Gaming
Star Wars Games: What Happened?

Let me preface this by saying that the upcoming Battlefront II looks pretty cool. That being said, its existence is indicative of one of the many problems plaguing modern Star Wars games.
When I was younger, we used to get Star Wars games left and right every single year, sometimes even multiple times a year. They weren’t all good, in fact a good chunk are pretty bad, but at the very least we got them. Now we barely get any and what we do get is either not that good or just doesn’t add that much to the existing Star Wars experience. I find this very strange considering the era of the maligned Star Wars prequels was a better time for gamers than that of the much more critically acclaimed new films under Disney.
There was a bit of a lead up to The Phantom Menace when it came to games (for example the Dark Forces games), but it was really after Attack of the Clones where it picked up greatly. However, we did get hit games Episode I: Racer and Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader in between the two.
After the second prequel but before Revenge of the Sith we got a huge amount of great Star Wars games. Knights of the Old Republic, Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords, Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, Bounty Hunter, the original Battlefront, and so on and so forth.
Finally, after Episode III came out, we got such hits as the original Battlefront II, Republic Commando, all the good LEGO Star Wars games, etc.
There are plenty of games I’m not mentioning, mainly since I just wanted to focus on how many quality games we got. However, Star Wars games started to taper off from there. There were a few good ones like the original The Force Unleashed and The Old Republic but, for the most part, things had changed.
From there it was almost nothing but cancellations, poor entries, and lack of content. The Rogue Squadron, Jedi Knight, Knights of the Old Republic, Republic Commando, and Battlefront series all had cancelled sequels. New IPs like 1313 and a Darth Maul game were cancelled as well. After that, the overall continuity was reset with Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm, LucasArts was shut down, and EA was given the rights to Star Wars games.
EA’s first Star Wars game came four years after The Old Republic, the previous Star Wars game (we don’t talk about Kinect), and disappointed fans everywhere. Since then, we’ve gotten an underwhelming LEGO adaptation of The Force Awakens and some DLC for the rebooted Battlefront, for The Old Republic, and for Disney Infinity. With EA’s 2017 E3 conference behind them, we have a confirmed Battlefront II for this fall with “three times more content than Battlefront 1”, whatever that means, and nothing else. We also didn’t learn that much since the game had already been announced a month prior. What we saw was mainly EA trying to drive home the multiple eras feature of the new game.
Both Visceral Games and Respawn Entertainment have been confirmed to be working on something. However, we got absolutely nothing regarding those two games at E3 so they’re no doubt far away from being released. This is especially considering EA’s history with Star Wars announcements, having had something to show at E3 2013 with Battlefront finally coming out after two more years of conferences.
As I said in the beginning, Battlefront II looks great. However, it’s both a reboot and the sequel to a reboot of a franchise that I (and many out there) preferred under Pandemic and LucasArts rather than Dice and EA. Things have declined greatly for fans of Star Wars games. Hopefully, I’m wrong and EA really is turning things around, but I’m not holding my breath after their disappointing E3 2017 conference.
Trailer for Battlefront II:
Gaming
Embracer Job Losses Continue as New World Interactive is Hit

New World Interactive, the developer of the Insurgency series of tactical first-person shooters, has laid off an unknown number of employees as part of Embracer Group’s comprehensive restructuring plan.
Saber Interactive, which acquired New World in 2020, told Eurogamer that the studio had not closed. However, it confirmed an unknown number of layoffs.
Embracer says it is “actively working to fill existing open roles” with impacted employees and will provide severance packages. “Saber also assures that development will continue on Insurgency: Sandstorm, as well as on unannounced future projects,” it said.
Over 900 employees were laid off in an “agonizing” but “necessary” process. As always, we hope all victims recover.
Gaming
Sony: We Need Non-Gamers to Access Our Content

Sony wants non-console owners to access its content beyond its PlayStation-walled garden. This strategy has been slowly implemented: the company has commissioned TV and movie adaptations of its biggest franchises, ported select software to the PC, and launched a mobile gaming division.
In an interview with Nikkei, head Hideaki Nishino explained how this strategy can boost console sales: We want to use movies and dramas to get non-gamers to try PlayStation games. Sales of The Last of Us increased during the live-action drama.
When HBO’s adaptation aired, our The Last of Us content skyrocketed, so we can understand its impact. As a PlayStation fan site, we support this strategy because we want to reach as many people as possible, so if Sony can appeal to non-console owners, that’s a win-win.
More PlayStation users is better, in our opinion.
Gaming
New PS Plus Essential Game Has Great Free DLC

PowerWash Simulator is one of this month’s PS Plus Essentials, but before you start scrubbing, check out the PS Store. The game has been well supported on PS5 and PS4 with free DLC packs based on Square Enix titles since its release at the start of the year.
Free Final Fantasy VII and Tomb Raider expansions let you clean Croft Manor and Seventh Heaven. The free DLC packs add 10 levels, and the paid ones add more.
Two more Back to the Future and SpongeBob SquarePants expansions cost £6.49 or $7.99 each. You can then scrub the Bikini Bottom and the DeLorean.
The Midgar Special Pack for PowerWash Simulator was another reason to use the cleaning kit. “It doesn’t add much, but getting close to FF7’s props and environments is fun. It offers a fresh take on the beloved title that will please both sides of this collaboration.”
Have you tried the latest PS Plus Essential game?
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