Back in 1972, two stark shapes cleaved their way through black space, simultaneously hurling blasts back and forth. That was Pong. It changed gaming forever. Only five years later, in 1977, the film titled simply Star Wars would do the same for movies and pop culture.
Impressive technology was just as much a part of Star Wars as its narrative – the film perfected special effects techniques. So too did games go from technical feat to technical feat. Many of the early Star Wars gaming successes, such as the 1983 arcade rail shooter in its iconic cockpit cab and the Atari shooters and 8-bit platformers, have yet to be ported to PlayStation (and that cab is now eye-wateringly expensive).
The series has been embedded in videogaming throughout most of the medium’s life. From close adaptations of, and tie-ins to, the big cinema releases to spin-offs that developed Star Wars’ expanded universe as much as the bevy of licensed novels and comics did, Star Wars has done it all in gaming – though EA’s exclusivity deal from 2013 did bring that experimentation to a standstill for a period.
With the IP open for business once more and Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws set to join the lineup, are we on the cusp of a new age? Join us as we chart the course and go hands-on with what’s next.
MOVIE MAGIC
The earliest taste of Star Wars gaming we have predates the original PlayStation, as 1992’s Super Star Wars was eventually rereleased for PS4. Based solely on
