In the future, LucasArts hopes to develop titles that’ll impress rather than disappoint.
LucasArts currently has a reputation squarely in the middle. Sometimes it develops a great product, and sometimes things go somewhat awry as with the internally developed Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II. LucasArts president Paul Meegan admits that the company hasn’t always succeeded, but promises that it’ll try to do better in the future.
“LucasArts is a company with tremendous potential,” Meegan told MCV. “I think people look at it and wonder why it hasn’t done better in recent years.”
Meegan says he believes that the properties of Lucasfilm are “some of the most beloved and powerful brands in entertainment,” and that the company is “surrounded by staggeringly bright and creative people at the top of their games.” He almost seems somewhat confused with the idea that LucasArts hasn’t always lived up to expectations.
“In recent years, LucasArts hasn’t always done a good job of making games,” he added. “We should be making games that define our medium, that are competitive with the best of our industry, but we’re not. That has to change.”
Meegan’s plan for change will start with “authentic, immersive, high quality Star Wars games.” In late April 2011, LucasArts signed a long-term licensing deal to use Unreal Engine 3 for multiple projects, which is definitely part of Meegan’s initiative. Meegan didn’t say what kind of genres it would put these upcoming games in, but one of them better be an X-Wing or Tie Fighter flight-sim reboot. Seriously, how long have we been waiting for one of those?
Source: MCV
