Split-Screen :: The Game-Geek’s Daily Read

LucasArts has contributing numerous stellar adventure titles to the market and though subsequently abandoning the intellectual properties afterwards, not many could deny the company’s competence when it came to its PC Star Wars titles.

The house that Darth Vader built produced X-Wing and Tie-Fighter, two sci-fi flight simulation titles, Dark Forces and the legendary Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight before finally announcing development of its next-generation Lightsaber combat system for Star Wars Episode 1: Obi Wan. This became the turning point in the company’s policy for Star Wars titles on the PC since later, even though PC fans would receive iterations of the titles, they were rarely on the same day as the console releases and even more so, not exclusive.

With The Force Unleashed releasing on Xbox 360 and PS3 on September 16th, Vik Sohal, COO of Pixelux Entertainment (the company behind game’s Force-tastic physics) talked about the various demos available across separate platforms, stating

“It’s just been released last week on the Internet, the Force Unleashed demo on both the PS3 and Xbox 360. We have a PC version as well.”

But before you get your hopes up like Mace Windu when Emperor Palpatine was on the ropes, LucasArts responded once more, stating definitely, “…That there is no PC version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed planned,” courtesy a lowly Storm-trooper… er, company rep.

Naturally one would be predisposed to anger, but really, is this anything new? LucasArts has been screwing PC gamer heads for ages, be it with the timed exclusiveness of Knights of the Old Republic titles, lingering troubles in Star Wars Galaxies (wiki “Reception and Criticism” for SWG swings) and what-not, silenced like the Polis Massa remnant Alderaan before the mega screams of despair. Fans can continue requesting for a PC Force Unleashed, and the company will continue answering them as appropriately – with abject denial – as they always have. Tough noogies, but such are the ways of the Force and George Lucas’s cash-cow.