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Will Not, Can Not, Must Not
Having two major products launch simultaneously on Memorial Day weekend is not an easy task for any company, even one the size of LucasArts. As anyone who has ever designed a game will tell you, meeting an exact release date is nearly impossible - companies have enough trouble pinning down the right year, much less an exact day. Still, LucasArts knew going in that these games had to be ready for the film launch. "It's important that the games be out then because of all the activity surrounding the film and to ensure we are supporting the film properly," says Sorensen. John Knoles puts things more bluntly. "We will not, can not, and must not miss our ship date."
Concept artwork of the planet of Corsucant.
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To meet the challenge, LucasArts employees had to enter crunch mode months ago, which means long hours, no vacations, and a mass of pressure. "Right now, I get home about one or two in the morning and show back up at work around eight, all the time while my wife is expecting her second baby… and we have an 18-month-old baby at home," explains Knoles. Although crunch-mode is nothing new to employees in the software industry, there's a unique urgency associated with getting all the bugs squashed and the games balanced to meet an exact ship date. Every minute lost is one that can never be recovered because the games are tied to launching with the film, and serious dollars are being dedicated to a TV advertising campaign set to launch in early June.
Anakin in his Pod preparing to race on Tatooine in the film.
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One of the last-minute items that LucasArts just received in early March was John Williams' new music for the film, recorded with the London Pops in February. The score now must be turned around and implemented in both games at a break-neck pace. "We knew this was going to happen," explains Sorensen, "but it's tough to compress an eight- to ten-week schedule for music into three or four weeks. But the team is committed to doing it." As for early impressions of the music, Knoles simply says, "It's fantastic!"
Mary Bihr, director of sales and marketing.
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With the products arriving on store shelves to coincide with the film's release, LucasArts is expecting big sales for both games on all platforms. However, the PC versions of both Racer and The Phantom Menace will require a 3D accelerator card, which may limit the sales - at least initially. Mary Bihr, director of sales and marketing, acknowledges this.
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"I hope the adoption rate [for 3D cards] will be higher by May," she says. "But until 3D cards are more common, they will confine the marketplace for these games on the PC to what is generally defined as a hard core gamer."
Then again, this consideration will be a moot point if the games don't make their launch date. "Yeah, of course it's a concern whether we are going to make the dates," admits Sorensen. "I'll have that concern until I see the games on store shelves." Yes, the tension at LucasArts will remain high until the products are completed and shipped. Only then can they relax. "But not before we see the finished movie!" says Knoles.
George Chimes In
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