Star Wars remains as one of the most powerful brands in the entertainment industry, progressing from reasonably humble origins in 1977 to a never-ending multi-billion dollar juggernaut. Its power is such that Disney bought Lucasfilm for $2.5 billion, with no doubt that it was actually interested in buying Star Wars rather than the film company, with Mickey's massive corporation now preparing more movies in the franchise.
Whether before, during or after the prequel trilogy, Star Wars games have also been an ever-present. The Wii fared well for games in the franchise, helped along by the Wii Remote fulfilling some fantasies of wielding a lightsaber — titles such as Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, its sequel and Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels tried to scratch that itch. It seems that, at the time of these games, there were plans for Red Fly Studio — which produced the Wii ports of The Force Unleashed — to bring an exclusive game to Nintendo hardware to dive off further into the lore.
According to Game Informer magazine (reported by Nintendo Everything) this project began as discussions between LucasArts and Nintendo to release a new spin-off IP for Wii, 3DS or the — at the time — new Wii U. Apparently they settled on an origin story for Darth Maul — the villain from Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace — and it evolved into a story of "Darth Maul and Darth Talon facing off against Darth Krayt and his Sith army". Darth Maul was arguably a poorly developed character in a film that seemed to disappoint a number of fans, so whether attempts to flesh him out would have worked is certainly debatable.
In any case, it eventually turned into a multiplatform game "due largely to Nintendo not meeting financial demands to make it a first-party project." As the project progressed LucasArts went cold and, like so many development ideas, this concept for "Damage" — as it was code-named — bit the dust, unfortunately resulting in redundancies for Red Fly Studio.
As it stands, EA is in charge of developing Star Wars games, which certainly puts doubt over future entries — outside of pinball and spin-offs from other developers — arriving on Nintendo hardware. Disney still ultimately controls the IP, however, so Nintendo must hope that revived sales of the Wii U, in particular, could force Disney's and EA's hand to include Nintendo's home console. Time will tell.
Would you have liked a Darth Maul game, or does the concept bring back horrible memories of The Phantom Menace that turn you to the Dark Side? Let us know.
[source gameinformer.com, via nintendoeverything.com]
Comments 67
I think we are still upset over the cancellation of Star Wars 1313
Darth Maul is the only good part of the prequels!
I would buy it for Wii U
Darth Maul was ok, he just died too early & easily. Maybe a back story would have helped
I was hoping there'd be some Star Wars games on Wii U or 3DS. I enjoyed Force Unleashed 1 & 2 on Wii, and was disappointed when 1313 was cancelled (albeit on PC).
Darth Maul was a joke. Up there with Jar Jar on the Mount Rushmore of Star Wars poor characters.
I watched the original trilogy as a kid (before the prequels), and I really don't think they are as bad as everybody says they are. I'm not much if a critic either though. I think some fan bases just like to complain ''coughcoughSonic'...
I always thought about what a good Darrh Maul origin game would be like (or Ganondorf for that matter.... But that's a whole other subject).
Don't you watch The Clone Wars, Thomas? MAul was fleshed out much more in that, and imo that series is the best part of the prequel era!
@Tsuzura Exactly.
@Joshers744 I don't know how people are thinking about it in your area, but most people do NOT find the original trilogy bad, just the prequels. And rightly so. The prequels may to an extent be somewhat entertaining, but mostly they are just hollow, bombastic attempts at creating an answer that connects them to the first three movies, and it failed miserably. The people writing all the Star Wars books did a much better job of it.
Give us an open-world strategy/rpg with online for either Wii U or 3DS, and we're even. Nearly. Well, half-way there.
Darth Maul was the best part of Episode 1 so I can't see a game starring him being a bad thing.
@TheRealThanos
Sorry I worded that kind of weird. I was trying to say, yes the original trilogy is much better, but I personally didn't hate the prequel trilogy when it was released. Looking back I can see how things like the actors for Anakin and Padme could have done a whole lot better, but I still don't think they are as terrible as a lot of people think. Of course that being said I'm not really a very good critic! Ha
Darth Maul? Eh, At least it isn't about JarJar Binks
Heck, if i had to choose Indiana Jone's son or JarJar Binks....I'll choose the former in less than a heartbeat.
Anyway, they should make another Pod Racer game. That was the only good thing about Episode 1 of the prequels.
@DiscoDriver43
Ditto that DiscoDriver43! Bring Racer to the Wii U virtual console, make an HD remastering, or make a whole new Pod Racing game.
And as other's have said, Darth Maul was one of the more interesting/exciting parts of Episode 1.
Nevermind!? darth maul is awesome. I would love to have this game, anyone who wouldn't, well, can just go play something else. Disregarding this game just because he's a character from the prequel is...just...sad.
The prequel trilogy wasn't terrible, just okay (except episode III which was pretty awesome). The Clone Wars series however... was what killed the franchise for me. Lame plots with clichèd endings, and the introduction of the biggest Mary Sue of all time, yeah it was awful. I'd say Maul's return was probably one of the best things that happened to that train wreck of a show.
@DiscoDriver43 I like the prequels...
but heck yeah the Pod Race was awesome!!!
There are not many things, I want as much, than a Star Wars game for Wii U. There is so much to do with Wiimote and the tablet controller.
Darth Maul was the best thing in the prequels, so dunno why the criticism here... a game based on that time period would only stand a chance with characters like him, not the awful/boring Jedi's or (shudder) JarJar
Darth Maul was a beast. Sucked that he died though.
Star wars battlefront 2 on wii u would be lovely.
@Tsuzura Considering how The Force Unleashed was kinda crap, not really.
@Joshers744 And that's how miscommunication starts, lol.
Well, just consider my previous comment to be null and void then, since we actually agreed in the first place. (I don't hate the prequels either; the originals are just much better, is all)
Maul teaming up with Darth Talon against Krayt's Sith? I wonder how that would work, considering that Talon and Krayt's Sith weren't around until more than a century after Maul's time (although Krayt himself, aka former Jedi A'Sharaad Hett was around during Maul's time).
Shpy be droppin' the EU knowledge on y'all
I'd love to see a Rogue Squadron HD for Wii U
Most telling detail of this story: "it eventually turned into a multiplatform game 'due largely to Nintendo not meeting financial demands to make it a first-party project.':
Nintendo won't pay for third-party games. This, maybe more than anything else, is why they lack the support that everyone complains about. And it's just too bad that Sony/Msoft have this advantage when it has little to do with games, and everything to do with $$.
If this game was looking like anything good, it would be a real shame for it to stay in the dustbin of history.
@LittleIrves say it to platinum games and monolith soft
@TheRealThanos my bad!
Couldn't agree more
I would pay good money for a Irina Spalko origin game. She was the best part of Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull.
Force Unleashed on Wii was amazing. Using the nunchuck with the force powers was brilliant.
A game like this shouldnt even have the thought of staying to one platform anyways
@divinelite Monolith Soft is a 1st party studio.
@DarkLloyd it probably shouldn't even be thought of in the first place
EA screws over Nintendo?
Say it isn't so...
I would buy a remake of the force unleashed one or two if it was made for the wii u.
@TwilightV I have the exact opposite opinion about the clone wars show...sure it dragged on the first season but it only got better and better in my opinion. For me the prequel trilogy is just full of meh...even though one of my favorite characters comes from it (Jango Fett). I do like certain characters from the prequel trilogy a lot though, but feel most of them were better represented in other mediums.
While I am a massive Star Wars fan, I don't think I would care for a Darth Maul game at this point. Kind of want to kiss the prequels goodbye and move onto the new trilogy.
The characters interest me. Shame it was cancelled.
There was gameplay footage, and it looked awesome.
@Frapp LOL you win the thread.
Nice to see some Prequel fans around here...
In all honesty, I'd take nearly any new Star Wars game if it were to come to Wii U or 3DS. Pinball is fun, but I want something with more substance now.
Hopefully those games in development that are inspired by the Batman Arkham games will be what we've been itching for.
@TwilightV I thought the first one was terrible, it actually took me several attempts to sit through it without sleeping. But the second one was ok and the third was VERY awesome.
Mk_II said:
I'd love to see a Rogue Squadron HD for Wii U
THIS!! THIS!! THIS!! THIS!! THIS!! THIS!! THIS!! THIS!! THIS!! THIS!! THIS!!
Good riddance. Darth Maul was such a lazy character to develop. Would much prefer as mentioned a Rogue Squadron, KotOR or SWBattlefront in my life.
Jedi Power Battles wasn't that bad, though.
haha shame EA, if Disney says you have to develop for Wii U, then you'll have to!
I think ANY Star Wars game for WiiU that utilized WiiMotionPlus would be a great game. I'm also bummed about 1313.
Old Maul was O.K. but new cyborg Maul is much better, and if there could ever be such a game it would have to take place between season 4 thru 6 of the Clone Wars series.
@Excep7ional
Maul's not dead. Star wars the Clone Wars series allowed him to return.
@luke88
Think of Battlefront 3 that's set to be released in 2015
@Cevan
G,Lucas mentioned that he did'nt want to lose Maul the way he lost Boba Fett.
Because Maul's popularity was starting to build 10 years ago.
@Gerbwmu
Back stories are better as novels,short stories or comics.
The only exception being the 'Bounty Hunter' game.
Bounty Hunter to me only looks good on the GameCube.
@SahashraLA
Sounds like what you have is a good 'Fanfiction' story.
I would like to read it.
@WhiteTrashGuy
I don't think any thing Star Wars 1313 will ever appear because the trade mark has been abandoned and is no longer in use.
Trademark term ' Star Wars 1313'
I think that The Phantom Menace is really underrated. It isn't the greatest Star Wars movie by any stretch but it isn't awful. Anakin and Jar Jar were poorly conceived characters but Qui Gon, Obi Wan, Padme and Darth Maul were all great. The soundtrack was really good too, with Duel of the Fates being amongst the best Star Wars music.
I'd have liked a Darth Maul game. The Force Unleashed series were average games (although better on Wii) with terrible storylines. I hated how Vader was beaten and captured; reducing him from the most feared villain in the galaxy to being second fiddle to a ridiculously overpowered clone. So I doubt that a Maul storyline could have been any worse.
I loved everything about the new trilogy except Hayden Christensen. Poor kid just didn't sell it well. It was like they took my little brother and made him Darth Vader (cause my little brother looks just like him lol). Other than that I enjoyed the heck out of the new Trilogy. Everyone's a critic and will always say "the first ones were waaaay better" but i'd bet anything the nay-sayers couldn't make a better trilogy. People don't even realize they were all written at the same time years ago. Darth Maul was awesome, but naive with his fancy moves and relied mostly on physical ability. Obi-wan was a bada$$ as always and exploited Darth Maul's lack of knowledge of the force. End of story. I'd love to have seen more about Darth Maul as he was one of my favorite species in Star Wars. There's even a Jedi of the same species sitting on the council! Would've been nice to see more into the Sith World.
@audiobrainiac Liking or disliking something is not a matter of being capable of "making it better". Plus, only the overall story is from "the same time years ago" and is usually not what anyone complains about. The actual scripts for the new trilogy were written only shortly before production. In any case, most people's criticism of the new trilogy is not with the story, but with the way it was realised. George Lucas, in the opinion of many, just did not make a good job as a director.
I don't mean to say that you cannot like the new trilogy more, it's stupid to criticize someone's opinion on the ground of "you could not have made it better".
@CaPPa I agree with what you say about the Phantom Menace. It was surely not perfect, but out of the three films of the new trilogy, I like it BEST BY FAR. It still had a lot of the spirit of the original trilogy and the playfulness, and at least traces of the dirtiness, that were once typical for Star Wars.
@DinoFett Well, besides the trademark having been abandoned we may never know for sure what (or if something) will happen with the title in the future, but the official site (although it shows only videos and pictures) is still online:
http://www.lucasarts.com/games/1313/
Maybe they will use elements of it in a new game still to be announced. That happens way more often than most of us probably think.
@DinoFett I know, I just didn't want to say that and risk spoiling it for someone up here who hasn't watched it. Although the information is old, there still might be people up here who just got into it and is unaware.
@Excep7ional
Thanks for reminding me, At times I forget that.
This era we are in reminds me of how there was not much about Star Wars
after Return of the Jedi in 1983 thru 1985 when all there was were Ewok movies and the droids cartoon to live with.
What's everybodys favorite star wars game?
Before,During and non Nintendo?
A topic should be created on this site's board.
Personally liked the prequels better and wouldve loved this game.
@audiobrainiac he was in the new clone wars series. Its pretty good
The problem with the new trilogy was that people waited for twenty years to see Darth Vader " help hunt down and destroy the jedi" and instead got to watch a pretty boy kill a bunch of children.
Twenty or more years to see Vader scream "Noooooo"?
WOW, sweet!
Obi Wan Kenobi said 'From a certain point of view' so all this must be from
GL's point of view and we are all like Luke Skywalker dealing with what was presented.
Darth Maul was awesome. Nuff said!
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