- Lo-Ping - http://www.lo-ping.org -

Where Are All the Good Star Wars Games?

If you’re anything like me, your biggest disappointment this generation is the lack of Star Wars games we’ve seen. Sure, The Old Republic is in development, but what about everything else? Compared to the masses of Star Wars titles released last generation, The Force Unleashed I and II and The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes don’t amount to much of anything. We’ve all been hoping for another Knights of The Old Republic, Jedi Knight, or Battlefront, but they’re nowhere to be seen. What gives, LucasArts?

Back when The Old Republic was first announced, LucasArts stated that they had no intention of abandoning the Knights of The Old Republic franchise. Yet it’s been nearly seven years since the release of Knights of The Old Republic II: The Sith Lords and we haven’t even heard the slightest peep about it. Where’s our sequel?

What about Battlefront? Surely LucasArts would like to continue developing console/PC installments of their best-selling franchise, but all we’ve seen since 2004 is a few handheld spin-offs. A couple years ago, supposedly leaked gameplay footage from Battlefront 3 surfaced all over internetland. It looked legitimate enough, but we haven’t heard a whisper about the project since. What was the fate of this sequel that’s at the top of most fans’ wishlists?

Jedi Knight, of course, is another beloved franchise that fans have been wanting to see make a return. To my knowledge LucasArts never publicly stated that they’d be continuing the series. However, an article appeared in Official Xbox Magazine last fall in which LucasArts talked about the scrapped ideas that eventually led to the creation of The Force Unleashed. One of those ideas was a sequel to the Jedi Knight series, titled “Jedi Master.” Nobody can blame LucasArts for wanting to start a new series for the next generation consoles, but now even The Force Unleashed III is rumored to have been cancelled and the venerable Jedi Knight series seems to be gone along with it.

Another frequently requested sequel, although not to the same degree as the other three, is Republic Commando. Almost everyone I ask about this game has fond memories of it and it must have been pretty successful, considering  it spawned a series of novels, comic books, and a mobile phone game. Yet, seven years later, a sequel is nowhere to be found. Why LucasArts wouldn’t capitalize in such success is beyond me.

On the off-chance that anyone from LucasArts is reading this, please inform us. What is the thought process here?