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Keep in mind though that they are not making any changes to the existing games (to my knowledge). So a game that gets updated to better fit in with the current world technology-wise, might just as well get updated society-wise too. It certainly won't alter my enjoyment of the product, if the new actor's performance is equally good (or even better).

Hiring a white actor to do an african-american accent, is the voice acting equivalent of blackface. Also, this is not a US-specific "trend". Using white actors to portray minorities is controversial throughout western Europe, and rightfully so.

Why exactly are you assuming that the devs did it to please someone other than themselves? If it's THEIR wish to make this change, because it reflects THEIR political views, what bad place is that exactly?

More specifically, it's on the side of the game box, so was probably redrawn for that, and just recycled for the standee design.

I wouldn’t hold out much hope for those posters. I know that Ben was literally thrown in the dumpster out back when they moved offices, and that was a hand painted original! (It was rescued from the dumpster by programmer Graham McDermott and was up in Telltale’s office until Telltale closed — Graham was an early Telltale employee and wrote their dialog tool — and now I believe it’s in Double Fine’s office!, after being saved from telltales closure and sent there by some ex-Telltalers.) Theres a thread about that Ben, from Tim!

That perspective also gives us a great view of the back of the lookout's head, which got a makeover with a more orderly bald spot in the VGA version. In the scan it looks like the lookout's sprite is a bit different, too - the edges of his coat appear to be dark blue rather than gray.

I asked Frank Cifaldi on Twitter if there was anything else of interest in that magazine scan and he kindly posted the whole article. Of special note (and I believe Laserschwert has seen this already) - the MI1 poster art in this article appears to show an early version of Guybrush's face.

Unless they are recasting Jimmy Two-Teeth as well, Joey Camen's work will continue to be heard throughout the game, so this decision doesn't seem to be a repudiation of a voice actor. The reason for recasting Bosco appears to be the reason Skunkape has given.

Love this new image! I’m guessing they fact it was harder to navigate. Where’s the “exit” the Melee”s overhead map? Probably would have been easy for new players to miss.

That’s wishful thinking! The CMI sprites were almost definitely drawn in pencil and scanned in to photoshop and colored. That means they were technically drawn at “infinite resolution” since they were drawn by hand, but not really drawn to be seen at cardboard standee size. That single animation frame was probably redrawn just to be put on a standee.

That's awesome. I wonder how many other noble heists like that occurred. Bill Tiller made off with a CMI standee, which found its way to the Autumn Moon office during the very brief period of time that the studio had one.

Wow, this is an amazing use of the EGA palette.

This thread is the internet's best work. Also, here are some photos of the LEC lobby from Mojo's 2001 trip: Were all those poster-sized adverts junked, or tucked away in a closet? Imagine: We could be one short bribe to Craig Derrick away from a proper scan of the Herc's Adventures cover.

It’s simply respectful to adjust to modern sensibilities. I don’t see what the dangerous slide here is. Do you mean that changes like these could “anger fans”? Well it might, but I think it’s far more important to create art that is more welcoming and respectful to races and cultures who are fed up with, for example, whitewashing. I know what you mean, but keep in mind that "not influencing products from the past" is also political. Everything is political.

To be fair, this isn't a case of it being just a product of its time, as it's not being released as it was in 2006. It's a new release brought up to modern standards, so anything that doesn't fit modern sensibilities is fair game to criticize. For example, Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards got (and still does get) a pass for the depiction of the Indian-American clerk selling "lubbers" because it was created in 1987 (and even the first (SCI) remake was released in 1991) so it was a product of it's time. However, when Leisure Suit Larry Reloaded was released in 2013 it was open to fresh criticism about that character, since it was an updated product released to a modern audience. It's the same reason why the Yakuza 3 remaster removed a side quest making fun of a transgender woman. Updated releases need to keep modern sensibilities in mind in a way that straight-up re-releases don't.

I would love it if a big book about the history of LucasArts comes out! I already own the Rogue Leaders book, but that's hardly ever informative about anything not Star Wars. On a different note, thanks for the tip on the Ken Williams book! I ordered it the moment I saw it pop up here!

Don't worry, I'm not going to do my own advertising So I'll just take the liberty of saying that @LucasFilmGames (on Twitter) is writing a real bible on the subject containing hundreds of interviews, visuals, and so much unreleased material that it's indecent. (On the other hand, no idea of the release date). EDIT : Oh, and I wasn't saying that to discourage anyone, on the contrary. I am in a position to say that as long as there are people writing about LucasArts / LucasFilm, and there is love for these games, it can only be positive !!

Tim Schafer just linked to this on Twitter. Its brilliant.

Oh man I had to go waaay back into my YouTube liked videos list to find this one. Bonus points for the cosplay "Ahhh my violin... I like to keep it where my heart used to be."

I still love this: