kotor posts (Subscribe to this feed)

Direct2Drive is offering some pretty good deals on LucasArts games this week. Three bundles are on offer, one catering to the adventure gamers out there, another for Star Wars afficionados, and a third that combines the first two into a massive LucasArts love fest. The bundles include the likes of Dark Forces, Indiana Jones, KOTOR, Jedi Knight, Monkey Island, Armed and Dangerous, and plenty more. The smaller bundles have been discounted from $49.99 to $24.49, while the massive bundle has been reduced from $99.87 to $39.95. Not bad for LucasArts fans. The sale ends November 23 at 10:00am PT.

See details of each bundle after the break.

At this afternoon's Star Wars: The Old Republic panel at PAX, attendees were given a special treat: knowledge that LucasArts continues to expand its digital offerings, bringing the BioWare-developed classic (and precursor to SW:TOR) Knights of the Old Republic to both Steam and Direct2Drive for $10 ... starting today. KOTOR joins a digital lineup of LucasArts adventure game classics, as well as some more recent fare like Republic Commando. Still missing: X-Wing, TIE Fighter, X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter, and X-Wing and TIE Fighter Meet Frankenstein.

We suppose the free Steam download code they Oprah'd away ("You get a code! And you get a code!") could be considered a treat by some; however, we've already given ours away on Twitter (@joystiq) convincing ourselves that sharing the knowledge is a far greater treat. Right?

[Note to PAX attendees: There's a repeat of today's panel tomorrow morning at 11am; even money is on Lucas repeating this code-away there. That's from us to you. Off the record, on the QT, and very hush-hush.]

4:57PM ET – We're live from the Letterman Digital Arts Center in San Francisco! Event should get under way in just minutes.

5:04PM ET – We're still in the holding pen outside the theater. There's a life-size Boba Fett staring at us!

5:18PM ET – Phew! Made it inside. SPOILER: Game's called Star Wars: The Old Republic -- we spotted it on BioWare bosses Greg and Ray's shirts. (Also: No photography allowed -- BOO!)

Looks like someone snuck in ahead of everyone else! Don't even pretend you're surprised. Before today's LucasArts and BioWare press conference, IGN and Gamespot let slip Star Wars: The Old Republic -- you know, the MMO based on BioWare's massively successful Knights of the Old Republic series whose name was trademarked back in July.

What we know so far: The project originated just after KOTOR II launched in 2005. SW:TOR is reportedly the reason Electronic Arts paid $860 million to purchase BioWare and Pandemic. The MMO takes place 300 years after the first KOTOR II, which puts it about 3,500 years before the film.

You can choose between two factions, the Galactic Republic or the re-energized Sith Empire. You can also align yourself as a Dark or Light Side character in either situation. Two classes have been revealed: Jedi and Sith, both of which can use lightsabers and the Force early on. No release date, and no word on console releases.

We also happened to see the name printed on t-shirts worn by BioWare's Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk. Meanwhile, the official press conference is about to begin. Here's hoping the game has better luck than Star Wars Galaxies!

Before beginning this post, we have a number of important announcements to make:

• It is currently October.
• Sandwiches, when prepared correctly, are delicious.
• Salt is salty.
• There are five items in this list.
• You are currently reading Joystiq.

What's that? You're not sure why we're announcing things you already know? Perhaps you'll be equally flabbergasted by a rumor that LucasArts and Bioware will likely soon reveal the Knights of the Old Republic MMO that EA CEO John Riccitiello already totally confirmed. The rumor originates from a blurb in UK newspaper Daily Star, the author of which claims he's coming stateside to check the title out at LucasArts HQ. If the author is on the level, we certainly expect one of the two developers to "reveal" the title before his article goes to print. Perhaps they can still surprise the eleven people on the planet that don't already know about it.

At this point, we think it's pretty safe to call BioWare's KOTOR MMO the absolute worst-kept secret in gaming. After all, the game was all but announced during E3. (That's when EA boss John Riccitiello confirmed it was in the works, you see.) Now comes word that LucasArts is hiring testers with MMO experience. Hmmm.

Specifically, the job posting states that candidates will "test MMO games for bugs" and "strive to help make a competitive MMO." Really, now? It's something listed under the job requirements that has stirred up some intrigue, though. In order to get the testing gig, applicants must have "strong familiarity and experience with gaming consoles and Windows based PCs." So, the KOTOR MMO is multi-platform? Oh, you crazy secret-keepers.

[TheForce.net via Massively]

GameTrailers starts with the galaxy far, far away's near past, and then goes deep into the history books in its latest Star Wars Retrospective episode. This time around the excellent series starts by taking a look at Shadows of the Empire, an action game which fills in a piece of the story between the movies Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

The rest of the episode delves deep into the past and covers the Knights of the Old Republic RPG games, which take place millennia before Luke and Leia were even a dirty thought in Darth Vader's mind. And if anybody complains that we should have put a spoiler alert there, we hope the cave you've been living in for the last 25 years has central heat and air. Check out the 24-minute retrospective episode after the break.

[Thanks Andy]

Portfolio.com just published a short excerpt of its interview with EA boss John Riccitiello who tells the site that it's "got two of the most compelling MMOs in the industry in development" including "the one that people are dying for us to talk to them about -- in partnership with Lucas, coming out of BioWare." One doesn't need to connect too many dots to arrive at the conclusion that BioWare is returning to the Star Wars universe with a Knights of the Old Republic MMO.

Of course, this product has been rumored for ... well, for a long time. Separately confirming a BioWare / LucasArts collaboration and a BioWare MMO project lead to certain obvious conclusions and countless other rumors and leaks seemed to do everything but confirm (and some denied) the project's existence. Though it would appear Riccitiello wasn't quite ready to put a name on that project – it's Portfolio.com connecting those dots – by referencing that this is the game that "people are dying for us to talk to them about" he clearly seems to be pointing to KOTOR.

[Update: We've just spoken with N. Evan Van Zelfden, the writer of the report, who told us that when asked specifically if this game was "KOTOR Online", Riccitiello responded unequivocally, "Yes." So, there you have it – sounds like we can take off our skeptical glasses.]

Speaking to MTV Multiplayer, the developer of such epics as Mass Effect and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic confirmed that it is looking into games of a much smaller (physical) scale. Specifically, BioWare co-CEO Greg Zeschuk states that he finds Apple's iPhone "intriguing" as a games platform. Mind you, he's not saying development is underway, but he is a fan.

"Something that's as big a cultural and technical success as the iPhone is something you've really got to take a close look at," explains Zeschuk, adding that, "We've got a lot of folks looking at it." Zechuk's statements come just a few days after the project lead on BioWare's Nintendo DS RPG, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, revealed that the company is also investigating Wii and PSP dvelopment. Now BioWare just needs to look into developing for those LCD games you see at mall kiosks and it'll have all bases covered.

1UP recently added some fuel cells to the fire of the relatively aged rumor that the result of Bioware and LucasArts' recent collaboration is an MMORPG which takes place in the long-winded universe of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. While one could make a case for and against this claim, a script for the game, which apparently landed in the laps of 1UP's digital ink slingers, could prove conclusive evidence for the online epic -- if it's completely legit, that is.

The script details the online game as a "role-playing game set in the historical past of the Star Wars universe," where "Jedi and Sith battle across the galaxy." While those two phrases could apply to many chapters of the Star Wars mythos, the tipster who submitted the script was convinced it carried Bioware's trademark verbosity. We're confused -- how will we be expected to spend hours mindlessly grinding and spawn camping with all of that dialog getting in our way? Hopefully they'll fix that in beta.

[Via Massively]

Long the source of many rumors and much speculation, the possibility of KOTOR III being a real project just became a bit clearer. With the rumor mill spinning anew, we bring you latest loose talk, that is, possible KOTOR III concept art. Discovered in a hidden folder on the concept artist's website, the art showcases everything from main characters to droids and ships. Now when we saw that news for the first time, we got excited, thinking this had to be real, that no one can fake good concept art. Well, this stuff is the real deal, but perhaps not in the way we would have wanted. See, it's dated from almost four years ago, in early/mid 2004. Now a quick wiki check reveals that KOTOR II was released in 2005, and that much of that game was left on the cutting room floor to ensure a holiday release. So in all likelihood these concepts are from that game, just never used. Still, it's nice concept art, and we'd love to be proved wrong, as we've said before: Bioware + Mass Effect tech + KOTOR IP = Massive Win.

The rumor mill was spinning at a manic pace yesterday thanks to a little analyst report from one of the biggest companies in the business, EA. The KOTOR listing after BioWare's name in the slide from John Riccitello's presentation told many of us that our prayers had been answered, and that the series had returned from whence it had come. Yet fate said that this was not to be. For you see, being less romantic about the subject than us, an EA PR representative told the press that the slide did not in fact refer to games in development, but rather "it addresses future and past titles" and that it's more of a company's pedigree than it's work order. As horrible as this news is there is actually a silver lining, that MMO they're still developing could still be Star Wars themed, and so (as niche as that corner of the universe is) there's still hope for a KOTOR MMO.

As a side note, this effectively kills the speculation over the continuation of the White Council project, as well as the rumored Black sequel and any other craziness that may have come out of the analyst meeting. Though there is always the possibility that it's all true and that the EA PR department exploded yesterday and went into damage control mode, with this being the result. PR departments have done crazier things.

A new KOTOR game was seemingly announced at an EA Analyst Meeting this morning. At the meeting a list of what were previously BioWare/Pandemic-owned studios was presented, along with the games in production at each. While there are a myriad of games on the list, the BioWare-developed list is the most interesting by far, as the contents address a host of rumors and speculation. It seems that BioWare is developing not only an MMO but a real sequel in the KOTOR series. As KOTOR fans We can't think of anyone we'd rather have develop the third (and one might think last; trilogies and all) game in the KOTOR series than BioWare. Great news, but what does this mean about the "New MMO"? Is it Star Wars based? Is it something totally new? BioWare has had success with new IP lately ... dare we say Mass Effect MMO?

[Via Joystiq]

Update: EA has responded to this post, saying their report does not actually confirm the existence of a Bioware KOTOR MMO. Original post below:

After a brief stint with Obsidian Entertainment in 2004, the Star Wars: Kuhniggets of the Old Republic franchise is set to return to the folks at BioWare. So says an EA investor report (yes, that one) which listed the game amongst BioWare's multiple ongoing projects. Mind you, it's listed simply as "KOTOR," so there's a small chance that the studio is actually working on Kleptomaniac on the Origami Recliner. That doesn't sound like something you'd collaborate with LucasArts on, though ...

While it doesn't preclude the possibility of the company working on more than one online game (or more than one KOTOR title), the separate listing of "new MMO" in the same report does cast some doubt on earlier KOTOR rumors. We'd prefer a single-player adventure over online organic meatbaggery, but perhaps you feel otherwise.

With the dust only just now beginning to settle from Mass Effect developer BioWare's acquisition by industry powerhouse Electronic Arts, many of us believed that it would be some time before we got wind of the company's next project. It would seem, however, that we were wrong, as both BioWare and LucasArts issued a joint statement today announcing that the studios are working together on "an interactive entertainment product," stopping just shy of cluing us in on just what it is exactly that they are building behind the curtain.

The two bedfellows, which have previously worked together on KOTOR, revealed next to nothing about the new project, stating only that it will "deliver an experience that will span the traditional boundaries of video game entertainment." So, is this project the oft-rumored Knights of the Old Republic MMO, or something else entirely? The wheels of speculation are turning.