LucasArts-Bioware announcement coming Oct. 21

  • By , GameSpot
  • Posted Oct 6, 2008 2:40 pm PT

Publisher and EA subsidiary say "wait will be over" for first info on "rumored game"--pegged as the KOTOR MMORPG--in two weeks.

Last week, Nintendo denied it was working on a DS redesign...72 hours before it announced that it was working on a DS redesign. Electronic Arts has been doing a similar publicity pas de deux about the " next-generation entertainment product" that its BioWare studio announced last October.

Whatever could this be?

Despite rumors pegging the project as being a massively multiplayer online role-playing sequel to its acclaimed RPG Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, BioWare kept its wall of silence clamped firmly down for over a year. Speaking with GameSpot after the EA buyout, studio cofounders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuck deflected questions about the game in development at their new-ish Austin studio. "We haven't revealed any details about the game," said Muzyka. "It's supersecret right now."

That secrecy evaporated this past July when EA CEO John Riccitiello casually revealed that, yes, a KOTOR MMORPG was in the works. Since then, details on the project--which other EA executives still refuse to speak of--have been nonexistent, with its platforms, price, and exact launch date still unknown.

"LucasArts and BioWare invite you to attend the official unveiling of the game that's been rumored about for years," reads the invite before providing event-locale details. The gathering will be held in San Francisco on the afternoon of October 21, just more than a month after the release of the latest Star Wars game, The Force Unleashed. At a presentation at the Game Developers Conference this past March, producer Hayden Blackman said that the fast-selling game was settled on after a proposed third single-player KOTOR game was ruled out.

532 Comments

  • GDawg333

    Posted Nov 1, 2008 1:21 pm PT

    I cant wait! I hope its as great as KOTOR 1 and 2. I still play those!

  • CarlitosWay

    Posted Oct 21, 2008 2:27 pm PT

    Where is it at??

  • WeWerePirates

    Posted Oct 21, 2008 2:22 pm PT

    Online KotOR, just announced

  • Jka333

    Posted Oct 21, 2008 2:00 pm PT

    I hope this isn't KOTOR 3 but a MMO set in KOTOR era. By making a KOTOR MMO they have made the end of the story become a lot more fragile.

    Also, my isp sucks (high speed fx anyone?) so i will lag horribly not to mention a subscription fee.

    I'm willing to wait longer as long as they do a good job! This has the potential to be beyond amazing but theres more ways that they can screw up.

  • CarlitosWay

    Posted Oct 21, 2008 1:44 pm PT

    Last time i waited this anxiously for news was when KOTOR was first even rumored... I couldnt shut up about it... Deja Vu anyone?

  • Moop25

    Posted Oct 21, 2008 12:57 pm PT

    AWH YEAH!

  • etmaul

    Posted Oct 21, 2008 12:47 pm PT

    This announcement had better be freakin' awesome! Anytime now Lucasarts-Bioware!

  • DarthJared27

    Posted Oct 21, 2008 12:37 pm PT

    We have to wait till 5 o clock because its in Pacific Time those West Coast Bastards!

  • WeWerePirates

    Posted Oct 21, 2008 12:24 pm PT

    For those spamming F5, the event is scheduled for 2pm in San Francisco. For those wondering what that means their local time: at time of writing this comment it's 12:20PM in San Francisco.

  • GamerX-treme

    Posted Oct 21, 2008 11:33 am PT

    where is the news????
    Cant wait!!!

  • Katiff

    Posted Oct 21, 2008 8:19 am PT

    WHATS THE NEWS? IVE BEEN WAITING SINCE 8AM!

  • Genesiiss

    Posted Oct 21, 2008 3:25 am PT

    All I wanted was just 1 more kotor for the 360, then maybe a mmo

  • seriousjoker93

    Posted Oct 20, 2008 6:21 pm PT

    it shouldnt be too bad if they stick the elements that made this such an awesome game in the first place.

    just pray they dont screw it up...

  • 99tim

    Posted Oct 20, 2008 8:53 am PT

    I agree with Carlito's earlier post, we need to put all of our current thoughts and views on MMO's aside and remember that bioware is making this. If it truely is a mmorpg, why give up the franchise yourself when you would have never given it a chance.

  • littlewolf12

    Posted Oct 20, 2008 7:58 am PT

    Personally I cant fracken wait. I think I might need a new pair of underwear if they actually announce KOTORO. GIGIDI Star wars fans are in delight

  • CarlitosWay

    Posted Oct 19, 2008 7:43 pm PT

    Man soo many things are gonig to happen on tuesday. Sooo many releases, and now this adds to the suspense. God i wish i didnt have a Midterm to turn into for my Religion Analysis class on weds lol. i do agree with you Itcbhouse, about EA. ITs monopolizing everything now, and we all know what happens to good companies that get swallowed by guys like these Still, the Force is strong with Bioware.

  • ltcbhouse

    Posted Oct 18, 2008 7:17 pm PT

    I don't have a problem with MMO's and I am not afraid of change but I am still a little pissed. KOTOR fans have been begging for a third instalment and the powers that be have ignored their fan base by refusing to release another single player campaign. Knowing their fan base they should have made a single player campaign that would be used to introduce the new worlds and conncept of their MMO. To make matters worse the awsomeness of Bioware has been bought out by the anti-creative thinking EA. I will wait to see what other people think of this game before I run out and buy it. That being said, I cannot help but feel pumped about it's release.

  • CarCrazy709

    Posted Oct 18, 2008 12:16 pm PT

    MMO? There goes the franchise.

    Further proof that LucasArts caters to the 12-yr old demographic.

  • GriffinLord602

    Posted Oct 18, 2008 6:55 am PT

    Well I'm glad there's gonna be new info. But it better be good information, cause if they only show little snippets of gameplay or whatever, then im gonna go crazzy! After all this time! .

  • Nemesis_x2

    Posted Oct 17, 2008 12:48 pm PT

    This is taking forever to wait even if im sick on top of it,.

  • aceball69

    Posted Oct 17, 2008 9:46 am PT

    mmorpg??? that blows... single player would be soooo much better

  • Genesiiss

    Posted Oct 16, 2008 10:11 pm PT

    This sucks period!!!

  • beigeknight

    Posted Oct 16, 2008 12:04 pm PT

    I just hope they make it as in-depth as SWG. Just keep SOE away from it.

  • CarlitosWay

    Posted Oct 14, 2008 4:29 pm PT

    Im not being naive to those who are hating MMOs. I play WoW and ive played SWG and trust me, deep down inside i really do hate WoW and what it has done to the online sector. But think about it like this: Put aside your hate for MMOs, cast aside your hate for WoW. Pretend it never even came out. Just think of an ever changing universe. A universe based on the old republic... A universe you can COMPLETELY change. If that doesnt spark interest, then i dont believe you are a fan of hte series. You are right. Everyone, including other MMO developers have stuck their fingers in hte WoW cookie jar. Who wouldnt? It has sooo much hype its not even funny. And it partially deserves it. It delivers on everythnig you cna ask for. However, the problem lies i nthe fact that its repetitive. Everyone is doing the same thing: lvling, raiding, pvping, and dailies. Thats it. These guys at Bioware need to steer away from everything WoW has become, and bring us something that makes all of us that are critiquing MMOs come back and delete our posts.

    Now, dont get me wrong, i FEAR TO DEATH, where this might be headed. But, as such is in Star Wars, there is always hope. Lets hope that my faith in BW does not go unheard.

  • grover41389

    Posted Oct 14, 2008 12:58 pm PT

    Just bc its KOTOR... this will be my 1st mmo

  • Anthrax88

    Posted Oct 13, 2008 2:34 pm PT

    I must say i would like a star wars MMO if it was something like SWG Pre-CU in style, but of course in the old republic era. Otherwise I'm more interested in a large single player game with great story, like the previous kotor titles. Also a Single player game with Co-op option sounds like a good idea. Being able to play the story through with one or two friends.

  • akt42

    Posted Oct 10, 2008 9:27 pm PT

    man i ve been waiting for this game to come every since the first one the ending was badd so maybe they can make up for it, also maybe u will be able to move the lighsaber this time like a mass effect sort of effect instead of watching your player fight for u....

  • LostSoul1974

    Posted Oct 10, 2008 6:48 am PT

    You know, I'm still laughing at the idea of an "announcement of an upcoming announcement".

  • DefHalan

    Posted Oct 9, 2008 10:40 pm PT

    I hope they are going to say something about mass effect 2 and everyone that wants KOTOR gets sad jk but really wat ever happened to Mass Effect?

  • rsunset327

    Posted Oct 9, 2008 7:44 pm PT

    http://dagobah.biz/flash/whatisaman.swf

  • bertburch

    Posted Oct 9, 2008 6:25 pm PT

    The key to a Staw Wars MMO or other game is the storyline. SW fans are here because we love the story. We all know how many bad SW or Star Trek games there have been in the past, but with this many post already, it looks like we are all still in love with the story and characters. I only wish it was a Clone Wars MMO. Heck, they could even tie in pieces of the new animated shows into the game. That would have been really cool.

  • why9090909090

    Posted Oct 9, 2008 5:30 pm PT

    15 bucks a month is near nothing when you spend 60 bucs a week in gas.. Timmy_Gwar, people spend probably up to 10 bucks a day in cigarettes, thats a bad analogy when your practically spending 50 cents a day on an MMO, thats about the change you get back from buying something at a stor or whatever, i'm so looking forward to this game

  • JediNicole

    Posted Oct 9, 2008 3:00 pm PT

    The fact that I will have to pay monthly for this game encourages me because it means there will be less annoying children to bother me on the game. Free MMO's on the internet are little more than a social scene for 4th graders through Freshmen in High School. I am very willing to pay if it means I won't have to put up with that. Super excited for this MMO!

  • VAAAK23

    Posted Oct 9, 2008 2:17 pm PT

    I don't think that a SW MMO necessarily means that we won't see a KOTOR3 in the future, just not now. There's obviously a market for it, seems how SWG was quite popular until SOE fragged it up by trying to make it into a WOW clone. I hope that Lucasarts pulls the licensing from SOE and puts that lame horse down. With Bioware's track record, this game has great potential.

  • SamP GameSpot staff member

    Posted Oct 9, 2008 1:41 pm PT

    Looking forward to hearing the news.

  • Timmy_Gwar

    Posted Oct 9, 2008 10:20 am PT

    I'm getting sick of MMO's, they drain money like ciggarettes for little reason. Seriously, how much money does Blizzard rake in every month? More than enough to keep thier servers running. Viva la Free Blockbuster MMO!

  • mankeyador

    Posted Oct 9, 2008 10:16 am PT

    this is gonna be amazing. bioware and lucasart belong together. I hope they will yet again make a masterpiece.

  • ele975

    Posted Oct 9, 2008 9:17 am PT

    I remember Kotor II creating more questions than answers, like what happened to Revan and Bastila, didn't Revan travel to an unexplored space? And Bastila chased after him right? What happened to the both of them? I hope it's a third, we deserve answers, we have waited too long!

  • lev_six

    Posted Oct 9, 2008 12:37 am PT

    Too bad they did not do another KOTOR instead of the lame Force Unleashed. I am looking forward to this "super secret" project.

  • thegodfatherIV

    Posted Oct 8, 2008 11:24 pm PT

    I cannot wait...

  • Brodoin15

    Posted Oct 8, 2008 7:45 pm PT

    I'm not saying it will, but if this game gets a really good rating, people who are bashing it would have to give it a try. If they do a good job, and MMO won't be bad. Look at the glass half full not half empty.

  • WeWerePirates

    Posted Oct 8, 2008 4:48 pm PT

    I'd be much more interested in a single player game. The strength of KotOR was story telling, while MMO's have made great leaps forwards in story telling it's still one of the mediums weaknesses and it's not something that keeps you playing. MMO's take a lot more time investment to get anything out of them so for the player story always falls by the wayside. Having other players in the same world just makes somes things impossible or silly. One of the best things about KotOR was the big twist, this just can't work in an MMO because not everyone can be special. AoC tried and it just felt bolted on and just silly with a world full of chosen ones. Human interaction detracts from the NPC interaction, just imagine something like the Bastilla romance, with the contrast of interacting with other people it would be like talking to a blow up doll, worse a comunal blow up doll.

    I've played two new MMO's this year (WAR and AoC) and both left me cold after a few weeks. Even so I don't have an aversion to MMO's though, two of the upcoming games I'm most excited by are Stargate Worlds and DCU online because both games look like they will play to the medium's strengths by being an open ended play ground, not for the plot.

    We know nothing about this game yet so if it is an MMO then maybe it'll be interesting, in fact it'll probably be great BUT given all the story telling limitations in terms of moving the story forward and creating an experience like the original game a single player game has much more potential.

    For that reason I will be disappointed if it's anything but a single player KotOR 3 announced, for the missed opportunity for a continuation of a game I loved.

  • Valen_Ca

    Posted Oct 8, 2008 4:37 pm PT

    I am glad to see that game makers are finally taking the condo approach to selling their games, after all, why just sell the game once when you can sell and then charge people rent to play it? To top it all off it will probably come with a free rootkit!
    In all seriousness though, KOTOR was an excellent single player game with a brilliant story, now they want to toss that aside for an MMO? Hey newsflash guys, if you want to give people human controlled partners just create, or rip off, a co-op system where you can drop in and out at any time.

  • quirky_clayboy

    Posted Oct 8, 2008 4:03 pm PT

    @ Carlitos. I am a fan of the series and I can honestly say an MMO does not interest me in the slightest. Don't dismiss the very real concerns that other fans have. Since WoW, every man and his dog is trying their hand at it, and with limited success. There are many in the gaming fraternity that don't like this trend - the modus operandi of these games is to create an addiction in the gamer that ensures continued cash flow. Don't be naive.

  • CarlitosWay

    Posted Oct 8, 2008 2:53 pm PT

    Ele975: Bastilla and Carth both went looking for Revan, but they did not travel to the far outer-rim. They had big problems going on.
    Honestly guys, if you were really "fans" of a gaming series, that crap you talk about "Omg an MMO... NOOO!" is stupid. What, you dont think that Warcraft players said the same bogus crap before WoW? Even more than now, because back then, MMOs werent anything big (cept Pre-Cu SWG). Think of how good a company Bioware is. Then think about the amount of money and technology LA can dump into this idea (dotn forget DMM and Euphoria). Regardless of MMO or not, thsi game will be freaking awesome and it will be in my collection.

  • ele975

    Posted Oct 8, 2008 1:54 pm PT

    I remember Kotor II creating more questions than answers, like what happened to Revan and Bastila, didn't Revan travel to an unexplored space? And Bastila chased after him right? What happened to the both of them? I hope it's a third, we deserve answers, we have waited too long!

  • GhostStalkerX1

    Posted Oct 8, 2008 1:20 pm PT

    I agree with BewilderedRonin. Servers to hold the massive amount of people require money to maintain and fix if they go down. Dont get me wrong, back when I played WoW I kinda hated the 15 bucks a month. But if you look at it, thanks to that 15 a month people that play will enjoy a smooth game. Mabie they wont charge 15 a month mabie it will be less idk we will just have to see. True you will have anoying kids trying to act cool yet there Tards, this is simple. Dont play/team up with them, bottem line. To those that havent tried MMO's, give it a shot. Most of the time you get a month free to try it out. Dont like it? Dont play it. All in all, we will just have to w8 for Oct, 21st.

  • couly

    Posted Oct 8, 2008 12:54 pm PT

    Jesus, does EA publish everything?

  • lightwarrior179

    Posted Oct 8, 2008 12:03 pm PT

    Not into MMO's and hence despite loving KotOR to death have lost my interest in this KotOR MMO. Talk about the fusion of two completely different elements into one package...

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