The Force Unleashed

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – April 3, 2008 – LucasArts today announced that its highly anticipated videogame Star Wars®: The Force Unleashed™ will be released on September 16, 2008 in the United States, September 17 in Southeast Asia and Australia, and September 19 in Europe.

An entirely new chapter in the Star Wars Saga, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed casts players as Darth Vader’s “Secret Apprentice” and promises to unveil new revelations about the Star Wars galaxy. The game’s expansive story is set during the largely unexplored era between Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. In it, players will assist Vader in his quest to rid the universe of Jedi – and face decisions that could change the course of their destiny.

“Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is one of the most ambitious projects LucasArts has ever launched. The combination of a great new Star Wars story with revolutionary new technology and game play means more fun than you’ve ever had in the Star Wars universe,” said Peter Hirschmann, Vice-President of Product Development, LucasArts. “We can’t wait until gamers get their hands on it this September.”

LucasArts and Spike TV are teaming up together to unveil new details about and exclusive footage from Star Wars: The Force Unleashed in celebration of Spike TV’s airing of all six Star Wars Saga movies. Airing Friday, April 4, through Sunday, April 6; and Friday, April 11, through Sunday, April 13, Spike TV’s two-weekend event includes the broadcast premiere of Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith and the basic cable premieres of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace and Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones. Spike TV’s Star Wars presentation marks the first time that all six movies will be presented together on a basic cable network.

Reflecting its status as an exciting new part of the Star Wars Saga, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed will be featured throughout Spike TV’s weekend events. Viewers will see special Star Wars: The Force Unleashed segments, each with an exclusive announcement or new game play footage, at the following times on Spike TV:

April 6 at 7:58 p.m. ET/PT – between the premiere of Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
April 11 at 10:52 p.m. ET/PT – At the end of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
April 12 at 12:00 a.m. ET/PT – throughout an episode of GameTrailers TV with Geoff Keighley filmed at LucasArts’ headquarters in San Francisco
April 12 at 5:06 p.m. ET/PT – before Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
April 13 at 5:06 p.m. ET/PT – before Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back

“With the airing of all six Star Wars movies and a first-hand look at Star Wars: The Force Unleashed we’re confident that April will be a memorable month for Star Wars fans,” said Robert Friedman, Senior Vice-President of Programming, Spike TV. “Our dedication to entertainment and video games makes our relationship with LucasArts an exciting opportunity to take part first-hand in Star Wars history as well as give our viewers an insider’s look at the future of the franchise.”

More About Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is the first next-generation game developed internally at LucasArts, and will be available on the Xbox®360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system.

As its name implies, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed completely re-imagines the scope and scale of the Force by taking full advantage of newly developed technologies that will be seen and experienced for the first time together: Digital Molecular Matter, by Pixelux Entertainment, and euphoria by NaturalMotion Ltd.

LucasArts and developer Krome Studios are creating an equally enthralling version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed on the Wii™ home videogame system from Nintendo, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, and n-Space, Inc., is developing a version for Nintendo DS™. All will feature the same storyline, with opportunities to unleash the Force in devastating new ways.

Working with Lucas Licensing, LucasArts is preparing an unprecedented promotional effort around the launch of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, encompassing a full line of toys and game-based action figures from Hasbro, as well as a full publishing program from Dark Horse, Del Rey, Prima Games, and Palace Press.

More information about the game can be found at the official website, www.theforceunleashed.com, which will continue to release details throughout the year.

About LucasArts
LucasArts, a Lucasfilm Ltd. company, is a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software worldwide for video game console systems, computers and the Internet. Based in San Francisco, Calif., as well as on the Internet at www.lucasarts.com, LucasArts was created in 1982 by George Lucas to provide an interactive element to his vision of a state-of-the-art, multifaceted entertainment company.

About Spike TV
Spike TV is available in 96.1 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. A unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV’s Internet address is www.spike.com.

LucasArts and the LucasArts logo are registered trademarks of Lucasfilm Ltd. © 2008 Lucasfilm Entertainment Company Ltd. or Lucasfilm Ltd. & ® or TM as indicated. All rights reserved. Wii and Nintendo DS are trademarks of Nintendo."PlayStation", "PLAYSTATION", "PS" Family logo and "PSP" are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. PSP(R) system - Memory Stick Duo(TM) may be required (sold separately). Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox Live are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners.

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After less than one week on store shelves worldwide, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is on track to become the best-selling Star Wars game of all time. LucasArts today announced that more than 1.5 million customers worldwide have purchased Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, making it both the fastest-selling Star Wars game and LucasArts game ever.

Released on Sept. 16 in North America, Sept. 17 in Australia and Southeast Asia, and Sept.19 in Europe, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed has demolished LucasArts sales records around the globe in record time.

Sales figures are based on the first five days of sales across all platforms worldwide.

Although LucasArts shipped more than 4.3 million units of The Force Unleashed around the world in preparation for the game's launch, unprecedented demand has led to the manufacture and distribution of additional copies.

"The record-setting sales of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed shows the undiminished power of Star Wars and its popularity across all media types, including video games," said Darrell Rodriguez, president of LucasArts. "We're blown away by the response to the game."

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is more than a video game phenomenon. The novelization of the game's story published by Del Rey was No. 1 on the New York Times Best Sellers list the week it launched and toys and games from Hasbro, LEGO, and Wizards of the Coast based on the property are top sellers at retailers. This unprecedented promotional effort by LucasArts and Lucas Licensing also includes a full publishing program from Dark Horse, Prima Games, and Palace Press.

More information about the game can be found at the official website here.

So have you played The Force Unleashed? I still haven't been able to get it!

"When LucasArts set out on the trailblazing journey of creating The Force Unleashed, they had multiple objectives in mind. One of the key ones was to tell a compelling story worthy of the Star Wars saga in the hitherto unexplored territory between Episode III and Episode IV. This story — the epic saga of Darth Vader’s Secret Apprentice, was recognized for excellence yesterday. Congratulations to Haden Blackman, Shawn Pitman, John Stafford and Cameron Suey who were honored with the WGA Award for outstanding achievement in Writing for Videogames."