LucasArts, Sony announce online Star Wars RPG

[03.16.00] » PC version confirmed; could PS2 port be far behind?

   LucasArts announced today a partnership with Verant Interactive and Sony Online Entertainment, developers of Everquest, to create the first massively multiplayer Star Wars online RPG. The title has a tenative release date of sometime in 2001.

   Presidents of all three companies were understandably ecstatic about the title."The combined expertise of LucasArts, Verant, and Sony Online Entertainment will bring to gameplayers an incredibly dynamic online gaming experience worthy of Star Wars," says Simon Jeffery, president of LucasArts. "The immensity and richness of the Star Wars universe lends itself ideally to a game of this nature."

   GIA spoke with a representative of LucasArts about the title. A PC version is confirmed, of course. However, a PS2 version is not necessarily out of the question. The representative said that "it was too early to say" regarding a PS2 port, and that it "may not happen with this game" -- leaving open the possibility of some still-theoretical other title.

   When Sony begins to build its base of online PlayStation 2 gamers, titles such as Everquest and the Star Wars RPG will no doubt be cornerstones of their plans. While the recently announced Star Wars RPG may or may not reach the PlayStation 2, the partnership between LucasArts, Verant, and Sony will no doubt shape the PlayStation 2's online future.