desist hammer everywhere.




NOT THE BEES! NOT THE BEES THEY'RE IN MY EYES AARRGRHGHGGAFHGHFGHFG! (170 Hit Combo)

17.

Re: Out of the Blue

Oct 31, 2012, 17:05

Wildone

Yea its so dead Star Citizen raised over 2 million already..just dead int he mind of the console kiddies..

16.

Re: Disney Acquires LucasArts

Oct 31, 2012, 16:56

theyarecomingforyou

Pre-production for Episode VII has already started. They released the first photo from the set yesterday, where George Lucas denied reports that the new trilogy would be targeted at children.

Episode VII set




Core i7 2600-K (4.6GHz) \| 12GB DDR3 \| GTX680 SLI (1215/1605) \| OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SSD \| Windows 8 Pro Hazro HZ30Wie 30" \| Saffire PRO 40 \| Razer Mamba \| Coolermaster RP1000W SteamID: theyarecomingforyou

15.

Re: Disney Acquires LucasArts

Oct 31, 2012, 16:54

w00tie

I'm cool with this as long as Hamill uses his Joker voice.

14.

Re: Disney Acquires LucasArts

Oct 31, 2012, 16:50

SlimRam

finally!

now I can finally get that Mickey mouse/Lego/Star Wars/Space Mountain/yoda speak/epic Pluto adventure_roleplaying_sex simulator that I have been having gas pains over and losing sleep over not being able to buy.

how could there be ANY down side to this????




The Can Opener Wasn’t Invented Until 48 Years After the Invention of the Can...

13.

Re: Disney Acquires LucasArts

Oct 31, 2012, 16:44

Acleacius

KOTOR 4 ( set 200 hundred years in the future) could bypass, the KOTOR (giving them 100 to 150 years for their game) 3 blockade .




Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history.....and they are stupid. Dwight D. Eisenhower

12.

Re: Disney Acquires LucasArts

Oct 31, 2012, 16:36

Optional nickname

So when does Miley Cirus begin reading her script for her role as lead character in the new movie? Joke aside, and yes I was actually serious, I am glad that this is in the hands of ANYONE other than the locked pendant that Lucas became... OH SHIT I JUST REALIZED SOMETHING! WHEN IS X-WING VS TIE FIGHTER REMAKE COMING OUT THEN??

11.

Re: Out of the Blue

Oct 31, 2012, 16:04

Beamer

I'm curious to know who takes Star Wars, and what budget they give it.

Brad Bird, perhaps?




------------- Music for the discerning: http://www.deathwishinc.com http://www.hydrahead.com http://www.painkillerrecords.com

10.

Re: Out of the Blue

Oct 31, 2012, 15:46

nin

As for LucasArts...I think it will be some time before we ever here about the possibility of an X-Wing/Tie Fighter revival.

They haven't been overly kind to their own studios (see last years closings):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Interactive_Studios

But they seem to be hinting they have no problems licensing stuff to external studios:

"We're likely to focus more on social and mobile than we are on console. We'll look opportunistically at console, most likely in licensing rather than publishing, but we think that given the nature of these characters and how well known they are, and the storytelling, that they lend themselves quite nicely, as they've already demonstrated to the other platforms."




RollinThundr Apr 17, 2013, 12:25: Eh really tossing stuff like that in there only to get your panties all bunched up. If you really want to call that trolling sure. Mr. Tact Apr 17, 2013, 12:33: Pretty sure that's the definition of trolling...

Re: Disney Acquires LucasArts

Oct 31, 2012, 15:45

NegaDeath

I'd bet money that the sooner the focus on prequel crap is dropped the faster the value of the IP increases. I don't think anyone would disagree that if EpIV 3D went up against EpI 3D in the same theater that the latter wouldn't even have crickets watching.

Re: Out of the Blue

Oct 31, 2012, 15:41

Rigs

While cautiously optimistic, you guys have to remember that in the original press release, they said that the new movie of the new trilogy was already being worked on and they had a plot for a while. Add that to the statement from Lucas that if he DID make another trilogy, the story would be NOTHING like what came out in the books, it has me hoping that I'm just being paranoid. I'm also wondering what this does to the live-action Clone Wars tv show? Is it coming out still or was it cancelled?

As for LucasArts...I think it will be some time before we ever here about the possibility of an X-Wing/Tie Fighter revival. Disney has money to make up and they're going to do that by throwing anything out there that they know will sell barrels and buckets. Keep in mind, the space-sim genre is thought to be dead and a 'niche' genre. I don't see them changing that any time soon. Though, if Roberts has a good release of Star Citizen, they might change their minds. And since they say they will probably just license it out, they might even give it to Roberts to make...which I like and don't like in equal quantities...

The only thing we can do right now, unfortunately, is sit and wait...like usual...

=-Rigs-=




*'Now, we gave you a promise and we are bound by that promise and damn you for asking for it! And damn me for agreeing to it! And damn all of us to hell, because that is exactly where we're going!'*

Re: Disney Acquires LucasArts

Oct 31, 2012, 15:32

Tumbler

I feel like Disney is getting this stuff for a bargain. I don't know how much stock is involved but the 4 billion in cash is a surprisingly low number. In the hands of the right people these IP's should be worth FAR more than that I think.

Lucas did an amazing job making the Star Wars and Indiana Jones IP look like shit in the past decade. I have to imagine this stuff was worth A LOT more before he started doing the clone wars stuff and Indiana Jones stuff.

For all I know he made more than enough to justify the drop in quality. The theaters were packed for each movie if I remember. I went and saw them...maybe he made more than enough to compensate for the drop in value of his company/companies. Plus he did those special editions...and I went and saw all those...didn't I? I can't remember, pretty sure I did.

I wonder if that Episode I 3d release was the straw that broke the camels back? I don't know anyone that saw that and I have to imagine that is kind of telling for Lucas.

I feel like we should be thanking him (Lucas) for selling. It's painful to see such a powerful and amazing franchise get such poor leadership.

I'm cautiously optimistic about Episode 7. Assuming this is the Heir to the empire trilogy I'll be very interested to see more details. If it's not and they're just making a new story I'd say we're in for more of the same.

That Zahn trilogy was amazing. So much awesome stuff in that. Put some money into a decent team that can do the story justice.

What do you do with all the people working at Lucasfilm/Arts right now? If you were serious about getting these IP's strong again it's hard not to just fire everyone and start over. Hire back people who you think will be good but I have to imagine those organizations are a product of Lucas' choices over the past 10 years.




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