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Disney buys LucasFilm, announces Star Wars VII, hints at mobile gaming onslaught

Is Angry Birds Star Wars the beginning of an alliance, or will Rovio be forced out?

Disney buys LucasFilm, announces Star Wars VII, hints at mobile gaming onslaught

The entertainment industry witnessed an explosion of Death Star shattering proportions today with the announcement that Disney have agreed a deal to acquire Lucasfilm and would be greenlighting a series of new Star Wars films to come out every two to three years, starting with Star Wars VII to hit cinemas in 2015.

Suffice to say the shockwaves will be felt on smaller screens too, with LucasArts included in the $4.05 billion package alongside ILM and rights to properties such as Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Willow.

Most intriguing for mobile gamers however was the follow up statement made by Disney CEO Robert Iger during an investor call when asked about the gaming asp. ‘We're likely to focus more on social and mobile than we are on console."

"We'll look opportunistically at console, most likely in licensing rather than publishing, but we think that given the nature of these characters and how well known they are, and the storytelling, that they lend themselves quite nicely, as they've already demonstrated to the other platforms.’

Of course, the first mobile game release bearing the Star Wars moniker is due out in just over a week in the form of Rovio's Angry Birds Star Wars which begs a lot of intriguing questions in its own right.

With Disney boasting a successful mobile games publishing business could this spell a premature end to the Lucasfilm/Rovio relationship? Or could it conversely herald a new wave of Rovio franchised tie-ups such as Angry Birds Avengers or Bad Mickey? And even more pointedly, does this make a previously rumoured Disney acquisition of Rovio itself a much more likely prospect?

What is for sure is that a renewed buzz around the Star Wars franchise is unlikely to harm interest in Rovio's November 8th release.

Chris James
Chris James
A footy game fanatic and experienced editor of numerous computing and game titles, bossman Chris is up for anything – including running Steel Media (the madman).