Globetechnology published an interview with Peter Hirschman, vice-president of product development at LucasArts. Peter Hirschman spoke to @Play about LucasArts' future plans for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and other games.

In a nutshell, Hirschman says that the new Indy game will get released in the same year as Indiana Jones IV, which is 2007. Their new game will be tied into the movie in the sense that they'll have locations, scenes and characters that foreshadow events in Indy IV.

@Play: A long those lines, you've announced a new Indiana Jones games. Does that mean the game will tie in with the long-awaited new Indiana Jones film?

Peter Hirschman: Indiana Jones. Has there ever been a better character suited to video games? I don't think so.

Indy and the Indy games are things we're really excited about internally, and it's great to see the reception the announcement's gotten here at the show. It's really gratifying, actually. Our plan for the Indy game is to be out in 2007 on next-gen consoles. The plan for the movie is to also come out in 2007, pending script approval. I wish I could give you an exclusive here, but everything you've read is true: they're waiting to find just the right script. Indy is such a special character, and his movies are held in such high regard that I think George and Steven [Spielberg] and everyone involved only want to move forward if it's something truly worth doing. That said, they're shooting for a 2007 theatrical release.

Our game is going to be tied into the movie in the sense that we'll have locations, scenes and characters that foreshadow events in the movie. But the movie is going to be taking place chronologically in a later time frame. We're doing an Indy adventure in the classic Raiders timeframe of the late 30s. The Nazis are the bad guys, there's a race against evil to get something that has the potential to change the course of humankind. So we'll have a great tie-in to the film, but it will be a brand new unique Indy adventure. And again, that great combination of being able to go see the film, be excited and enjoy that Indy experience, and then go home and be able to play in the Indy universe, go on their adventure and shape Indy's destiny with their own hands.

Read Globetechnology's full interview with Peter Hirschman. A very interesting interview on the future of LucasArts!

Paul Hyman from The Hollywood Reporter recently interviewed LucasArts' President Jim Ward about their future plans. Jim Ward admitted that they have made too many Star Wars games in the past (about 7 different Star Wars titles a year) and that they will take a step back on that franchise and produce more original game like this year's Mercenaries and more Indiana Jones as well!

LucasArts plans on reinvigorating its long-absent "Indiana Jones" franchise with a not-yet-announced next-gen title scheduled for 2007 release.

"We've done 'Indiana Jones' games in the past -- on and off -- but it hasn't necessarily been a concerted effort," Ward says. "In my opinion, there's no reason why we shouldn't turn it into a franchise and have an Indy game every year."

"Many people think of LucasArts as being the 'Star Wars' company, and traditionally, I suppose, that's been our heaviest SKU," he adds. "However, the plan is absolutely to broaden our interactive gaming sphere with our 'Indiana Jones' IP, and with a number of new intellectual properties, most notably 'Mercenaries,' which we launched in January and which is becoming a brand new franchise for us."

And what does George Lucas have to say regarding the content of all these new creations?

"George will tell you that he's no hardcore gamer," notes Ward. "And he's not one to say, hey, this is exactly what such-and-such a game needs. But when you need to talk to someone about story and character development, particularly when it comes to 'Star Wars' and 'Indiana Jones' -- he's not a bad guy to go to."

Be sure to read the full article at The Hollywood Reporter.