Star Wars is in EA's Hands... Should We Be Worried?

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In the wake of the news last month that LucasArts was effectively shut down, the future of the Star Wars franchise as it relates to the video game industry was not looking good. That feeling of sadness can now be replaced by either cautious optimism or dreaded terror as publishing giant Electronic Arts has been ordained with the license to make Star Wars games. The three developers EA has in mind for this mega-franchise are DICE of Battlefield fame, Visceral who is known by most as the makers of Dead Space, and BioWare who are no strangers to Star Wars with the beloved Knights of the Old Republic.

Could Electronic Arts actually do right by Star Wars? I could give them the benefit of the doubt as EA is currently undergoing a few structural changes, not the least of which is the resignation of now-former CEO John Riccitiello. New management could lead to the company adopting less anti-consumer practices and fostering more creative freedom from the talented developers under their wing, learning from their past mistakes. However, it's just about equally possible that they could do… well, what they've been doing for the past few years.

We shouldn't need to worry about EA turning a Star Wars game into a homogenized tasteless mess in the same way that games like Dead Space 3 were handled. We're not talking about Dead Space, Mirror's Edge, Dragon Age or any IP that EA feels is too niche for the mass market. This is Star Wars we're talking about, a cultural fucking phenomenon. All EA needs to do is trust in the studios they've got lined up to make good video games. In a perfect world, they would be able to do this regardless of the IP, but with the Star Wars license EA has literally no logical reason to “play it safe” for mass appeal. As I said, we shouldn't need to worry about it, but some people can't help but worry anyway.

Of course, the thoughts that probably run through most people's minds aren't about how the games will play, but whether they'll have micro-transactions, online passes, day-one DLC, always-online DRM, or any of EA's other lovely additions to their games. That's what worries me, how much bullshit I'll have to put up with so I can finally play great Star Wars games again. Either way, it'll be interesting to see what one of the current largest video game publishers does with one of the biggest franchises in entertainment history.

P.S. If I even hear rumors about EA publishing The Force Unleashed 3, I might actually forcefully expel pure hatred out of every orifice in my body.