Not satisfied with merely financing, publishing, and distributing LEGO Batman, Warner Bros. has decided to purchase the whole pie, bagging developer Traveler's Tales and its parent group TT Games. While we haven't been told just how much cash will be stuffed into the briefcase when it changes hands, we do know the acquisition encompasses both the development and publishing arms of TT Games, which owns game rights to a book about obscure world records. Recreating the longest ironing session ever (55 hours, 5 minutes, fyi) would certainly be a thrill, but we've got our fingers crossed for a proper Matrix treatment to follow on the heels of LEGO Indy. Go ahead, eat the red brick -- we dare ya!

...that is, if you hoped for shaking the Wiimote to swing your lightsaber and shaking the nunchuk to use the Force. If you were hoping for something a little more ... fun intuitive from Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga on the Wii, you're out of luck. If it sounds like we're disappointed, we're not, we know that the real 1-to-1 Star Wiirs experience isn't due until The Force Unleashed. Still, it was nice to dream.

We wish there was some sort of geekiness conversion chart to help us figure out if the presence of Indiana Jones is enough to make up for mediocre lightsabering. We suspect it is not.

We don't know about you, but for us, this clip of Indiana Jones in Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga raises far too many questions. For one, why is Indy so short? And why is he made of plastic? Why does his whip kill droids? Oh, and why on earth is he in Episode I? (Yuck.) Perhaps most pressing of all though: Why is he dying so much?

Regardless, if you don't mind adding enigmas to your coffee along with various creams and honeys, it is kind of a fanboy treat to see a Lego-ized Indy fighting alongside Qui-Gon Jinn. Would we consider ourselves fanboys? Let's put it this way ... we spelled Qui-Gon Jinn from memory.

LucasArts recently showed off the in-development DS version of Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. The company tried to remain positive -- or at the very least, civil -- about the previous DS bomb, Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy. But this showing was clearly to prove to journalists that the DS version of the new game won't follow the murky fate of its predecessor.

Lego Star Wars creator, Traveller's Tales redeveloped the game for the DS instead of re-using the old DS engine, and it shows. The new game more closely resembles LSW on other consoles. In my brief play session, I was impressed with the top-screen 3D graphics; LSW Complete could be the graphical leader for 3D DS games with its November 6 launch.

Six episodes, one disc. LucasArts is combining its hit LEGO Star Wars games into one package, and to rope in fans of the series who already picked it up, they've added new content -- levels, characters, features and modes. The House that George Built showed off some of the new improvements of LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga this week at the E3 summit.

We first saw the PlayStation 3 build of the game, with improved visuals and great lighting techniques. Both the PS3 and Xbox 360 will have drop-in online co-op, much like their current offline co-op mode. So now your South African BFF can be invited to join you halfway through the Battle of Hoth.

Unique to the PS3 version are motion controls using the Sixaxis pad. We were shown one space battle scene over a Star Destroy where the controls were used to maneuver a TIE Defender. Given the graphical details, we actually forgot for a moment that this was a LEGO game.

While LucasArts says it's adding some new content, we fear that the upcoming Lego Star Wars game, Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga will just be a new name on an old title. Still, the humor in this series is worth a second look -- at least in cost-free trailer form -- and this ad for the game reminds us why we enjoy this unlikely franchise at all.

In time for the 30th anniversary, see epic Star Wars events reenacted with Legos after the break.

Nothing beats the satisfaction that arises from successfully assembling a Lego masterpiece out of a handful of meaningless blocks. LucasArts must be glowing with delight then, since they've just managed to construct a fully functional ATM by just clipping two of their pieces together. On the eve of the 30th anniversary of Star Wars, LucasArts has officially announced Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and DS.

The game will be a combination of Lego Star Wars: The Video Game and last year's Lego Star Wars: The Good Original Trilogy, with additional characters, enhanced levels and features tossed in by developer TT Games. The group promises to take "full advantage of the unique capabilities of all three next-generation consoles" (three?) and notes that the DS version is unique in being constructed from "the ground up." Brick your favorite console when Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga arrives this Fall.

Not exactly the first lightsaber experience we were looking for with the Wii -- but we'll take it. Codename Revolution reports that Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga is coming to Wii this holiday season. The assumption is that this will be a one disc version of the sleeper hits in the Lego Star Wars series. Beyond this basic information, discovered through a distribution contact, there is no news on how the Wiimote will be used.

If they somehow change the camera to over-the-shoulder or attempt to keep it behind the character in classic platformer style the blaster and lightsaber may be incredibly fun. If it's from the top down or random camera angles, like it is in the versions available now, we fear for a Marvel: Ultimate Alliance on Wii feel. That experience need not be repeated, thank you.

We imagine the office floors of UK developer, TT Games, being completely covered in developers sitting with their legs crossed and their eyes firmly fixated on their latest Lego creations. When other groups are hard at work stringing together reams of code and drawing concept sketches, these guys are building bridges, stacking blocks and crying in anguish whenever a careless passerby kicks over a wall. They're making Lego games -- and lots of them too.

The studio's head of production, Jonathan Smith, tells GamesIndustry.biz that the Lego tracks have been put down beyond Lego Batman (bricking multiple consoles in 2008). "We have genuinely exciting plans for future Lego titles," says Smith, noting that the positive response earned by the Lego Star Wars games is pushing his team to exceed expectations. Though the titles have been popular among the young ones, it's not unusual to spot an "adult" having a good time with familiar characters and equally familiar building blocks.

Though no other Lego-fied franchises are mentioned, we eagerly anticipate the arrival of Lego Pink Panther, Lego Carmen Sandiego: Where in the World is That Damn Piece?, Lego Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Brickening and of course, Lego Lego Batman (the game based on the Lego based on the game).

U.K.-based publisher, Feral Interactive made the trip to this year's Macworld Expo, eager to sell its product to Mac gamers. The company's booth holds many kiosks showing Feral's latest -- or in-progress -- ports, including Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, The Movies, and Imperial Glory.

Feral head, David Stephen updated us on the status of its games; Lego Star Wars, Colin McRae Rally, and Fable: The Lost Chapters will ship this Spring. (A few technical glitches that delayed the latter two titles have recently been fixed.)

Stephen is also excited about the newly shipped The Movies because of updates Feral was able to make to the PC version. For example, Mac gamers have more format options when exporting completed movies. Also, because Feral wanted Mac gamers to be able to share videos on the PC-game's Windows Media site, the Mac version includes a copy of Flip4Mac's WMV Studio -- normally a $50 utility -- to render in that Windows codec.

Despite entering the charts at number three last week, Lego Star Wars II has proved a popular favourite with the British public, rising to snatch the top spot from Dead Rising this week. The rest of the chart follows in similar vein, demonstrating only a slight shuffle from last week's positions. Several Xbox 360 titles are selling well, but the multiformat nature of Lego Star Wars may have tipped it to the top -- that, and it's Lego, man.

1. Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
2. Dead Rising
3. Saints Row
4. Cars
5. Test Drive Unlimited
6. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training
7. New Super Mario Bros.
8. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
9. Lego Star Wars
10. The Sims 2

With the release of LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy being close enough for us to start using words like "imminent" and "impending," it's hard not to "imagine" the possibilities brought on by the next franchise selected for LEGO-fication. CVG reports that the world's greatest detective has been chosen by Traveller's Tales to star in the next instalment of the lighthearted series. Following in the square footsteps of the Star Wars games, Batman's blocky adventure is sure to be an amusing parody of everything we've come to know about the caped crusader, Gotham City and its noticeably deranged inhabitants. "Where does he get those wonderful toys?"

If you'll recall, it was just last month that Jonathan Smith of Traveller's Tales confirmed that more LEGO games were in the works. Congratulations to Joystiq commenter 32_Footsteps for correctly pinning Batman as the next victim of geometric simplification. We'd dole out some sort of prize, but we think having Batman busting blockheads and battling a juxtaposed Joker is reward enough.

Computer & Video Games is reporting that the next issue of British magazine PC Zone contains an interview with Traveler's Tales development director Jonathan Smith in which he confirms the company is planning more games based on combining the Lego license with established films. Traveler's Tales is the company behind Lego Star Wars, the surprise hit that has already spawned an announced sequel/prequel covering the original trilogy of movies.

The C&VG article doesn't mention which movies will be Lego-fied, but the author is clearly hoping some sort of Lego Indiana Jones is in the pipeline. What film (or game) franchises do you think would benefit from the Lego treatment?

Thanks to the folks at the Gamerscore Blog, we've learned that the next Xbox back compat update "should be out in the next few weeks."

In his earlier blast against BC, Peter Moore proclaimed that nobody is concerned about it anymore, but thankfully the gentler Gamerscore peeps have set the record straight, stating: "We know for a fact that there are lots of people who continue to care about backwards compatibility, including the 'Emulation Ninjas' who are working full time on the updates. And those of us posting on this blog. And, of course, many of you."

We suppose quarterly updates to the BC list aren't TOO bad (hey, they sure beat semiannual dashboard updates), but getting more than a dozen titles to work each time would definitely help a lot more for those with original Xbox favorites they'd prefer to play on their new machines. Personally, this blogger would like to see the following titles added to the list: Dead or Alive Ultimate, Doom 3, Capcom vs. SNK 2, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Project Gotham Racing 2, LEGO Star Wars, Street Fighter Anniversary Collection, Soul Calibur II, and Capcom Classics Collection. It may not be realistic to expect Street Fighter support when Hyper Fighting is set to hit Live Arcade sometime in the near future, but one can (vainly) hope.

[Via Major Nelson's blog]

See also:

• Xbox BC not a priority, says Moore
• No Black on 360 till MS makes it so... or a sequel comes out
• US 360 backward-compatibility list shrinks
• A video tour of the Xbox Live Spring update
• SFII on Xbox Live: what's taking so long?

LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy will now be making an appearance on the Xbox 360, along with its earlier announced platforms (which include pretty much every current-gen system).

Whether creating a Han Solo-Greedo, lightsaber-wielding humanoid hybrid is really the wisest course of action or not is a debate best left to the fan community, however. (A green HanGreedo on the 360 -- it could work.)

Our only hope is that the original LEGO Star Wars will make its way onto the official Xbox backward-compatibility list by the time the sequel's released in September. Getting those unlockable characters from the prequels onto the next generation would be awfully nice. (Transferable saves? Even better.) The complete Lucasfilm press release follows below.

See also:

• LEGO Star Wars II out with OT DVDs Sept 12
• Original Xbox Games Playable on Xbox 360 (last updated in March)