Category Archives: Disney

Star Wars studio LucasArts may have been shuttered by new bosses Disney, but that hasn’t stopped the house of mouse from considering licensed games based on the Lucas universe moving forward. Obsidian Entertainment CEO Feargus Urquhart has expressed interest in pitching them an idea.

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A number of game developers and publishers have incurred the wrath of the notoriously litigious Lodsys. ArsTechnica, which describes the company as a “patent troll”, reports Lodsys has recently filed a fresh wave of lawsuits against mobile developers Gameloft, Backflip Studios, Gamevil, Jirbo, MobileAge, PocketGems, Sunstorm Interactive, TMSoft, TLA Systems and Disney – in the last case taking particular issue with the popular Where’s My Water? – all over a patent for in-app purchases. The EFF and Apple have both tried to stop Lodsys’s constant lawsuits but it continues to targets companies of all shapes and sizes.

Thanks, GamesIndustry.

Star Wars 1313, the game shelved by Disney due to the closure of LucasArts studio, would have had players starring as none other than bounty hunter Boba Fett, according to a report on Kotaku which was handed some concept art from the project. According to the report, Fett being the star of the game was an order handed down to developers last May by George Lucas himself. While the future of the game looks grim at present, a representative stated yesterday that other development studios will now be able to license the Star Wars IP, and this includes the possible take over of development on 1313 as well as Star Wars: First Assault.

Disney is closing LucasArts development studio, laying off a reported 150 staffers and according to a representative for the firm, development on Star Wars 1313 along with Star Wars: First Assault is in limbo.

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Raph Koster has announced his departure from Disney on his personal blog, noting that he is now an “unemployed game developer.” His plans for the future are to continue making games, and he does not plan on using Kickstarter to do it. In the meantime he will be “exploring opportunities,” and “simply start making games. Lots and lots of games. Fun ones. About all sorts of things. I want to get my hands dirty. I want to explore ideas,” he wrote. Koster was lead designer of Ultima Online and creative director for Star Wars Galaxies before founding social games company Metaplace which was bought by Playdom in 2010, a subsidiary of Disney Interactive. Thanks, Massively.

DuckTales Remastered developer WayForward Technologies has explained that it has heavily expanded on the plot of Capcom’s NES original. To be fair, the original explained very little so this is probably an ace idea.

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The PAX East trailer for Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix has been released. The game contains HD versions of the original Kingdom Hearts together with the portable versions released before Kingdom Hearts 2. It’s out now in Japan and should be heading west sometime in early fall. Thanks, Gematsu.

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Disney has confirmed the release of Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two on PS Vita. The game will launch later this year.

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Now that it has a solid if later than expected release date, Disney Infinity is available for pre-order at various retailers. The toys-to-life affair is pretty pricey – as well as the game, Infinity Base and figures included in the Starter Pack, you’re probably going to want some extra figures and power discs – but Best Buy, Gamestop and Amazon are all offering various bonuses on pre-orders, which should help. Disney Infinity is due in August on 3DS, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and Wii U, and will be supported by mobile apps.

Thanks, Polygon.

Footage from Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX has popped up online, courtesy of AGB, and you can have a look at the lovely video below. The PS3 exclusive bundles the original Kingdom Hearts together with the portable versions released before Kingdom Hearts 2. It hits in April, and should be heading west sometime in early fall. Thanks, Lengendaryboss.

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Leaked footage of Star Wars: First Assault has turned up, once again courtesy of Kotaku. The footage shows early gameplay footage purportedly from the fall 2012 build, as well as a video showing a pre-rendered clip. The source who sent the videos to Kotaku stated the gameplay video shows in-game footage with all known issues for the time, and that since the video’s creation, “many improvements have been made in performance, completeness, and quality.” First Assault is a FPS which was slated for a spring 2013 and it was originally outed in late August by a domain name and trademark registration.

Star Wars: First Assault recently turned up among some XBLA files online, sparking rumours that LucasArts was working on a new game. The FPS game is real, and it is downloadable, a source has told Kotaku. It’s said to be the studio’s way of testing the water before committing to Battlefront 3. Don’t get too excited though, as it might never see the light of day.

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The awesome SEGA Genesis game, Castle of Illusion, may be heading to PS3, Wii U, Vita, and Xbox 360 if a listing on the Brazilian Ratings site is any indication. The adventure platformer was entered into the ratings database on February 26, and while information is scarce, we’re going to assume it’s down for a digital release. We’ll mail SEGA and Disney and ask. Thanks, Pockett Videogames.

Disney Infinity is going to set back parents a lot of money. Earlier this week we reported that the Cars playset add-on will cost £39.99, and that individual figures come in at the £8.99-and-up mark. Now, manufacturer PDP has unveiled a range of very expensive accessories as well.

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Yesterday, industry whispers indicated that Star Wars 1313 had been nudged onto the backburner by Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm. Apparently this isn’t the case after all, according to a representative from LucasArts .

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Disney Infinity launches in June with three starter playsets; Monsters University, Pirates of the Carribean and The Incredibles. However, additional toy kits could cost around £40 a piece.

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A new video and screenshots have been released for Disney Infinity, showing off the Cars Play Set.

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See Mike and Sulley in their in-game and figurine form in these latest Disney Infinity screenshots and assets.

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Wreck-It Ralph director Rich Moore believes one of the reasons his film was such a rousing success – one to the tune of $376,748,715 grossed worldwide – is because it wasn’t based on an actual video game character.

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Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic developer Obsidian Entertainment has what it calls one of its ‘top three pitches’ ever for a new game set in the universe. Studio head Feargus Urquhart has confirmed that the studio is waiting for the perfect time to pitch to new license holder Disney.

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