For a brief moment last night, Amazon brought joy to all gamers pining for a return to the battlefields of the Star Wars universe. The online retail giant provided information on a previously unannounced, though rumored to be in development, title from the folks over at LucasArts.
However, those same gamers awoke this morning only to find shock and disappointment.
Last night, gamers had the opportunity to pre-order Star Wars Battlefront III from Amazon. The 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, DS and PSP versions of the game were listed to ship simultaneously on March 15, 2009. Those listings were removed from the site late last night/early this morning.
Was this an error on Amazon’s part or is a new Battlefront game currently in development?
Rumors of a new Battlefront game first surfaced after LucasArts fired a large chunk of employees in early June.
Those rumors, based on information from one of the former employees, looked to be gaining some traction. However, since the Amazon listings have been removed, we are left with more questions than answers. LucasArts has yet to confirm or deny the existence of the game.
Could this have been a goof by Amazon? It is certainly possible. We are all human, and thus, we make mistakes every so often. Unless Amazon currently employs cyborgs, I image the company is not devoid of human error.
However, LucasArts could be behind all of this. The company, in an attempt to keep Battlefront III a secret, could have contacted Amazon and asked them to remove the listings.
Do I think that a new Battlefront game is in development? You bet I do.
Development of another Battlefront game seems like a no-brainer. The previous titles in the franchise were immensely popular to say the least. No doubt, another sequel would produce tons of cash for the company.
Some might point to the aforementioned layoffs as a point of contention. It has been speculated that, with the reduction of its internal teams, LucasArts would be unable to develop a sequel to the hotly-anticipated Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. However, this wouldn’t necessarily affect a new Battlefront game. LucasArts published all of the previous games, but did not develop them. Pandemic Studios was responsible for the original game and the sequel, while Renegade Squadron for the PSP was handled by Rebellion (seriously).
Therefore, the recent layoffs would have no affect on the development of Battlefront III. However, since Pandemic is under the EA umbrella, the company probably wouldn’t be involved in the development of a new Battlefront game. But that’s not really a problem. LucasArts could simply find another studio to develop the title, similar to what they did with Renegade Squadron.
If you ask me, the elements for a new Battlefront game are all in place.
Battlefront is a proven franchise that is popular among gamers and has the potential to produce a lot of revenue for LucasArts. In an age when developers and publishers pump out a continuous stream of sequels, another game in the popular “Star Wars” franchise doesn’t seem so radical.
This is all my opinion, some of which is based on my affinity for the franchise, but a fourth installment seems extremely plausible.
I never owned the original game, but promptly scooped up the sequel after playing it with some friends. The Battlefront games were extremely popular third-person shooters set in the Star Wars universe. Previous titles in the franchise allowed gamers to select one of four factions (the Empire, the Rebellion, the Republic and the CIS) and re-live the most memorable battles from George Lucas’ famed saga.
The previous titles were extremely successful for a couple of reasons. First, and most obvious, they had “Star Wars” branded on their covers. Second, and more importantly, they were insanely fun. In fact, it was a comparison to the Battlefront games that convinced me to purchase Warhawk for the PS3.
Unfortunately, we are left in the dark until LucasArts decides to grace us with an official statement. I doubt E3 will bring confirmation of Battlefront III. LucasArts will probably devote most of its time to Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Day 1 Studios’ Fracture, which are set to release in September and October, respectively. However, be sure to keep your ears to the ground, as more news is sure to slip out sometime. Now, we just have to hope that sometime comes sooner rather than later.
If you did pre-order a copy of Battlefront III, let us know if your purchase has been cancelled or honored by Amazon.
Source: SarcasticGamer.com-djdsf
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