Seems the EA empire just wasn't big enough. In a move that would make Palpatine proud, EA is extending its reach, expanding its virtual Empire like an encroaching Death Star. After acquiring LucasArts, Walt Disney has struck a deal to have Electronic Arts be the exclusive publisher and developer of Star Wars games for the forseeable future. Fan reactions to the announcement went something like this.
Label Prsident Frank Gibeau had no comment on games whose fate has been left up in the air since the virtual dissolution of LucasArts, like Star Wars 1313, saying, "While we don't have any details to share today on specific titles, our development teams are already brimming with design ideas...The EA Studios that will develop these games are some of the most innovative and popular creative teams in the world, and include DICE and Visceral, in addition to the BioWare team, which is already developing for the Star Wars franchise."
$10 they have a Star Wars expansion already in the works for the new Sims though. This must be what all those layoffs were all about.
EA is no stranger to costly deals. Their exclusivity "arrangement" with the NFL was estimated at a whopping $300 million, and they have similar deals with ESPN and the NCAA. While the financial terms of this latest deal weren't disclosed, you can bet it's another few sheckles in EA's pocket, especially with the new movies set to appear in the next few years.
According to the press release, EA will develop and publish new Star Wars games for the "core gaming audience" across all interactive platforms and "most popular game genres," whereas Disney will retain certain rights to mobile, social, tablet and online games.
