Lord of the Rings RPG "on hold"

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpot
Posted Feb 2, 2007 9:30 am AEST

EA confirms rumors that it has stopped work on the White Council and that the publisher is mulling over what to do with the film license.

The year began with unconfirmed rumors that The Lord of the Rings: The White Council had been canceled. The open-world role-playing game, which had been unveiled last summer, was slated for a holiday 2007 release on the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. It was to be the latest game from Electronic Arts based on Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings film trilogy, which was inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's best-selling fantasy novels.

Will this concept art go to waste?

Today, during a postearnings call, EA CFO Warren Jenson confirmed that The White Council is not canceled--but that work on it has been indefinitely suspended. "The Lord of the Rings product is back in development in terms of being on hold," he cryptically told an analyst who asked whether or not the game had been canceled outright.

But while EA hasn't pulled the plug on The White Council, its prognosis is not good. Jenson said that the game will not be released during the publisher's next financial year, which ends on March 31, 2008. He also announced that EA is "looking at the creative positioning and feature set on the Lord of the Rings franchise," but did not elaborate.

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devil-neva-cry
Posted Aug 26, 2008 1:57 am AEST

ok slanted for december 07 aiming for march 08 now april 09!! wat is goin on!! this game needs to be sorted out
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Shishio817
Posted Dec 24, 2007 1:47 pm AEST

I really wish they do actually make this game, as the LOTR universe is essentially the perfect RPG setting.
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division_9
Posted Aug 12, 2007 11:02 am AEST

Dam I was hoping it would be released earlier. Anyways I would agree that Bethesda would do a good job if they took over since they seem to make good RPG game's like Elder Scrolls series and the Fallout series as well and also to be honest I've played like 30 EA game's and the only one's that I enjoyed were the Sims & Sims 2 and Battlefield 2.

@Draconis89

Trust me, you wouldn't.

@startrek934

To be honest the only games I enjoyed from Ubisoft was the Splinter cell serie's and thats it. And also I dont think Ubisoft would be any better then EA since Ubisoft doesn't seem to make games like this but neither does EA. Although Bethesda would be excellent with these kind of games since the Elder Scrolls Series prove's that they have some experience & expertise with Fantasy RPG game's.
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startrek934
Posted Aug 6, 2007 8:39 pm AEST

Why not have ubisoft take it? Think about it they have all ways made good games. Any way some here may disagree, soft has good games like splinter cell's. & look of there games all ways look good. Now EA there not that crapy as a copy, but I was mad about the last Medal of Honor! EA did the FPS Black, & that was the awesome ish game! & I don't see any thing wrong with a FPS. Yes its true theres to many of them, but what u say we just stop making FPS's. Its like me saying theres to much RTS's lol. There all ways be to much of some typ of game out there. U just run out of ideals. I think a lord of rings for a FPS is a new thing to try & I think it world be cool.
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gaby19
Posted Jun 13, 2007 1:32 pm AEST

well i say why not just cansall all the games form the ps3 that was pcopyed and made it into an ps3 game witch realy sucks if u know wat i mean
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zeuscat
Posted Mar 20, 2007 12:38 pm AEST

No not Bethesda. Was not a huge fan of Oblivion, VERY over-rated, but thats not the topic.

I think EA made nothing on the LOTR series, because they really weren't great. They never made a GREAT game, that I played at least. This was probably the only idea I was really interested in. There is no point playing a game you know the ending for, unless they twist it up a bit and give you options, which I never saw in the Movie versions. The strategy versions were pretty good, but nothing special still. The RPG version was boring, stop making games that are turn based! No one wants to play those games anymore, I know I would rather pick up a real time action/RPG than a turn based JRPG.

Come on EA, this seems to be the ONLY LOTR game I would be interested into. Just dont make it monthly for payments, thats BS!
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Draconis89
Posted Mar 17, 2007 8:51 pm AEST

"why don't they seell the rights and game to Bethesda softworks"

What....so bethesda can make another **** game?....No thanks I would pick waiting 20 years then see another crap "action" RPG remake of Oblivion come out.
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Roman_Slayer
Posted Mar 9, 2007 3:50 pm AEST

Lord of the Rings is a lot like Star Wars (incredibly successful fantasy universes) and so long as lotr games are made the'll be bought (just like Star Wars)
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machineman
Posted Feb 24, 2007 10:54 pm AEST

My money says that they want to wait and see what the future holds for the Hobbit Movie, because there was also supposed to be another movie set before the Hobbit. i.e. the White Council.

While personally I think the coolest thing they could do is produce a game set in a time in the history we haven't really read about or seen (like Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic), I bet they are hopeing for movie news first....
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Vraeth
Posted Feb 17, 2007 7:35 pm AEST

This franchise could have sold itself, especially since the films haven't been gone all THAT long. I mean hell, look how long after there were Star Wars games selling (before the PoS prequels)- you have them coming out for years.
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dj_b02us
Posted Feb 15, 2007 8:56 am AEST

well they ain makin any money on lotr anymore. havnt since the movies finished.
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skatefreak89
Posted Feb 12, 2007 12:29 am AEST

why don't they seell the rights and game to Bethesda softworks
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darth-revan
Posted Feb 5, 2007 3:46 pm AEST

this is most likely the first in a move to start offing LOTR games. Battle for Middle Earths last note was most likely Rise of the Witch King (kick ass, i thought). there wont be any more LOTR games really coming from EA now. god forbid a game can, you know, be original and stand on its own.
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UmbrellaMaster
Posted Feb 5, 2007 6:27 am AEST

Vaporware.
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Hokage00
Posted Feb 5, 2007 12:41 am AEST

A Lord Of The Rings MMO????

EA has just proved that they are stupid..... this is the dumbest idea ever
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Lumenadducere
Posted Feb 4, 2007 11:43 pm AEST

A LotOR RPG that's open-world sounded good, and I'm sorry to see it go (let's face it, when companies "indefinitely suspend" a title that means it's canceled). I just hope LotOR Online shapes up to be decent.
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darkpresence
Posted Feb 4, 2007 9:58 pm AEST

Today, during a postearnings call, EA CFO Warren Jenson confirmed that The White Council is not canceled--but that work on it has been indefinitely suspended corporate speak for its been canceled til they figure if they can milk more money out of the franchise.
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VegetaMaelstrom
Posted Feb 4, 2007 8:01 pm AEST

RonHack:
"I read it as saying, "It's not coming out". Period.
What will drive its sales, since the movie has long been wrapped up? Can the Tolkien frnachise still sell itself?"

I agree with your comments. EA is wondering what will drive it's sales in regards to this game and since no clear cut movie is coming out to tie into this game, they have shelved it (maybe cancelled it) for the time being. Heaven forbid they just make a good quality game that can stand on it's own and not be held up by a popular licence. That would be asking for too much from these guys.
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RonHack
Posted Feb 4, 2007 1:29 pm AEST

I read it as saying, "It's not coming out". Period.

What will drive its sales, since the movie has long been wrapped up? Can the Tolkien frnachise still sell itself?

When a company pulls an "indefinite hold" like this, that means even the company is starting to question whether something like this will prevail in this market. Namebrand doesn't cut it; the D&D-licensed online RPG (or is that RPGs?) isn't doing too well right now. Only online games with a hook (Guild War's free play, or Auto Assault's auto battles) have any chance at all right now
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ForlonHope
Posted Feb 4, 2007 12:40 pm AEST

its not coming out for a while.
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Mosannam9696
Posted Feb 3, 2007 9:15 pm AEST

haha the third age was like the worst game ever! thats funny!
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BeyondItAll
Posted Feb 3, 2007 8:13 pm AEST

It's a shame such a crappy company controls the LOTR game license, a good company could do great things with it, not the crap EA has put out!
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bobbysbits
Posted Feb 3, 2007 7:58 pm AEST

we could always just play "The Third Age." just kidding.
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Jedi_Osborn
Posted Feb 3, 2007 4:43 pm AEST

ugh, that sucks, I was looking forward to this one. Guess I'll be looking WAY forward now.
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BloodEagles1717
Posted Feb 3, 2007 3:33 pm AEST

lol i thought this was referring to the MMO
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vampiredust99
Posted Feb 3, 2007 12:14 pm AEST

this sucks

hope they make a GTA type game featuring LOTR instead

Sauron is a natural pimp
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jakob_187
Posted Feb 3, 2007 11:41 am AEST

Chances are that the drama with the upcoming Hobbit film are crossing over into this somehow. Saul Zauntz, New Line, Peter Jackson, and MGM are having some massive battles going on with this crap right now. With that in mind, hearing the phrase "looking at the creative positioning and feature set on the Lord of the Rings franchise" could easily mean "we're waiting to see who we'll have to pay our royalty checks to". Only time will tell, but I am sad to hear that this one will be sitting on the backburner. As long as we don't end up with something half-assed like The Third Age (aka Final Fantasy 10.25) and get something of quality like Battle for Middle-Earth II, we should be good. I'm willing to wait.
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phantom5242
Posted Feb 3, 2007 8:54 am AEST

"looking at the creative positioning and feature set on the Lord of the Rings franchise,"

Surely canceling this game doesn't look much going that direction. Means more to me like what EA does best ,aiming for kids wallets with some accessible action or strategy game based on the franchise, instead of an in-depth RPG. It all reminds much the Interplay and D&D rpg's with the difference that EA is too big to go bankrupt from such a decision.

And certainly if it ever comes out (which I doubt) I hope it doesn't resemble Oblivion in any way.
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iuns
Posted Feb 3, 2007 2:22 am AEST

shame.. i would have bought it...

even if it does come out its gonna be 2008....

damit!
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tigerfan1993
Posted Feb 2, 2007 7:41 pm AEST

The next Oblivion? I dont think so. But it still looks fun.
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Chief_Kuuni
Posted Feb 2, 2007 5:26 pm AEST

I'd buy it, hopefully it's just getting better
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wild_world_girl
Posted Feb 2, 2007 5:07 pm AEST

Anyone surprised that the LEAST original company shelves the idea with the MOST potential for creativity?

If it isn't some movie license that they can slap assets from their existing library together and put "Finding Nemo" or "Catwoman" or "*insert hollywood diarrhea here*" on the label, they don't care.

Period!
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ryokinshin6x3
Posted Feb 2, 2007 4:30 pm AEST

samehere, really hope this game gets released
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macquiefey
Posted Feb 2, 2007 4:30 pm AEST

are EA idiots? the only potentially 'epic' game that they can ever come up with and they 'suspend it indefinitely', i mean cmon, a 5 year old kid would realise that an open ended LOTR game would be amazing... oh well, i guess we'll just have to put up with hundreds more of the same games with different titles from EA eh?
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diablo1000000
Posted Feb 2, 2007 4:03 pm AEST

Really hope this potentially amazing game doesn't die on us just yet. Really hope EA commit to this - perhaps they are delaying this until PS3s find a few more homes...
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reckeweg
Posted Feb 2, 2007 4:02 pm AEST

That sucks, I was looking forward to getting sucked into Middle Earth. Oblivion was superb in that way. Oh well Mass Effect will be coming out soon enough.
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okassar
Posted Feb 2, 2007 2:28 pm AEST

EA better do good on this.The Lord of the Rings series has one of the best stroylines ever.All EA has to do is add on some Oblivion-like graphics and encorporate the story with some original additions and BANG!It would be revolutionary.I'm surprised a Lord of the Rings open-ended RPG has been released yet.
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Jerian
Posted Feb 2, 2007 2:28 pm AEST

It sounded too good to be true...I guess it was.
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OjoDelPensador
Posted Feb 2, 2007 2:14 pm AEST

First I heard of the game, and this is probably the only on-line RPG that I would be interested in playing. Bummer to hear that it may get permanently shelved... but patience may yet be rewarded, eh?
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slipshoddoa
Posted Feb 2, 2007 1:57 pm AEST

This is undoubtedly caused by the New Line vs. Peter Jackson lawsuit. "The Hobbit" went from being a sure thing to "on hold" because of the lawsuit, and EA might be waiting to see if New Line can renew its movie license. It would be costly if they finished a game based on the movie series only to find out that another studio now has film rights to "The Hobbit" and other Middle Earth properties. Plus they lose a movie tie-in advertising boost. EA probably hoped to finish the game in time for the movie release of "The Hobbit".
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moocow21
Posted Feb 2, 2007 1:48 pm AEST

This sucks... I was looking forward to this game more than Halo 3. LOTR + Open Ended World = amazing.. Guess EA figured they'd better push out a dozen more crappy games instead of putting some hard work to make a good one.
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barflytke401
Posted Feb 2, 2007 12:43 pm AEST

"...looking at the Creative Positioning and Feature Set on the Lord of the Rings franchise"" = There's no way in Hell we are making a game for a franchise that's not going to be big anymore because there are no more movies to keep it in the public eye.
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rbenns2
Posted Feb 2, 2007 12:37 pm AEST

Shame. The LOTR franchise is tailor made for RPGs, but the quick cash in FFX ripoff Third Age is all we've got so far. Still, it took four years to make Oblivion, and I doubt EAs quick profit strategy would be willing to put in that kind of time, so this would probably have been an Elder Scrolls ripoff.
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undox
Posted Feb 2, 2007 12:25 pm AEST

They are abusing the license. I am glad that they at least delay making yet another game.
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MGS2244
Posted Feb 2, 2007 12:24 pm AEST

[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]
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mjwickstrom1
Posted Feb 2, 2007 12:17 pm AEST

No game publisher should ever stop in the middle of the process of making a game, especially EA!
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Quellepaur
Posted Feb 2, 2007 11:44 am AEST

It is unfortunate that EA has officially "pulled the plug" on a game that actually showed real promise. I feel sorry for the development crew that EA hired for the project. Just looking at the website and reading their update blogs, I really got the feeling that they were trying their best to make a stand-out RPG with everything that even the most die hard RPG fan could come to expect from the genre. So many people are saying that LotR has saturated the gaming market, but I don't understand nor see it that way at all. There have been - what? - six LotR titles since the 1st movie was released in theatres, 6 years ago. Umm...that's like a game a year. What about Madden Football or Tiger Woods PGA Tour or Final Fantasy MMXVIII?? Those certainly haven't saturated the market at all, have they? My only hope is that this game has been temporarily placed on hold in the interest of making use of next generation tech and further story development, and that they still intend to give us a game well worth playing that will become the very definition of the RPG genre for years to come.
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Xarthadius
Posted Feb 2, 2007 11:40 am AEST

GRAH
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pettos91
Posted Feb 2, 2007 11:35 am AEST

this game looks soo good.....i hope everything goes well.
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00kike
Posted Feb 2, 2007 11:17 am AEST

I wasn´t all that thrilled about it, just curious. Might've been a good game. Oh well. Probably Two Worlds will keep me occupied enough.
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