Why SOE Decided To Cancel Star Wars Galaxies 149
Last month we discussed news that Sony Online Entertainment will be shutting down Star Wars Galaxies, which has been running since 2003. Sony officials recently spoke at Fan Faire to explain the business decisions behind the closure. Unsurprisingly, licensing and upcoming competition from BioWare's Star Wars MMO played a big part. CEO John Smedley said,
"We have a contractual relationship that's ending in 2012, The Old Republic launching, a bunch of other business things with LucasArts. And then you look at the odds of a pretty large portion of the audience moving to TOR, which looks like a terrific game. ... That's the problem with licenses: they end. We're going to continue to do some licensed work, but we're largely going to stick to original IP [going forward] because then we won't have this issue. We'll never have this problem with EverQuest. Back in 2001, not '03 when we launched, but back in 2001 when we [first] negotiated it, a five year license seemed like a really long g****** time. EverQuest was only a year or so old at that point. Could we have renegotiated? Maybe, but I don't think that would be the right thing for the company."
smart (Score:3)
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No. Smart move would be to tell the licensor, "Look, in a couple of months this thing will have 30% the traffic. Lower your price or we'll shut it down completely."
Now, there's a possibility they did that and Lucas told them asta la vista. But I doubt it. Lucas is all about getting good money for vapor, and wouldn't have to create more than a new signature line on an old contract to have cashflow continue. And Lucas is still licensing to them in their new product. So unless Lucas was a total fool (and y
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> asta la vista
*facepalm*
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asta la vista
Don't you mean, astro martin? or maybe pasta al denté? Or maybe it was fuego muy caliente. Perhaps pardonnez-moi, voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir? I blame NAMBLA.
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I think you're too young to get the reference....
I think you're too anonymous to realize s/he dropped the 'H' at the beginning.
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I think you're too young to get the reference....
And I think you're too uneducated to realize I was mocking their inability to spell correctly.
Not sure about that (Score:3)
Not sure about that. The number of people actually playing SWG is abysmal after what Sony did to it.
And let's not forget one important thing: a lot of those are on a Station Account, which gives them access to all games for a flat monthly fee. A lot of them really have no interest whatsoever in the current SWG. I know I still show as a SWG subscriber because I once added it to the station account, and basically never bothered digging too deep to find out how to remove just SWG from it, because it doesn't co
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Granted, but I don't think they also have to pay royalties for Vanguard.
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With SWG, you had millions of fans expecting it like the second cumming of Christ, and getting bitter and disappointed
I'd like to hear more about the first cumming of Christ.
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Instead of lowering the price to license, it would make much more sense to *increase* the license price for SOE because SWG was going nowhere. Why have a powerful property giving bad impressions and diluting the marketplace for the new game? Lucas is motivated to make his IP look good with a successful MMO, so he'd want to give it the best chance by killing off the crappy implementation: SWG. Fans go to ToR, SOE gets to shut down servers that are already on life support, and everyone's happy except the f
Not really (Score:3)
I have a couple friends who _still_ play Galaxies from time to time. They just manged to convince a third friend to hop back in and catch up when this announcement came out. (Needless to say he's given up on the game again now.) As far as i know SOE managed to drive a lot of people away with the one big stupid update, but it seems like they've still got enough people subscribed to pay for the server costs and then some.
If enough p
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They have regularly consolidated servers in recent years (which I'm sure is an operational pain) and some rumors put the current active subscriber base at around 10,000 a month. That puts the yearly gross revenue in the $1.5M range, which after subtracting staff payroll, maintenence costs, and license fees, likely just isn't enough profit (if any) for a company Sony's size to keep running.
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Really. (Score:1)
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Well, incompetence doesn't always guarantee market failure. The lack of alternative is the antidote to that.
If you're the only game in town (figurative, or literally in this case), you can suck quite a lot and still keep on sucking. But the moment anything competitively similar comes along, you're doomed unless you can prolong your existence with things like market lock-in. And what's the lock-in for an MMO? "You'll lose your characters and your hard-earned <in-game currency>" or whatever else you mak
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Well, incompetence doesn't always guarantee market failure
And unfortunately, success isn't based on competence. *small tear*
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If you're the only game in town (figurative, or literally in this case)
I'm sure whatever towns the Star Wars Galaxies servers were located in had a few computers with Freecell or Minesweeper on them. At the very least this town is likely to have some old folk playing cards or a local sports team. This MMO is most likely not the only game in town in any literal sense.
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But the world isn't a town. So saying it is "literal" simply isn't true.
The word "town" may be used as a metaphor for "the world", but that's what makes it figurative, not literal.
"Literal" loses it's meaning if used as a mere supplative of "figurative", as if wanting to say "very, very figurative".
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yes (Score:2)
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How can you talk about fucking up a franchise if it's running for almost 7 years.. In my book that doesn't count as fucking up, as enough people seemed to have liked it, you propably didn't, but that doesn't mean it wasn't successfull..
A) Not a franchise.
B) Existence is not proof of success (or profitability)
C) Your books don't count for nearly as much as you think, so don't worry if people disagree with you - It's a compliment that you got noticed at all!
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Sony wrecked it just like everything else they touch in MMOs. They wrecked PlanetSide, it baffles me how a company like that can be so fucking daft.
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> it baffles me how a company like that can be so fucking daft.
Because at their core they are a Japanese company that makes hardware. They
a) Don't get the American market (due to culture/pride),
b) Don't understand Hardware+Software+User Experience like Apple.
Try working for them for a while.
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Try working for them for a while.
Meh. I had a dose of Asian pride when I was serving in Korea. You had to love the Korean Rock Soldiers though, they were all about proving they were #1 G.I. The people were pretty warm though and quick with a smile or a deal. My take on the Asian attitude at that time was they thought were were a bunch of giant barbarians who lumbered around like big dumb kids. As a nation, but not as soldiers. We have some monsters that are awesome to behold when they tower over you by a good half or third. They wish they
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They've fucked up EverQuest, then relaunched as EQ2, and are fucking up that as well so they're now working on EQ Next...
Someone needs to explain to them that an MMO needs to be kept up to date, just churning out bad "me too" content without any regard to the technical side (EverQuest 2 must have about the worst graphical engine I've ever experienced) ignoring long standing bugs (really, bugs that hit every player sooner or later and have been open since launch?) and just plain ignoring user feedback (certa
Are You Telling Me ... (Score:4, Interesting)
That's the problem with licenses: they end.
Are you telling me that in ~5 years I may or may not be able to play TOR after I invest tons of time into it? That could be a serious dealbreaker for something I've been following very closely. Or is this just some relatively small fee that Sony has to pay to keep a small but loyal set of fans happy (and, of course, they're in the screwing customers over business so why do that)?
Between this, the prequels and taking the license from Decipher and giving it to Wizards of the Coast who ruined it, I'm moving further and further away from Star Wars. And in my young adult years, this was my religion. Congratulations, Lucasfilm, you've done the impossible. You've made me hate and avoid something I once loved.
Re:Are You Telling Me ... (Score:5, Insightful)
You aren't "investing" your time in a game. You're spending it there. Change your logic and you'll see how stupid the entire thing is. There is now end pay off in an MMO. Once you wasted your time in it, it's gone, forever.
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Given that word was used a couple of sentences later I wouldn't think you woud need to assume.
But what does it matter, am I wasting my time playing snakes and ladders with the kid too?
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Did you just say "invest"? In an MMO? Do you actually expect a return on that investment? Did you "invest" in your car, knowing full well it will always be worth less that it was worth 15 seconds ago?
MMOs, like casino gambling, are not an investment. They're an amusement. They will always cost you more than you put in, and your compensation will (hopefully) be entertainment value.
But I assure you, you have a better ROI from casino gambling than from MMO'ing, unless you're a <ethnicity> <currency
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You get a payoff in satisfaction, and the longer you've been there the more smug you get to feel. If you don't get your payoff in smugness which is like a kind of satisfaction multiplier (think quad damage) then perhaps your purchase is devalued. We do, after all, compete (however humorously) on the basis of UID here on slashdot, which IMO is basically an MMORPG with an ultra-simplified stat system and a really bad interface.
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We do, after all, compete (however humorously) on the basis of UID here on slashdot
Suck it 153816!!!!
I realize that there are 136,082 people out there that could potentially pounce on me but I had to do it.
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You get a payoff in satisfaction, and the longer you've been there the more smug you get to feel. If you don't get your payoff in smugness which is like a kind of satisfaction multiplier (think quad damage) then perhaps your purchase is devalued. We do, after all, compete (however humorously) on the basis of UID here on slashdot, which IMO is basically an MMORPG with an ultra-simplified stat system and a really bad interface.
Yeah... well, so long as you're putting in satisfaction, and your payout is larger than your pay-in ... then your investment is working for you. I'm glad to know that hours and hours of grinding counts as satisfaction for you.
Unless you think you're "buying" a certain something with one currency and taking out a greater amount of an equivalent currency in the future that could not be purchased for a similar price (adjusted for inflation...). Then I'd believe the fact that you think you're investing. I (
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Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
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To be honest though, is the MMO grind any worse than model trains?
Yeah. Because, see, you could *successfully* argue that model trains are an investment. Not so with the MMO grind.
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Not really. It is just as unlikely that someone who has model trains as a hobby will make money from the trains as it is that someone with a MMO as a hobby will make money from the MMO. 99 out of 100 hobbies are only an investment in entertainment. Often entertainment through long boring tasks.
You're telling me that there isn't an active secondary market for model trains? Or are you saying that people who engage in the secondary model train markets don't make any money?
Or are you telling me that your completely unsubstantiated and easily disproved opinion is right, even when it's wrong. If that's the case, I understand what you're trying to do. If it isn't... I honestly can't understand why you're clinging to an idea that is so easily disproved. Brain damage? Ideological differences? American
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T
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You personal attacks are ironic given that the used train market is not going to generally be selling used trains for MORE than what they cost new
Yeah, you're right. No one is going to buy something old for more than it was purchased new.
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FAR more often than that that is absolutely correct. People don't sell used stuff for more than they buy it for. This is particularly true of consumables. Your sarcasm implies that you are the type that consider playing the lottery as an investment.
Yeah, you're right. In a general sense, that's true. No one buys used mcdonalds. Of course, if you're going to present the argument in absurd terms and refuse to acknowledge the facts of the matter, you're going to be correct. Nevermind the fact that most people don't buy new stuff as an investment ... see, that wasn't my point. My point was simply that it was possible, and my secondary point was that it was much, MUCH, much, much MUCH more possible and likely to do so in a real-life situation.
I mean, ye
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I just don't get how walking up to an NPC and being told "bring me the asses of 20 snow goats" and then spending 2 hours collecting said asses only to come back and have the NPC go "Now bring me the asses of 30 purple monkeys" is supposed to be fun. I didn't find that fun in Diablo...
Ok, what the fuck? You obviously have not even played Diablo because there is none of that shit there. At worst there is the occasional quest item that drops and requires a brief 1 minute town portal to talk to 1 NPC... and then you TP right back. Maybe you were trying to refer to something else.
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Yeah but that is what I don't understand. How EXACTLY is "bring me the asses of 20 snow goats" supposed to be fun?
It's called padding. They're just covering for a lack of content.
Personally, my favorite RPG's had kick-ass stories that would perfectly stand alone in a novel. So you were essentially performing the same kinds of tasks to trigger the next story event but they felt relevant because you were unlocking new plot developments. Ferry the McGuffin of Power from Point A to Point B. Could just be a stu
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That isn't the fun part. A quest at a certain point just becomes something to do to progress your character through rewards and leveling. It is the RPG element of the game. There is a point where you are maxed out and you take on larger challenges as a group and it becomes much more interesting. But eventually you are doing that repeatedly and becomes a grind. But some people enjoy the grind and the character progression.
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Hopefully, the amount of personal enjoyment they extract from the game is more than what they put into it by paying for the game with their personal enjoyment proxy.
And ... that's not an investment. That's a purchase. See, you *are* correct ... so long as we're not talking about investing. But hey, if you want to mix it all up and confuse yourself, go ahead. I'm not the boss of you.
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If smugness is a factor, why not give all these SW:G players a "special" account in SW:TOR, one with some special sort of "veteran" badge, "senior" title or some other useless egobooster? Perhaps even give them some other fun reminder? Should be pretty cheap to implement and might help to encourage SW:G players to subscribe to SW:TOR.
Ya I have never, ever, gotten this attitude (Score:2)
People who won't play an MMO unless they feel it'll be around forever because it is an "investment of time". No, it isn't. It is a game, it should be fun. You should play an MMO only for as long as it is fun to you. There is nothing wrong with buying an MMO, playing it for 3 months, having your fill and leaving. Nor is there anything wrong with buying an MMO, playing it for 5 years, deciding you are tired of it, and moving on.
It is not a life, not a job, not anything but a game. Play it so long as it is fun
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I am always surprised to see players who don't get this. They spend all day grinding and complaining about the grind, just so that they can be just slightly better. I see some new players show up in games who from day one treat it as a grind to get to max level, with the sort of basic assumption that the game is supposed to be a chore and only when you ding the last level does it start to become fun.
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Did you just say "invest"? In an MMO? Do you actually expect a return on that investment?
He said invest his time, smart ass. With mmo's the time you spend accumulates with your investment. I know you aren't this dumb about the difference between MMO's and other on-line games so quit acting like it.
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Did you just say "invest"? In an MMO? Do you actually expect a return on that investment?
He said invest his time, smart ass. With mmo's the time you spend accumulates with your investment. I know you aren't this dumb about the difference between MMO's and other on-line games so quit acting like it.
Wow. If that's the case, it's a terrible investment, or his time truly is worth next to nothing.
Re:Are You Telling Me ... (Score:5, Funny)
Wow. If that's the case, it's a terrible investment, or his time truly is worth next to nothing.
...said the guy posting +2 on Slashdot.
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Wow. If that's the case, it's a terrible investment, or his time truly is worth next to nothing.
...said the guy posting +2 on Slashdot.
See, when you post comments that get modded UP, you get additional karma. When you post comments that get no modding, you get karma. When you post comments that get modded down, you lose a tiny, tiny, tiny bit of karma. Basically, any activity here gets you to +2 karma pretty quick if you're not consistently posting down-modded messages. Even pointless messages get you to +2 karma eventually - basically, you're rewarded for participating in a community with higher visibility.
But I don't need to explain
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But I don't need to explain that to you, you're obviously a genius.
Perhaps relatively speaking. You made my point for me and missed your opportunity to point out what a glorious hypocrite I am. ;)
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Did you just say "invest"? In an MMO? Do you actually expect a return on that investment?.
Have you ever created game content? Then been told you can't play the game again. You invest your time and effort into creating artifacts that make you enjoy the game a little more. Not all investments are financial.
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I don't know about your car, but mine pays of daily. Sure the cars resale value may go down, but it gets me back and forth to work daily, takes me to the store, drops my son of at school, drives to my parents or out of town on vacations. It's value to me is much higher than it's resale value.
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If TOR is successful it'll be a lot longer then 5 years. Hell, Vanguard is still going and that was a bomb.
But yes, MMOs come to an end at some point. New games come out. Games are not an investment, they're recreation. If you refuse to play any game that you might not be able to load a save game from in 20 years, your gaming options are pretty slim.
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>>The TOR license and scope will obviously benefit from ALMOST A DECADE of MMO experience since the original SW:Galaxies license negotiation.
To be fair, Star Wars Galaxies didn't benefit from the ALMOST A DECADE of MMO experience before it was made, either.
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First off, don't worry because TOR isn't really Star Wars. It's more of the "what if we could just make random shit up even faster than Lucas can?" version.
Second, don't invest in a game. It is a GAME and not a job. It should be fun on day one! If you're required to invest in game before it is fun then it is fundamentally broken. If you play it for three years and have fun and then it goes away, then you have had three years of fun and have lost nothing in investment. I know this isn't how many MMO pl
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I wonder if there will ever be an MMO that's interesting enough to be a real hobby. Even the pinnacle of MMO play today, the end game guild raid doesn't even come close except perhaps for those few in charge of organizing them.
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"Are you telling me that in ~5 years I may or may not be able to play TOR after I invest tons of time into it? That could be a serious dealbreaker for something I've been following very closely. Or is this just some relatively small fee that Sony has to pay to keep a small but loyal set of fans happy (and, of course, they're in the screwing customers over business so why do that)?"
First sentence: Yes. Last sentence: No.
That's exactly what all of these gaming license deals are like -- usually a 5- or 10-year
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Between this, the prequels and taking the license from Decipher and giving it to Wizards of the Coast who ruined it, I'm moving further and further away from Star Wars. And in my young adult years, this was my religion. Congratulations, Lucasfilm, you've done the impossible. You've made me hate and avoid something I once loved.
You mean the prequels alone weren't enough? That's like saying your wife cheated on you, murdered your pets, stole your car, and then saying you're starting to dislike her.
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Every MMO is going to end at some point. I don't really see your issue. If you have fun playing it, do so. If you don't, find another game.
I read that as: (Score:1)
1. We made more money before newgame+ revamp
2. We keep on adding shitty stuff to the game, so more people leave
3. We don't feel like actually revamping it into something that does not resemble WoW, and then regain playerbase
4. God forbid that some dev could highjack the team if we attempted revamping, and turned it into something good.
5. We are still making a large profit of it, but not enough, so we axe it like the dicks we are
May not be everything wrong with capitalism and the industry, but it is enough o
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Games this old with a reputation this bad facing a marketing juggernaut like TOR as direct competition don't suddenly start gaining players by changing the game yet again.
g****** (Score:1)
So... what word starts with a g, has 7 letters, and is considered censorable?
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Googled
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Re:g****** (Score:4, Informative)
goddamn.
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Well, obviously... it's not capitalized so what makes it a "dirty" word? You could be referring to Zeus damning you or FSM...
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Clearly TFA was written by a sensitive atheist who is offended by the very concept of supernatural beings having the power to punish humans.
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Golfing.
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I dunno (Score:2)
maybe cause it blows?
I remember my time in SWG, as one of the shortest races, I could never fucking see anything just the asses of the 100000000 pets and blades of grass, or what about all those empty cities with 3 people maco dancing in the bar? good fucking times there!
SOE... (Score:1)
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It's Not Because The License Is Expiring (Score:3)
It is because they screwed up almost 6 years ago with the NGE patch which turned the game into a total rip-off of World of Warcraft. After a bunch of people on my SWG server jumped ship for World of Warcraft, I downloaded the demo and as I went through it and you could see where SOE copied the feature exactly. Even worse than that, they released the "new game enhancements" with the "legacy quest" that got you to level 40-something leaving you to essentially grind out the remaining 40-some levels to hit 90 (which was the cap when I quit). The worst part is after losing a massive chunk of their playerbase in the space of a month and forced to give refunds for the Trials of Obi-Wan expansion pack, they still refused to admit the NGE was a mistake. They did not test anything properly it seemed (anyone remember the Publish 27 Commando PvP of pointing the heavy weapon down, holding down the fire button, and then running at the person you wanted to kill?) and the game would change more radically than WoW ever has.
The irony is Blizzard's VP was quoted as saying they were actually afraid of Star Wars Galaxies because of the strong Star Wars intellectual property. However SOE, with LucasArts' assistance, managed to screw it up to the point not even the fanboys could save it
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No, because I never played it. Please, go on.
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SOE has consistently mismanaged the "development" (more like the DeEvolution) of the original Star Wars Galaxies. They got rid of the original design team and replaced it with people who really didn't get what made the game appealing. It was buggy as hell when it went live - but it was amazingly innovative and ambitious as well. It had the best character development system I have ever seen in any MMO hands down. Its still the only MMO I know of to offer a purely social class (Entertainer, Musician, Dancer,
Ah yes, the only thing that can kill my Jedi (Score:1)
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