It's always sad when someone in this industry steps down, and this is no different - as LucasArts President Jim Ward is finally hanging up his ten-year tenure at the company that brought us lightsabers and spaceships. Find out why and what's in the future for Jim Ward after the jump.

The force is clearly with the SCi Entertainment Group, as the videogame publisher announced that revenues have risen 40% for the first six months of the fiscal year, to US$ 138 million.The majority of the revenue increase was due to product distribution according to  GamesIndustry.biz.

New products accounted for 50% of revenues to December 30, with new IP Just Cause the most successful release. SCi expects the game to hit the one million mark in terms of units sold by the end of the fiscal year and has confirmed that a sequel for Just Cause is currently in development.

One third of revenue for the first half came from the distribution of third-party titles, with sales of Lego Star Wars so far reaching a whopping 5.4 million units. The publisher also anticipates that Justice League Heroes, released in November, will also sell one million units by the end of the fiscal year.

Before the "wtf?! this is not news!" comments start, we're gonna jumpstart this post by saying that yes, we know this is not news, and this has absolutely nothing to do with any aspect of Lego Star Wars gameplay, but we just found this vid so funny that we had to post it here.

We know some of the *cough*older*cough* gamers out there are probably harboring "Princess Leia in the gold bikini" fantasies, so maybe this one's for the younger gamers out there who want to see Princess Leia gone wild. Check out this vid posted by mcre8ive over at YouTube which shows Lego Leia strutting her stuff and dancing on top of a table...all in front of the bewildered and mesmerized Han Solo. Heck, you'll even see Han bobbing his head to the beat of My Humps. Bwahaha.

Why don't you guys just check out the action yourself, here's the video of Leia shaking her booty to the Black Eyed Peas. Enjoy! (If the video doesn't load because YouTube's having some site whatever, then you can just use the "Via" link instead.)

Some things just refuse to die, says the team behind PSP Galaxy magazine. Actually, good things are kinda hard to kill. If you're a PSP Galaxy fan, take heart. The magazine is alive, kicking and has just released their 15th issue. In this latest issue of PSP Galaxy magazine, you can read up on the following:

• Preview of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
• Reviews of Blowout, Gangs of London, Guilty Gear Judgment, Ridge Racers 2, Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, WTF: Work Time Fun,Bounty Hounds, Bomberman and Open Season
• Movie Review of DOA: Dead or Alive
• An all-new free comic
• The latest news and the best columns, including Prime's Rant, MVPVJ: Mof vs. Prime vs. Jebus, Cooking with Mof and Movie Watch
• Plus a chance to show off your design skills and win big with Wrapstar!

PSP Galaxy Issue No.15 is also the first issue for the magazine's new graphic designer Evilution. We've seen his work and he's pretty good. Why would any one kill such a great magazine in the first place, anyway?

Download: [PSP Galaxy Magazine No.15]

LucasArts and TT Games definitely went for the masses on this one. A week after LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy was released worldwide, it proved to be more than just a fun-for-family videogame. In fact, it sold more than 1.1 million copies in all the eight platforms, making it the biggest family game title this year.

LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy is a sequel to LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game and has been released September 11 in Europe and September 12 in the US. It can be played in PC, PS2, PSP, Xbox 360, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, DS and Game Boy platforms.

The Original Trilogy is a massive hit because the new features allow you to create new characters and adjust the difficulty level. Above all, it's a neat family game that combines the tongue-in-cheek fun of rearranging Lego bricks and the most famous moments of the Original Trilogy itself. Parents admit that they found this game a great way to bond with their kids.

Well, it's obvious that the geniuses at LucasArts and TT Games have already figured this out in the beginning.

Buy: [LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy - Xbox 360]
Buy: [LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy - PSP]
Buy: [LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy - DS]

The Force was definitely with Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy as it lightsabered its way through zombie hordes and gangs of thugs to reach the top spot in the UK Sales Charts this week. LucasArts' multiformat title has become the tenth Star Wars title to gain a number one position in the UK all formats charts. It debuted at number 3 in the UK sales charts last week even before it was officially released, so this development isn't unexpected.

Here are the chart's top five games:

1. Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
2. Dead Rising
3. Saints Row
4. Cars
5. Test Drive Unlimited

Buy: [Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (Xbox 360)]
Buy: [Dead Rising]
Buy: [Saints Row]
Buy: [Cars]
Buy: [Test Drive Unlimited]

If you've got some extra cash lying around and you just can't wait for the next homebrew game you're following to come out, the games below could provide you with much needed entertainment. They're all coming out this week, so you could check your local retailers if they've got them. Here are the PSP game releases:

• Bomberman - The classic goes handheld. It's bound to be oodles of fun. Unless of course, Konami's brand of portable nostalgia isn't your cup of tea.
  
• Bounty Hounds - Colonize other planets, kill up to 40 types of aliens, 500 weapons and armor types, this might be bucket-loads of third person action fun. We've got screens here if you want to see more of Namco Bandai's fun fun game.
  
• LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy - And the LucasArts franchise continues...
  
• NHL '07 - The expected yearly update from Electronic Arts. If you're not into this genre, bad news because it's mostly more of the same, but if you are, then good news, more of the same, but this time it is portable.
  
• Rengoku II: The Stairway to HEAVEN - A.D.A.M. is back, and this time the android and makers Hudson Soft and Konami have got downloadable content for you to enjoy. Content aside, the game also features better stage design, an updated battle system, and up to 4 player wireless play. Android war action.
  

If you're not that much into handheld games but you like to watch a movie every now and then, say, while your teacher or boss is giving a very boring lecture, here are the PSP UMD ISO releases set for this week: The Best of Super Speeders; Gracie Legends in Action, Vol. 1; and Teddybear Crisis.

I'm a Mixed-Martial-Arts fan myself, so I think I'll be churning out some bucks for Gracie Legends. That's it for now. We'll keep you updated on the games listed above whenever we get word or discover something nifty.

May the Force build with you! And although talk like Yoda, we are tempted to... We'd spare you the agony. Besides, LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy will be out by Sept 12 across a lot of platforms, and surely by that time, you'd be bombarded by a lot of Yoda-speak from the fans.

Anyways, we have new screenshots for you. More familiar scenes from the original trilogy that we can play, build, and zap our way through in the game. That's what's fun about the game: based on Star Wars Episodes IV, V, and VI, you can do just about anything in the game: ride whatever vehicle, build and battle through various parts of the trilogy, and exchange the different parts of your LEGO characters! That's what's LEGO is all about, anyways. You get free reign, you get to do whatever you want. Endless customizability! And speaking of choice, the game will be available in Nintendo DS, GameBoy Advance, GameCube, PC, PS2, PSP, Xbox 360, and Xbox. [insert Chewie's guttural moan of excitement]

   
  

Hot off the artist room floor are a selection of the box arts for three of the more promising games on the horizon - all due out this month.

Lego Star Wars II - The sequel to the first, promises to be back better than ever - and for the first time on the PSP. Look out for exclusive additions, such as WiFi support, unlockable characters and partial content from the prequel. Expected in-store date is September 12.

NHL 07 - EA once again returns with its ever popular NHL series. This year brings about the new Skill Stick system making the gameplay a little more intuitive, player-specific behaviors and an even deeper and enhanced Dynasty Mode. Expected in-store date is September 14.

The Godfather - Has a lot to live up to. The game lets you carry out orders, earn respect and rise through the ranks to take New York City. Expected in-store date is September 21.

After a pretty boring Summer in relation to PSP UMD game releases, it appears that PSP gamers are in for a treat this fall. Developers are making it up to us with the release of loads of great PSP games that you'll just have to buy. I hope you've been saving up your cash over summer. Here's the enormous list in alphabetical order:

• Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception - October 17 2006
  
• ATV Offroad Fury Pro - October 17 2006
  
• Bounty Hounds - September 12 2006
  
• Death Jr 2: Root of Evil - October 31 2006
  
• EA Replay - November 7 2006
• Gangs of London - September 2006
  
• Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories- October 16 2006
  
• Justice League Heroes - October 17 2006
  
• Killzone: Liberation - October 31 2006
  
• Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trio logy - September 12 2006
• Loco Roco - September 5 2006
• Lumines 2 - November 7 2006
• Marvel: Ultimate Alliance - October 24 2006
• Medal of Honor Heroes - October 23 2006
• Mercury Meltdown - October 3 2006
• Metal Slug Anthology - October 31 2006
• Scarface: Money.Power.Respect - October 6 2006
• WTF: Work Time Fun - September 26 2006
• WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2007 - November 14 2006

Have a great Fall and don't forget to check back with QJ.net for all the latest news on these games.