"Amazing news coming Monday! Super excited! You have no idea how tough it is not to start yelling about it! But it's secret! Until Monday!"

The news, they say, will be "awesome news for old school fans."

While it's possible, with the upcoming re-release of The Secret of Monkey Island, that this could be another re-imagining of one of LucasArts' classic adventure games or even DLC, my money is on something more modern.

When Free Radical gave up the ghost last year, concept art for some pretty spectacular Star Wars Battlefront III ideas shook loose.

What I hope happens is that a new developer is named for the Star Wars shooter, one that can bring dark Obi-Wan to life.

LucasArts Tweet

A recent glimpse into the unpublished works of a now-defunct game developer shows us one such universe which includes fabled Star Wars good guy Obi-Wan Kenobi, corrupted and evil.

In the original concept art for the unannounced, but long-rumored-to-exist video game Star Wars Battlefront III, we get a chance to wonder what could have been had Obi-Wan Kenobi fallen to the temptations of the Dark Side.

The images, leaked by a former developer at Free Radical, show a yellow-eyed, hunched form in the tattered remnants of the robe made famous by Alec Guinness. His hands are gnarled and claw-like, his light saber not a heroic blue, but a malignant red.

Traditionally, George Lucas has always approved any change to Star Wars canon, though it's unclear if this rumored idea would have changed canon or created a new one. But it does make this particular tidbit far more interesting than your average leaked game designs. Maybe Lucas is playing around with the idea of flipping his beloved, Wookiee-packed universe on its head.

While UK-based Free Radical certainly isn't the only game developer on the chopping block thanks to a wobbly world-wide economy, the video game industry as a whole seems to be relatively healthy.

In 2008 the industry raked in an estimated $21.3 billion dollars in the U.S. alone, according to the latest numbers released by the NPD Group this week.

That's more than double the take of the industry back in 2005, when it was barely scratching at $10.5 billion's door. Where did all of that dough come from? According to the numbers, the industry has Nintendo to thank for the lucre.

Selling more than 10 million Wii consoles and nearly 10 million DS, not to mention 132 million games for their systems, in 2008, the Japanese developer is responsible for more than half of all gaming sales last year.

What are they going to do with all of that money? Continue to experiment it looks like.

Word is already starting to shake loose that the DSi, the company's two-camera, one microphone version of the handheld DS, could be hitting U.S. shores as early as April for $180.

More interesting, though, is Nintendo's valiant attempt at pushing the educational side of gaming with their devices.

In recent months Nintendo has approved a number of educational games for their systems including one meant to help study for the SATs and another for practicing math.

On Tuesday, the developer announced a partnership with The National Association for Music Education aimed at using Nintendo's Wii and Wii Music in classrooms to teach children about rhythm, tempo and song structure.

“Research shows that more than 82 percent of people who don’t currently play a musical instrument wish they did," said Joe Lamond, President & CEO of NAMM, the National Association of Music Merchants. "Wii Music can help address this by providing a positive introduction for millions of people who might not otherwise be inclined to try.”

Well Played is a weekly column about the big news of the week in the gaming industry and its bigger impact on things to come. Feel free to join in the discussion.

Fresh from the Kotaku source line come these amazing concept images of what would have happened if Obi-Wan Kenobi turned to the Dark Side.

Here's what Free Radical did to turn the lovable teacher, into a frightening hermit for what would have been Star Wars Battlefront III:

Tatters rags for clothes, like Yoda's but more decayed.
Yeollowed teeth and claw like nails
Relics and artifacts with strong dark side resonance kept in pouches and threaded through his clothes.
Belts and straps made from Krayt dragon leather
Fur lining from Wampa slain on his travels
Mayny layers of robes, cloaks and cloth mask his shriveled wiry frame.
Mostly a hermit, Dark Obiwan wanders searching for places and things with strong connections to the dark side.

I sure hope the new developers take this in the same direction.

Leaked Star Wars Battlefront 3 Gameplay Footage

SPOnG reports that a former Free Radical employee has verified that the footage is genuine, but that the game has already been passed to a new developer. Worse still, the tech that allowed you to fly from the ground to air and then into orbit stayed with Free Radical. The new developer, the source says, will now be using cutscenes.

The source did confirm that my careful listening did pick up the correct phrase in the cutscene, with a Sith saying "stick to the plan Kenobi" and that the Free Radical game was to feature another attempt to turn a Jedi to the Dark Side.

No word if that made the hand-off.

And now a moment of silence for what would have been a great game.

Exclusive: Star Wars: Battlefront III Tech Dead [SPOnG]

It sounds like a Sith, perhaps even a hoodless Palpatine, is telling "Kenobi" to "stick to the plan" about four minutes and 55 seconds into the video. The actual quote is "Stick to the plan Kenobi."

What's this now? Could it be that LucasArts has approved another storyline that deals with the internal struggle against the darkside, this time featuring Kenobi? I haven't a clue but it does seem to show that the jedi will make some sort of appearance in the game.

Whether he's a playable main character or a walk-on appearance remains to be seen. Maybe some of the more devoted fans of Star Wars could pick through the trailer for me and explain, if for no reason other than to let me stop trying to figure it out.

Oh, one other thing, it maybe that the last seconds of the video show the platforms the game will be on. Too fuzzy to know for sure, but kind of looks like PS3, PC, Xbox 360 and Wii. Or maybe I'm smoking something.

Someone buy Free Radical already and then fill me in.

High poly-count renders and in-game meshes from the third Star Wars: Battlefront were leaked by one of Free Radical's former animators, revealing a partial look at who's in the game and what they look like.

Appearances from Star Wars regulars like Han Solo, Chancellor Palpatine and the Jawas look to join newcomers like Shara the Bounty Hunter and the Kimanoans, the forgettable long-necked alien species from the similarly forgettable Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

The renders, via SWBF3.de and the artist's various web sites, are dated from the end of 2007, so much could have changed during that time period. Whether Star Wars: Battlefront III will change even further at its rumored new home at Rebellion, remains to be seen.

According to a report on GI.biz, the game (which is supposed to be the reason behind the studio's woes after they lost the deal) has been handed over to Rebellion. You may know Rebellion as the guys who port a ton of games to handheld consoles.

Or, on a more promising note, you may know them as the guys behind the original Aliens vs Predator on PC, one of the best - and most underrated - shooters of all time.

Free Radical Design closes doors [GI.biz]

Star Wars Battlefront III [Amazon via GoNintendo]