BREAKING NEWS: Rumors of New Wing Commander (January 27, 2008)

[Bandit LOAF]

Surfer Girl Reviews Star Wars, a credible and industry-respected game rumor blog, is reporting something that we've all been waiting to hear: "That epic space game from EA [referring to an earlier rumor] is a new Wing Commander." This is only a rumor at this stage, so we do not want to overstate anything. It does match some other unofficial talk heard in recent days -- this could be the big one. Surfer Girl does seem to be the real deal - we can confirm that the information she posted on FreeLancer 2 several months ago is absolutely genuine. The original report is here. Thanks to Hexx for reporting this!

--
Original update published on January 27, 2008

[Dundradal]

Can I get a Hells yeah.

[PopsiclePete]

Can't get too excited yet, but oh man, exciting years for WC !

[Pedro]

Any rumour involving the words epic and Wing Commander is cause for a heart attack... but since dying before release would kind of defeat the point I'm going to go on a healthy heart friendly diet!

Wooo!

[Kevin Caccamo]

Hopefully, this one comes out for the PC.

[Bandit LOAF]

Originally Posted by Kevin Caccamo

Hopefully, this one comes out for the PC.

Oh, wow, do you not have an Xbox? I only ask because I've only seen you post this same thing 9,000 times.

[Toast]

Originally Posted by Bandit LOAF

Oh, wow, do you not have an Xbox? I only ask because I've only seen you post this same thing 9,000 times.

I hope for a cross-platform release. Certainly, the greater exposure and accessibility that comes with a console release is too valuable for the series to pass up... but being able to afford an Xbox aside, some part of me still wants the option to play WC with a keyboard. Old habits die very hard

[Pedro]

Originally Posted by Toast

I hope for a cross-platform release. Certainly, the greater exposure and accessibility that comes with a console release is too valuable for the series to pass up... but being able to afford an Xbox aside, some part of me still wants the option to play WC with a keyboard. Old habits die very hard

Give me a flightstick, mouse, wiimote, ds stylus, give me gamepad with auto-leveling (the Rogue Squadron/ Starfighter games were the only ones I ever mastered with a gamepad), but I might not be best pleased if the keyboard were revealed to be the input method of choice.
For platform its hard to know what I'd most enjoy without knowing the direction, but I'm guessing those in the know are betting on 360?

The comparison to Mass Effect was an interesting one, could it imply talk of exapnding the gameplay out of the cockpit?

[Bandit LOAF]

Comparison with Mass Effect... say, didn't the purchase of Bioware give EA an Austin-based studio run by Wing Commander veterans? Just sayin'.

I don't have any inside knowledge as to what console this thing is for -- but I think common sense says to expect an Xbox version, just because of the amount of money you'd need to make back.

I'm not intentionally hating on the PC in all this -- I would love more than anything to see a new WC game for the PC. It just doesn't necessarily jive with how games can make money today.

... but I'll buy any and every system that it comes out on, that's for sure.

[Haliwali]

WOOOO-HOOOOO
I hope. I guess I can scrap my plan then.
EDIT: And you guys who say this will be a poor year for wing commander in the poll can stop being pessimists.

[Jacob]

Oh my god...this is wonderful news! I hope to all hell that this actually happens!

[overmortal]

Y'know, a WC game on the Wii could actually be very interesting, if done correctly. The wimote could use its accelerometer and thus double quite nicely as a flight stick, and the nunchuck could use its accelerometer to function as a throttle. And the thumbstick on the nunchuck would work wonderfully for rolling.

Either way, I would like to see it across many platforms, but my main concern is this: The trend these days is for any sort of flight sim to be third person, which works well for many games, but I'd really prefer a full-fledged WC game to be inside the cockpit. And, considering the advancement in RPG games these days, I'd assume that a healthy RPG element could easily be involved (that is, interraction with others, not the turn based combat).

And, since the WC name is so legendary, it's easily feasible that there could be a flightstick/throttle/pedals combination released, either by microsoft or some third party, to go along with an Xbox 360/ps3 release.

Of course, this is all in the actual event that the rumor is true, and we're not getting excited over nothing.

Either way, there's still a Ghostbusters game coming out this october, so I'm gonna be a happy guy, either way.

[t.c.cgi]

The Wii doesn't strike me as being the ideal market for a new Wing Commander. Everyone I know who owns a Wii owns it because they like to flail their arms in the air while they pretend to fish, hunt deer, or do other activities that they also do in their real lives. Or, alternatively, they own it because their girlfriend/wife wanted it so they could flail their arms about.

The PS3 and 360 seem to contain a better target audience, as the PS3 carries many "epic" franchises full of CG cenematics and whatnot, and the 360 is the action gamer's system. Of course, if they make a version for the 360 they'll most likely also have a PC version. At a glance the 360 sounds like a mini-PC, and the number of 360 titles ported (or launched) to the PC suggests that there's little work involved, at least compared to all other consoles.

[Ghost]

Being an EA game i'm sure that will be created for PC, XBOX360 and PS3.

LOAF: do you have any info besides that rumour?, even if you can't share at least say a ''Yes''

[Howard Day]

As a guy who often develops for EA...If there is a new WC game in all likelyhood they'll try and make it cross-platform. I can't remember the last game they worked on that was single-platform, and most of the current ongoing projects that I know of average PS3, 360, and PC. A few try and throw the Wii in there too, but that is really dependant on the type of game. LOAF is absolutely right in stating that there's not much money to be made with a PC-only release - but the SOP is to try for as many platforms at the same time as possible.
Of course, all I have is speculation. They may indeed decide to go with a console-only release - that's fine! I'd willingly and lovingly play a new WC game on my 360! They'd have to do the controls right - tricky under the best conditions - but it could be done. If they'd also support the Ace Combat 6 controllers, that'd make Howie a very happy boy.
Glee!

[Sylvester]

Ahahahahahahaha yes!!! I'm hoping its for the PC...just because I need to upgrade my computer and I can find no better reason then for a new WC game. I remember way back in 1995 being so excited because our new Pentium I had a CD drive that I could play WC3 in.

[Pedro]

Originally Posted by t.c.cgi

The Wii doesn't strike me as being the ideal market for a new Wing Commander. Everyone I know who owns a Wii owns it because they like to flail their arms in the air while they pretend to fish, hunt deer, or do other activities that they also do in their real lives. Or, alternatively, they own it because their girlfriend/wife wanted it so they could flail their arms about.

The Wii is a funny old system, most developers and publishers alike initially dismissed it and as a result there are few titles which scored over 80%, the majority of those which did are Nintendo titles, not a fair guage of the more mature audience. However Resident Evil 4, which was a 2 year old port, passed the 1 million mark, Red Steel, which got horrible reviews again passed the 1 million mark, and Guitar Hero 3 surely has too.

Add to this:
http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/847/847472p1.html

I'm not saying that the same percentage of Wii's user base would be open to Wing Commander as that of the PS3 or 360, but with 18million systems out there if multi-platform is the future don't dismiss the Wii as a legitimate way to expand the audience. I have faith the Wii could offer a very easily accessible space combat control scheme.

As for what platform I'd like to see it on? PC: I will always consider a flightstick the most enjoyable way to control a space combat title, and it would mean the modding community had fresh meat

As for 3rd person: I just pulled out Rogue Leader, its much easier to play in 3rd person, so I would actually be pro 3rd person for a console release. With a flightstick 1st person really puts you in the cockpit so to speak, but otherwise I have no issue with 3rd person. I do take back my earlier comment about auto-levelling, its useful on ground missions but in space missions where there should be no down its unnecessary and even annoying.

It would be fantastic if Bioware were developing it, just having that name attatched would mean big time exposure for the franchise.

[Haliwali]

Doesn't Bioware have some unannounced new project for EA? I know they have something with Lucasarts.

BTW my brother just got Blazing Angels for the Wii. I'll play it and get back to you on how it control with the Wiimote.

[Pedro]

Originally Posted by Haliwali

Doesn't Bioware have some unannounced new project for EA? I know they have something with Lucasarts.

BTW my brother just got Blazing Angels for the Wii. I'll play it and get back to you on how it control with the Wiimote.

Yeah, I was just told as much, maybe a shift of the odd member of personell?

I just read the review of Blazing Angels, doesn't sound like they did a great job of it (http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/775/775280p1.html). Heatseeker showed early promise to me.

[Sharpshooter]

It's About Time.

Now, theoretically I can't play console games. But not being able to play 2 new WC games would be so frustrating that I might be able to find a way if I put my mind into it. Might.

[Manboy]

*Crosses fingers* Oh please please please please please please.

If it is a new Wing Commnader game I can't see it not coming out on the PC. However I wouldn't be surprised if it turned up on the consoles - PS3 included.

I bought a dual-core with a 8600gts plus a Xbox 360 about half a year ago. Albeit the computer is dated already, but hell, if I need to upgrade it for a new WC, I probably will (despite the fact that I'm now flat broke.)

Oh, and I hear Surfer Girl is usually correct about these type of rumors...
*Keeps on crossing fingers*

[Magnum]

Originally Posted by Howard Day

They'd have to do the controls right - tricky under the best conditions - but it could be done. If they'd also support the Ace Combat 6 controllers, that'd make Howie a very happy boy.
Glee!

Indeed. If it was 360 only, that probably would push me over the edge to the point where I would buy a 360, WC, and AC6 along with it. That said, I would still rather have it on PC where I'm already fully equipped with the hardware.

[Bandit LOAF]

LOAF is absolutely right in stating that there's not much money to be made with a PC-only release - but the SOP is to try for as many platforms at the same time as possible.

I just reread my post... to be clear "no inside knowledge of what console this is for" was *not* my being coy -- it was my choosing the wrong word. I have no inside knowledge about what systems this will be for. I really honestly do want a PC port... like someone else already said, I dearly want a reason to build an amazing new PC, which is something I haven't had since 1997. And hey, that's the culture Wing Commander created in the first place...

There's all sorts of models we could look at -- C&C3 is an obvious one, which brought back the series to the PC (its original home) and the Xbox 360 (where it could turn a real profit.) At the same time, EA's similarly-stealth-developed The Simpsons Game blitz was everything *except* the PC... so who knows? We just don't know enough yet...

(But take a moment to indulge your imagination and dream of buying Wing Commander for as many as eight platforms on the same day... this is going to be good!)

[Youngblood]

oh my god oh my god!!!!! what can i say that no one else has???

[Max Gene]

That LOAF misquoted the article in his post?

LOAF: "That epic space game from EA [referring to an earlier rumor] is a new Wing Commander."
Original: "That epic space game from EA is not a new Wing Commander, but a new Wing Commander is in development."

Still, I am _very_ excited about this. Like the others, I dearly want this for the PC- I don't own any current-gen consoles, and I'd be willing to tone down the effects until I could scrap together the money to upgrade my graphics AGAIN (I'm still waiting on a replacement for the card I ordered at the beginning of the year). I honestly can't see how else we'll control it- but hey, something is better than nothing, especially if it's a Wing Commander something!

[Bandit LOAF]

The original blog has been edited since it was first posted.

[Max Gene]

My bad- I wasn't trying to accuse you of being openly malicious or anything, but I guess you're in the clear either way.

Am I shaking of excitement or of Mountain Dew?

[AD]

Originally Posted by Bandit LOAF

The original blog has been edited since it was first posted.

Yeay, someone in the talkback reminded her that she had said previously in the talkback of the earlier rumor that the earlier rumor wasn't a WC game, but that likely EA was also developing a WC game. So she edited the post to clarify that there are actually two space games in development by EA, one of which she is confirming is a Wing Commander title.

[ChrisReid]

Originally Posted by Haliwali

EDIT: And you guys who say this will be a poor year for wing commander in the poll can stop being pessimists.

That's what I've been saying - people should have seen from 2006 and 2007 that things change very quickly.

Originally Posted by AD

Yeay, someone in the talkback reminded her that she had said previously in the talkback of the earlier rumor that the earlier rumor wasn't a WC game, but that likely EA was also developing a WC game. So she edited the post to clarify that there are actually two space games in development by EA, one of which she is confirming is a Wing Commander title.

Our update is updated now to reflect the change, thanks.

Originally Posted by Manboy

Oh, and I hear Surfer Girl is usually correct about these type of rumors...
*Keeps on crossing fingers*

[overmortal]

Sadly, I'd estimate that any new WC title currently in development would probably be a Christmas 09 release. Or, at least, it wouldn't be any time in 08.

Of course, I'd love to be wrong about that.

[ChrisReid]

Originally Posted by overmortal

Sadly, I'd estimate that any new WC title currently in development would probably be a Christmas 09 release. Or, at least, it wouldn't be any time in 08.

As excruciating as the wait for Arena was (and magnified by the nature of XBLA release dates being established just a week in advance), those weeks and months in the run up to July 25 were super fun and exciting. Of course everyone wants to actually play new games, but there's an electricity in the air knowing that something new is coming.

[Bandit LOAF]

Originally Posted by overmortal

Sadly, I'd estimate that any new WC title currently in development would probably be a Christmas 09 release. Or, at least, it wouldn't be any time in 08.

Of course, I'd love to be wrong about that.

I don't think video games can have 30-month development cycles anymore.

[floundericiousMI]

As Chris said... when you think about the sheer amounts of MONEY it takes to explore new I.P.s or new implementations of older I.P.s, the fact that EA has tried to resurrect/expand Wing Commander a number of times in the last decade should tell you that they see a SIGNIFICANT opportunity. The size and vigor of this community and the fan-mod games out there are other things that they obviously monitor.

It's like that show "Man, Moment, Machine" illustrates, it's the confluence of money, market, innovation, creative content, and capability. Chris and Ben can tell this story FAR more eloquently than I can, but WC and WCII were transformative games. Not just in the software sense, but in the HARDWARE sense. They established benchmarks for sound, video, RAM, processor, DOS configuration (L-O-L) and forced EVERYTHING and EVERYONE to take a big step forward.

When you think about it, the Wing Commander universe is a rich playground for anything from an MMORPG to a first person flight sim to a first person shooter to a tactical/strategic game.

What if EA were to take something along the lines of a Rainbow Six (forgive me if that's ignorant, I'm invoking the type of game, not the specific game/publisher) game where you work as an intelligence operative trying to infiltrate various Kilrathi outposts or shipyards?

What if they revived a Privateer model set in a different location of the WC Universe...what about one that followed an X-Wing or X-Wing Alliance arc with you joining Confed, proving yourself, and fighting through until you're in the midst of a gargantuan battle?

The sky's the limit (or not, as the case may be ;-) )!

[t.c.cgi]

Originally Posted by Bandit LOAF

There's all sorts of models we could look at -- C&C3 is an obvious one, which brought back the series to the PC (its original home) and the Xbox 360 (where it could turn a real profit.) At the same time, EA's similarly-stealth-developed The Simpsons Game blitz was everything *except* the PC... so who knows? We just don't know enough yet...

Well, C&C3 has a very healthy cult following on the PC. It may not have sold as well as it did for the 360, but it sold. The die hards have kept C&C alive for a long time with their mods and other gadgets, and now with a new game will be able to continue on fresh. Bringing it to the PC, spending the money on HD cinematics, getting Kucan back, etc, I think had more to do with that fandom than anything else.

The Simpsons on the other hand isn't a PC franchise with a PC cult following. It's a TV show. They really had no obligation to release it to the PC.

I think the presence of the CIC and its members alone will probably sell a PC release in addition to the consoles. After all they went way out of their way to appease us with Arena and Star*Soldier, more than I've ever heard of before. I'm not holding my breath on a PC release, but it seems that EA is very concerned about its fans' approval, more than they need to be.

If not, hopefully they'll have a PS3 release, as I've been told there might be one in my future.

[Max Gene]

Don't they kind've _need_ to worry muchly about fan approval to sell anything?

[Bandit LOAF]

They do not - hardcore fans are not a base you can base your bottom line on. We're a few thousand people compared to the million(s) who need to pick up the game to be profitable.

That's what you folks don't understand... it's absoluutely mind-blowing that they gave us so thought with regards to Arena's little details -- because we *don't* matter. It's one of the reasons I get so damn angry when I see you people being juiceboxes about this stuff.

My biggest hope is that Sean Penney is associated with this thing -- he was the producer on Arena who absolutely insisted that the correct continuity stuff be developed for the game.

[Jacob]

Originally Posted by Bandit LOAF

I don't think video games can have 30-month development cycles anymore.

Unless the name of the video game is "Too Human"...in which case it has a ten-year development cycle.

[Blaster]

If this turns out to be true then it’s wonderful news.

Hopefully it will be a big budget game with an amazing story, but I would be happy with even another wc academy.

[ChrisReid]

Originally Posted by Blaster

Hopefully it will be a big budget game with an amazing story, but I would be happy with even another wc academy.

Just think about the kind of fancy Wing Commander Academy equivalent they could do today. All you mod people would go crazy. Stuff like multiplayer would be a given. They could make an awesome Academy handbook/textbook manual.

[LeHah]

Originally Posted by Jacob

Unless the name of the video game is "Too Human"...in which case it has a ten-year development cycle.

And the greastest achievement in animation took 30 years. Some things are worth the wait.

[floundericiousMI]

Here's an idea for you...what if they did a mind job and cast you (a la Tie Fighter) as "the bad guys"...

You are a kilrathi cadet, lowest born of the incoming fighter pilot class. You constantly have your fellow cadets taking potshots at you during training flights, you have equipment that constantly breaks down underneath you, you get fewer accolades for your successes than your "betters"

[BrynS]

Exciting times indeed!

I wonder how far into development the game is at this point?

While I would ideally prefer a PC exclusive with full flightstick support, given the current PC gaming market, I'd expect (as others have already mentioned) a multi-platform console release -- hopefully with a simultaneous PC release or at least a port shortly afterwards -- although I can appreciate that it may only appear as an Xbox 360 title.

Originally Posted by Bandit LOAF

I don't think video games can have 30-month development cycles anymore.

Well, there'll always be exceptions, such as WoW (5+ years), Doom 3 (3+ years), Stalker (5+ years), Heavenly Sword (3-4 years), etc and publishers do seem to love letting us know how expensive it is to develop AAA games these days, but yeah it does appear as though 3-year plus development cycles are quite rare. Looking back, the turnaround time for most of OSI's games seems pretty impressive for the scope of many, i.e. wasn't the WC3 to WC4 release about 13-14 months? Although OSI did essentially reuse the same RealSpace engine (with minor tweaks) which must have saved time.

Saying that however, I noticed that some of the Arena concept art that has been released was dated 2005 and didn't Gaia initially develop what became Arena as a generic/unique IP before approaching EA to turn it into a WC title? I don't know what the average development time for an XBLA game is, but 2+ years for Arena must be on the high end of the average timescale?

My gut feeling on a release timeframe based on Surfer Girl's snippet, would be end of 2008 at the earliest to H1 2009 if it's a full bore AAA game (a Bioware WC KOTOR perhaps? ) with multiplayer (Live/PSN, etc) elements and H2 2009 or later if it's some kind of massive WC/Privateer Online, but obviously at this point, pending any official announcement and not knowing what kind of game it will be or when it began development; its release date is anyone's guess.

Well, the picket ship has detected possible jump traces at extreme range, let's hope the official burst transmission is imminent!

Hey Chris, new avatar?

[AD]

Originally Posted by BrynS

Saying that however, I noticed that some of the Arena concept art that has been released was dated 2005 and didn't Gaia initially develop what became Arena as a generic/unique IP before approaching EA to turn it into a WC title? I don't know what the average development time for an XBLA game is, but 2+ years for Arena must be on the high end of the average timescale?

No, I don't believe that is correct. For example one of the pictures (which is *possibly* just dated wrong) from 2005 is without a doubt an Arrow: http://www.wcnews.com/newestshots/full/Ortho_Arrow.jpg

I'm pretty sure it was pitched by an EA insider and given to GAIA to do. Sean Penney, the project manager was at EA in Burnaby.

Also when we look at the timeline, the release date of Arena wasn't in EAs hands, rather it was up to MS. EA was ready to release in the spring (As is they still used the extra time to polish up a few things from what I understand.) Production was heavily underway in the fall of 2006. So late 2005 isn't really out of the question for Concept artwork.

[Mekt-Hakkikt]

Wohoo, I am carefully getting excited and optimistic! Great news.

Concerning the content, I could not even tell you what I'd like to see: a new Privateer, a Kilrathi -side game, an Academy/Armada game, a SOPS follow-up, an Arena follow-up (timeline-wise). I think I will be happy with everything that is WC. Even a RTS or FPS would make me happy but I hope for something more classic.

For the platform, well, now that I own an XBox 360, it wouldn't be too bad if it was released for the Box (though I do hope I won't have to buy another console to play it) but I foremost hope it will be released for the PC. I need a new one.

Anyway, it's still just a rumour. But boy, great! And I second that Sean Penney should be involved, he did great stuff with Arena/ S*S.

[ELTEE]

I just knew it would be a great year for WC!

A rumor like this reminds me of a fresh snowfall. This could go in any direction! Will we be Kilrathi? Confed? Civilian? Some other faction? The only limitation at present is the mind....

We must wait for the tracks to be developed through the snow!!

[JasonRocZ]

Electricity in the air means owwwyyy

[Sphynx]

So... even though I am trying not to set myself up for a possible dissapointment, is it too soon to throw out guesses about what it could be? My guess is that it will be a continuation of the Nephilim war (which was left excitingly mostly untouched in Star Soldier), but that the main character will not be Casey. I'm thinking they will do another character on another carrier, but continue the story about where it left off. Perhaps they would do something odd and make the player someone familiar, like Stiletto. Then again, I could also see it being a new rookie pilot.

[Youngblood]

A female pilot as the player intresting idea!

[DaBrain]

Originally Posted by Bandit LOAF

I don't think video games can have 30-month development cycles anymore.

Agreed.

A full "AAA" Wing Commander title would probably take at least two years in development, or a huge team.


More interesting... if it's not an "epic space game", what could it be?
I mean how many options are there?

FPS? I somehow doubt that.
RPG? No idea...
RTS? Somewhat possible. At least I wouldn't mind commanding some fleets. Plus EA already has a complete engine for this.
MMO? Well... with the WC(!) Privateer universe, this is quite possible, but I guess that would be an "epic space game" again. At least I know this is an area EA would like to have more games in.

[Bandit LOAF]

I think you're reading the quote out of context -- it's just not the *specific* 'epic space game' she referred to in an earlier post.