Game News LoTR: The White Council RPG goes lights out?

[Diogo Ribeiro]

Tags: Electronic Arts; Lord of the Rings: The White Council

According to this <a href=http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3156206>1UP news item</a>, <a href=http://www.ea.com/>Electronic Arts</a> may have pulled the plug on the <a href=http://www.ea.com/lotr/white_council/>Lord of the Rings: The White Council</a> CRPG project. Formerly known as Project Gray Company, the game would be set during the battle for Middle Earth, but would not use the main characters of the series. Steve Gray, executive producer of the LoTR games, had this to say back during the game's unveiling:
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Our extremely talented and dedicated team is committed to creating an incredible new experience for fans of The Lord of the Rings and role playing gamers. With its next generation gameplay and epic new storyline, we think The Lord of the Rings, The White Council will be a huge success.
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With no prospects of work, Gandalf will now go back to being a hobo. If anyone sees him, dial #555-SPAZMO.
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Spotted at: <A HREF="http://www.rpgwatch.com">RPG Watch</A>

 

[FrancoTAU]

Surprising as it seemed like a pretty easy slamdunk for them. I guess the devs got back to them with a timeframe that EA didn't like.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Or, more likely, they didn't have anything more than "let's make an awesome LotR game just like Oblivion and make a lot of money!".

 

[elander_]

More likely they tried to bull EA and couldn't get back on track. This is one thing i like about EA despite what people say about them. I have some simpaty for those poor bastards at the bottom who have to work like slaves 12 hours a day, sometimes even more until the game is finished, but the publisher is not to blame for the incompetents who mess up the project and can't deliver a product on schedulle with a minimum quality. They can't just close their eyes and pretend that money falls from trees and will allways be available.

Besides Lord of the Rings: The White Council would be a piece of crap anyway.

 

[Whipporowill]

A cancelled LOTR game... whoaa, the tides are changing man.

 

[doctor_kaz]

I'm still disappointed that it won't be coming. I would have at least wanted to give it a chance. Maybe if there were more sandbox-y action RPG's, there would be a larger market for games like Gothic 3. Then developers like Pirhanna Bytes could get more funding maybe.

 

[Mr.Rocco]

I'm still disappointed that it won't be coming. I would have at least wanted to give it a chance. Maybe if there were more sandbox-y action RPG's, there would be a larger market for games like Gothic 3. Then developers like Pirhanna Bytes could get more funding maybe.

Huh? Most oblivious morons hate G3. What's x-box action-y craptastic pos got to do with pc rpg market? This cancellation is a great news. EA should stick with what they know best; sport and racing games. They shouldn't fuck with 'so-called' rpg, especially pc rpg.

 

[doctor_kaz]

I'm still disappointed that it won't be coming. I would have at least wanted to give it a chance. Maybe if there were more sandbox-y action RPG's, there would be a larger market for games like Gothic 3. Then developers like Pirhanna Bytes could get more funding maybe.

Huh? Most oblivious morons hate G3. What's x-box action-y craptastic pos got to do with pc rpg market? This cancellation is a great news. EA should stick with what they know best; sport and racing games. They shouldn't fuck with 'so-called' rpg, especially pc rpg.

This game would have come out on the PC too. Who knows if it might have actually been good? Some stuff from EA actually is pretty good. I like open-ended RPG's. I wish there were more. I think that Oblivion without level scaling would have been a terrific game. When this game was announced, I was hoping that it signaled that these games were becoming more mainstream. I guess I was wrong. Maybe EA just doesn't want to spend the effort. It must take a lot of time to develop.

 

[TalesfromtheCrypt]

I wish there were more. I think that Oblivion without level scaling would have been a terrific game. .

And thats why you are a moron.

 

[Mr.Rocco]

Some stuff from EA actually is pretty good.

You actually think Oblivion + EA = quality pc rpg? JFC.

 

[Baphomet]

Out of curiosity, does anyone have any faith in EA's theoretical ability to make a good RPG? I think their business practices ensure that they'll never come up with anything interesting or innovative.

 

[Volourn]

EA is fuckin' awesome.

 

[Krafter]

Baphomet, in a word, no. I'll play the FIFA and NHL games by EA with my brothers, they are a nice diversion. Making a yearly upgrade to a sports game is a far different beast from making a decent RPG, I doubt it would ever happen under EA's watch. Even if a good developer was hired by EA to make the game, they would still retain control enough to ruin their best efforts. I can't think of a single PC RPG by them, ever, let alone one that is good.

They are too far into the 'dumbed down for the 12 year old console masses' mentality to make a game that I would like. I wasn't looking forward to this one in the least, and I am a LOTR fan.

 

[FrancoTAU]

Does Ultima 9 count as an EA release? Ultima Online was a huge money make for them until they made the poor choice to cancel Ultima 10 (aka Ultima Online 2)

 

[Claw]

Maybe if there were more sandbox-y action RPG's, there would be a larger market for games like Gothic 3. Then developers like Pirhanna Bytes could get more funding maybe.

I am sure that kind of logic works in bizzaro-world.

And thats why you are a moron.

I'll have to second that. Oblivion is an awful game with weak game mechanics, bad AI and a weak and simple character system.