WhiteCouncil
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The White Council officially on hold
Rumored to be canceled last month, Electronic Arts has confirmed that Lord of the Rings: the White Council is officially on hold. The revelation came during an EA postearnings call, when CFO Warren Jenson told an analyst that "the Lord of the Rings product is back in development in terms of being on hold." It's a strange way of putting it, but it means that the game technically isn't canceled. It's not looking good though, as Jenson confirmed that the game will not ship during EA's next financial year, which ends in March 2008. Jenson didn't elaborate on the reasoning, but it seems that the Lord of the Rings license may have run its course in popular culture, making it less attractive to EA. The White Council might be resurrected someday, but for now it's probably best to consider it dead. At least we'll have plenty of other RPGs to play this year, right?[Via Evil Avatar]
Rumor: The White Council is no more
According to an anonymous tip given to 1UP, Electronic Arts' Lord of the Rings inspired RPG, The White Council, has been canceled. It seems strange that EA would cancel one of 2007's most anticipated games, especially one based on such a lucrative franchise. No reasons for the cancellation were given. 1UP contacted EA for clarification and received a stoic "no comment." We rag on EA as much as anyone, but The White Council was an intriguing idea. Set 100 years before the events of LOTR, the game would have expanded on the Tolkien universe beyond the books, giving players a chance to more fully explore Middle Earth. Were creative differences the culprit? Perhaps the Tolkien estate wasn't happy with EA's vision. Of course, it's always possible that the rumor isn't true, but false rumors tend to be denied outright. "No comment" leaves too much room for plausibility.Will you miss The White Council or will you be too busy with Mass Effect and Two Worlds?[Via Penny Arcade]
The hordes of Mordor encroach on next-gen consoles...
Over at IGN some news has surfaced about the official announcement of The Lord of the Rings: The White Council -- EA's long rumored LotR RPG. It's coming in late '07 for the PC, 360, and PS3. We've been told it follows a new storyline based on the novels, so basically a new story set in Middle-Earth? According to IGN, "players will have the freedom to explore Middle Earth as a man, elf, dwarf, or hobbit. Whichever race you choose, your path will lead you to become a hero allied with the White Council, whose members include Gandalf, Saruman, Galadriel, and Elrond."If you're a LotR fanatic, not unlike Stephen Colbert, perhaps you could enlighten the rest of us approximately when in the Lord of the Rings story this takes place -- apparently before Saruman is enticed by Sauron? Do you think that, with the choice of races, this may be an MMORPG? It is coming out on the PC and both internet-ready consoles, after all. Who wouldn't want to become one of the thousands of peons in the impending war against Sauron?
