Electronic Arts indefinitely suspended the production of The Lord of the Rings: The White Council while they are "looking at the creative positioning and feature set on the Lord of the Rings franchise." Decoded, the statement would probably mean: "We are reviewing the LOTR licenses."

EA CFO Warren Jenson reassured an analyst that the game has only been put on hold when asked whether or not the RPG game slated for the PS3, 360 and PC has been cancelled.

Does this confirm the rumors? Unfortunately not anymore solid than the last one. Jenson added, "The Lord of the Rings product is back in development in terms of being on hold." Does that mean it was on hold and now it's back in development? Or it was about to get cancelled and EA decided to resume its production but paused it?

While EA is reviewing the license and what they could do with it (which includes selling it to other publishers) the game's production will be halted for about two more years. Yes, you heard that right the first time: two years. The game will not be coming out during EA's current financial year, which ends March 31, 2008. There is speculation that the game may never see the light of day again.

Oh, woe is the 'morrow of mankind...

After yesterday's report regarding a rumor that EA's RPG project, LOTR: The White Council (a.k.a. Project Gray Company), was getting canned, now comes word that indeed, the game which was intended for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC, is no more.

This time though, the report comes from yet another supposedly-reliable yet anonymous source who gave ShackNews the details of this decision. For one thing, the source says that Steve Gray, who spearheads the project and whose name is attached to the project's nom de plume, is no longer with Electronic Arts. The source then goes on to say that other factors for the cancellation include "management issues, which resulted in an overall lack of sufficient development progress", and the fact that "the team assigned to the game has been broken up and reassigned to other projects".

Meanwhile, EA officials are yet to comment on this issue.

Bummer. Bet Gandalf didn't see that coming.

The Lord of the Rings: The White Council, is the newest RPG from Electronic Arts (EA) set to be shipped in late 2007. Initially clothed in mystery, EA revealed in July at its annual summer showcase in California, that indeed, the latest LOTR installment is under development as an "open world" role-playing game for the PC, the PS3, and Xbox 360.

Being molded to provide an overarching plot much like The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, the White Council gameplay will feature numerous quests where players will also be able to create man, elf, dwarf, or hobbit characters.

LOTR stars Ian McKellen, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett and Christopher Lee have committed to lending their voices and likenesses to the game.

In the meantime, here are some new artworks of the enchanting LOTR: The White Council.

 

Another trailer, theme and picture packs have become available on the Marketplace for EA's Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II. The trailer is a Middle-earth Insider Trailer which comes in the usual 480p and 720p formats and weighs in at 21.70MB and 137.40MB, respectively. The other new goodies include a Tom Bombadil + more theme and picture pack.

The theme costs the usual 150 Microsoft Points while the picture pack comes in at 80 Microsoft Points. If you haven't tried out the game yet, make sure to download the demo so you can see how EA did with the RTS genre on a console as it's a lot better and easier to play than any other try at the genre over the last decade. So if you're an LOTR fan or you just enjoy the game, go ahead and check out the new downloadables in the Marketplace.

After months of rumors, intriguing screenshots, and press releases shrouded in mystery, Electronic Arts (EA) finally revealed what Project Gray really is. During a presentation at the Studio Showcase event in San Francisco, EA surprised the audience by confirming that Project Gray is the latest installment in the Lord of the Rings franchise. In addition, the next-gen action RPG real name was revealed: Lord of the Rings: The White Council. This was revealed a couple of days after EA confirmed that another LOTR game is in development.

With the official announcement comes new information about the game, starting off with the storyline.

The game takes us back 80 years before the events of the LOTR series when Aragorn is just 10 years old and Bilbo has yet to find his precious ring. Players will be able to build up a character to become worthy of joining the White Council. Those familiar with Tolkien's work would know that the White Council is a group of elders, which includes Gandalf, Galadriel, and a yet-to-turn-evil Saruman. Before becoming an agent of the Council, a player will have to complete tasks and fight off the evil that threatens Middle-Earth.

The game will also feature newly-invented characters and environments, though we suspect that the developers wouldn't stray far from the LOTR landscape. Executive producer Steve Gray, who also played lead developer The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, confirmed that the game will use design elements from The Two Towers and Return of the King. Ian McKellen, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, and Christopher Lee will be voicing the game-counterparts to their movie characters. Gray showed off a trailer that features breathtaking landscapes and scenery that looked like they were taken straight out of the movies.

The White Council is slated for an autumn 2007 release, but there has been no confirmation on which platform it'll arrive on. Previous EA press releases have stated that the game is in development for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

To reflect the change, EA has updated the Project Gray website. There's nothing much to see, but Tolkien fans can sign up for the newsletter.