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Star Wars Galaxies

E3 Coverage

About Star Wars Galaxies

If any publicity is good publicity, Star Wars Galaxies (SWG) must be rolling in good publicity. Most games release expansions, and SOE / LucasArts have been fairly liberal with their content updates, sporting "Jump to Lightspeed" (which introduced spaceship combat / travel in October 2004), and two recent expansions timed to release harmoniously with the theatrical and DVD debut of Star Wars: Episode III, respectively: "Rage of the Wookies" (May 2005) and "Trials of Obi-Wan" (November 2005).

But, in contrast to other MMOs, where expansions make a big splash in the press, SWG's retail expansions have hardly registered a media blip. Instead, SWG's developers have, for better or worse, twice foisted a set of from-the-ground-up sweeping changes upon their alternately hopeful and exasperated gaming community. First (in April 2005) came the nefarious "Combat Changes" - a move that made combat more... involved (and, some might say, "button-mashing console gamer friendly" - a departure from slower-paced, more tactical combat of traditional MMOs) and put many a dancing, mind-healing entertainer out of business with its newly casual take on long-term combat wounds.

If the first retooling was unprecedented in a major MMORPG, the second left many gamers and media pundits stunned. LucasArts reputedly pressed SOE into a another round of deeper changes directed towards making the "meat" of the game even more accessible to the casual gamer, and the New Game Enhancements (or "NGE") bounded onto the scene in explosive fashion. NGE came a mere two weeks after the anachronistic "Trials of Obi-Wan" release, prompting SOE to provide optional expansion refunds and some free time to the reportedly large percentage of gamers that stuck around. When the faithful logged in on November 16th, they found that SWG's 32 professions (or "classes" in traditional MMO parlance; roles which you assume and/or grow into as your character trains and develops) was reduced to the 9 professions the powers that be deemed most popular and best themed to the "Star Wars universe." Some roles, like "Commando" and the ubiquitous "Jedi" were kept, others were consolidated ("Combat Medic" and "Doctor" became "Medic," for example, and the numerous artistic professions were merged into "Entertainer"), and some professions were abandoned ("Animal Trainer" and "Bio-Engineer," for two).

While SOE / LucasArts maintains that subscriber numbers (especially re-subscriber numbers) have shown steady growth since the NGE was implemented, many fans expressed shock and horror, at least at first. Mainstream media outlets picked up on the discontent; running headlines like "Dumbing Down Virtual 'Star Wars' May Backfire" (Christian Science Monitor), "For Online Star Wars Game, It's Revenge of the Fans" (New York Times), and "Star Wars Fans Flee Net Galaxy" (Wired).

With industry buzz and rumors flying that SOE may not renew its license with LucasArts in early 2006, Star Wars Galaxies may end just like Episode III -- suddenly, and not with a bang, but a whimper. Perhaps in a decade, with the 16th re-release of the epic series on whatever movie format we use in that day, we might get word that a bright young developer has some fresh ideas about bringing us the Galactic Civil War in interactive fashion. If so, I'll be the first in line.

[from the TenTonHammer Game Review Archives]

About Sony Online Entertainment

Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) is a recognized worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online games, with hundreds of thousands of subscribers around the globe. SOE creates, develops and provides compelling entertainment for the personal computer, online, game console and wireless markets. Known for its blockbuster franchises and hit titles including EverQuest®, EverQuest® II, Champions of Norrath®, Untold Legends™, and PlanetSide®, as well as for developing Star Wars Galaxies™: An Empire Divided™, SOE continues to redefine the business of online gaming and the creation of active player communities while introducing new genres on various entertainment platforms. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, with additional development studios in Austin, TX, Seattle, WA, and Taiwan, SOE has an array of cutting-edge games in development. SOE is owned by Sony Pictures Digital and Sony Computer Entertainment America.

[from the Sony Online Entertainment website ]

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