A Brief History of Star Wars GamesBeing an avid fan of Bioware's games Star Wars The Old Republic and Knights of the Old Republic, I have a great interest in Star Wars games not directed by Electronic Arts or EA. Star Wars games started out as games by independent companies that would pay licensing fees in order to create a Star Wars game, such as the ones I mentioned earlier. This system was thriving when Disney bought Lucasfilm in a massive purchase in 2012 that gave Disney the rights to make Star Wars movies and Star Wars content. With Disney having a deal with EA, beginning around 2014 EA gained exclusive rights to make Star Wars games. With only one company making the games, the quality of the games began to drop off, and only a few well-received titles were produced such as Battlefront II. Almost all other ideas were complete flops. This led to Disney wanting more money, which meant the time of EA's exclusive reign over Star Wars video games would have to come to an end. What is the Change?For the first time since 2014, a Star Wars game has been made by a company not named Electronic Arts. To put it simply, according to Venturebeat, is that Disney wants games that EA doesn't have experience in or doesn't want to make, which led to Disney not renewing their exclusive contract with the video game giant. In order to make the games that they want, they require the services of another large video game giant, Ubisoft. Known for its open world series, the company is very ready and able to take on the task of bringing the Star Wars galaxy to the small screen. Another reason why the change may be occurring is simply financial, EA games aren't bringing in the same money they used to, due to fatigue or lack of quality as discussed earlier. Whatever the reason, Disney and Lucasfilm are moving to greener pastures to create new games. In short
ReferencesGrubb, Jeff. “Ubisoft Is Making the Star Wars Game That EA Couldn't.” VentureBeat, VentureBeat, 13 Jan. 2021, venturebeat.com/2021/01/13/ubisoft-is-making-the-star-wars-game-that-ea-couldnt/.
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Why is this happening?2021 is expected to be another big year for the video game industry as lockdowns continue through the world and more people at home. Even after the lockdowns, gaming is still expected to rise, as people are becoming aware to more titles, which in turn means more games will be produced which means more money for the industry. With more money for the gaming companies, more titles can be released which expands their audience and creates more money to make more games. In essence, this trend is likely to continue and is probably not going to be slowing down anytime soon. Now for the predictionsThe first major prediction by industry experts is that slowdowns will continue. Even with all of the demand, games will be slower to produce just like they were in 2020, for example games like Far Cry 6 and Rainbow Six - Quarantine were supposed to come out around Christmas 2020, however they have been pushed back due to recent global events. The hardest impact will be on games that are still early in pre production or production, meaning that there is still a long way to go to finish these products. These games could suffer even longer delays as these games are already years away. Second of all, games like Animal Crossing and Among Us have been very popular, so expect to see many companies try to replicate that success with similar games of their own. In addition, Epic Games also plans on expanding its app marketplace as its golden goose, Fortnite, was slain in cold blood by Apple so expect some serious competition from Epic. In short
ReferencesColantonio, Giovanni. “4 Big Predictions About Where Gaming Will Go in 2021.” Digital Trends, Digital Trends, 1 Jan. 2021, www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/video-game-predictions-2021/.
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AuthorHello my name is Owen Howard. I am a junior currently enrolled at Durham School of the Arts and this blog will document my experiences in this class. Categories
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