Star Wars is one of the most popular franchises out there, and it has enjoyed a major presence in many forms of entertainment, from video games to movies, and more. If you’ve ever wondered what’s the reason behind the franchise’s popularity, EA Motive’s Jade Raymond has an answer.
Raymond is the one who is behind the EA’s strategies regarding the Star Wars games. She recently spoke on the topic at the Develop conference in Birmingham (transcription via Eurogamer), and apparently, EA has been doing extensive research to find out what motivates a Star Wars fan to engage with the franchise. They’ve found that the fans’ goal is to try and be the number one fan who knows everything there is to know about the franchise. Basically, the fan wants to know trivia about the game and then show off this knowledge to friends. Raymond stated, “Interestingly enough, the number one motivator for either fans of playing Star Wars games or looking to participate in the Star Wars universe in any way is to become the number one fan. So, basically, to beat their friends at Star Wars trivia.
“It’s funny, but the number one motivator for most people is that I could, if I do this, I will learn a new little tidbit – it’s a very gamer way of thinking! – about the universe that I can then lord over my friends because I knew this and you didn’t, right? I know it seems funny, but we’ve spent a lot of time talking to Star Wars fans and Star Wars gamers, and that’s the number one motivator for everyone: learning more so they can be the number one expert.”
This may sound silly to those of you not familiar with the series and its fans, but it does make some sense given that a lot of discussions about the Star Wars world revolve around minor details. However, we’re also sure that this description doesn’t fit every fan out there. EA’s next Star Wars game is Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order which is set to release in 2019, and hopefully all of this research pays off and it turns out to be a great game. Following that, though the Visceral Star Wars project was shelved, Jade Raymond and EA Motive are also working on another Star Wars title.