KOTOR III dreams momentarily crushed by EA

Ever since EA's CEO John Riccitiello's slideshow extravaganza, the Internet has been pointing to this as unmistakable proof that KOTOR III was already underway. Unfortunately, EA has been quick to squash the rumor, with the hope of Star Wars fans along with it. That's what the "official" stance is saying, of course -- and we all know how versatile they can be:

 "The slide in John's presentation is titled 'Best Creative Talent'--it addresses future and past titles. "KOTOR, Black, Boogie, Skate and some other titles on the slide speak to past portfolio releases and the pedigree of the studio but do not specifically address future sequels."

Even though the second one was attacked as being an unfinished game, KOTOR undeniably has a solid fanbase. Forget about Halo for a second, and think about how many of you bought an Xbox just for the chance to play Bioware's RPG? Quite a few, I'd suppose. It would surprise no one if KOTOR III was announced somewhere down the line, and even fewer that EA had ambitions of turning it into an annual franchise with yearly costume updates (I kid!).

Then again, what is stopping George Lucas from seeking other talent to carry on the good name? In the land of Star Wars, the flannelled one is king. Question is...what does he want?

[ShackNews, Via CVG -- Thanks, Adam!]