http://games.slashdot.org/games/04/03/03/2032200.shtml

How could they cancel Sam and Max? It's the game I was waiting for.

Why make that when they could may 5000 more crappy starwars games.

The only thing I can say is

Yeah, that game looked great (or were those previews for an already existing version that I saw?).

A shame.

Hey, what about Half Life 2? THAT game looked great. Promised by christmas 03, never delivered. Out yet?

Yeap. =\ is right. There was a big sour stanky air at work today... they gave the Sam and Max team the day off... tomorrow they come back and start archiving. I think they screwed the pooch on this big time, and i'm not the only one by a long shot. This is a big nose dive for LucasArts. I know they have the numbers to back this decision up (especially after the losses we've taken as of late with other "original" titles). Not good at all. I thank my lucky stars every day that i'm on just about the only in house project worth being on right now. If i was any of the others i'd be doing what everyone else is doing... working on their reels.

Why make that when they could may 5000 more crappy starwars games

and to answer that... the unfortunate reality is that those crappy games generally can be counted on to come out in the black and keep me in a paycheck. Sucks... and i think in the long run it's gonna kill the LucasArts spirit... but that's the way the cookie crumbles.

I pretty much agree with the editorial here. From the reaction of a few of my friends on Armed and Dangerous, it would have done much better outside the holiday season. Gladius, I don't see doing overly well, but making the people who do pick it up rather happy. It's a niche market, and Lucasarts used to be great at helping to feed the niche areas. But now, as other have said, they would prefer to sell Star Wars: Watch Yoda Sh*t then take risks on other titles now.

*sigh*

At least be decent enough to scrap these games before showing them off to the public.

Loren, they're still gonna do Full Throttle 2, right? RIGHT? Please?

As far as originals, I tried that Archon-like game Wrath Unleashed. I just couldn't get into it. It didn't have the same enjoyability as the original Archon...

This suggests otherwise

Loren, they're still gonna do Full Throttle 2, right? RIGHT? Please?

Well, that has a chance of being revived. It was killed due to team performance issues, not market. But with Sam and Max being cancelled... i don't see it coming back anytime soon.

The big problems seems to be the industry as a whole... with giants like EA, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo out there willing to spend 5 million on a title and not think twice, as well as being able to sustain huge loses if a game bombs, it makes it exceedingly hard for mid-size companies to compete. If it weren't for us being under the Lucas umbrella and him bailing us out for 3 or 4 years in a row, we'd have been beyond bankrupt a while back. The A titles take a ton of money and time to produce, and the niche games don't make enough to cover their cost of production. That combined with it being the end of the console cycle with game sales down, and with everyone holding their money for Half Life 2, Doom 3, and Halo 2, it's just plain rough out there.

I'm not making excuses, because i believe there are ways to get games like Full Throttle and Sam and Max to market and have them be successful, but that's just me being an armchair marketing/manager type person. I'm an animator... what the hell do i know about market cycles and fiscal budgets.

> Why make that when they could may 5000 more crappy starwars games

Hmm, I quite like the recent Star Wars titles really, ever since Jedi Knight they have had some good ones. Jedi Academy was great, and Knights Of The Old Republic is one of the most fun games I have played in the last year.

A funny look at this here.

ROFL... "Rebel assault 12: Yes, we're back at Hoth"

In Lucas' defense, on the balance, Star Wars games have generally sucked significantly less than Star Trek games, and they've always sold well. Overall, I think the Star Trek franchise had only one standout (Elite Force), but even that wasn't much more than a Quake Mod. (Still, I loved it.)

On the other hand, the last couple Rogue Squadron games have been exceptionally good, most of the X-wing titles still hold a fond place in my heart, and KOTR seems to get a lot of good reviews. There was a really good Jedi Knight game that was another Quake Mod that I really liked... Oh, wait a minute, that one was done by the same team that did Elite Force, wasn't it?

Honestly, though... I think that graphic adventures in the LucasArts style, despite being some of my favorite games and being the most well-written titles I can think of, don't do that hot in the marketplace. In a tough game market, I don't blame Lucas for canceling it.

Still doesn't change my disappointment that it was canceled, I just don't blame them for doing it.