Star Wars Galaxies Falls In Sarlacc Pit

[Tom Goldman]

Star Wars Galaxies Falls In Sarlacc Pit

Come 2012, Star Wars Galaxies will no longer exist.

Sony Online Entertainment and LucasArts have announced that Star Wars Galaxies [http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Galaxies-Starter-Kit-Pc/dp/B000BKF2I4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309049072&sr=8-1] will be officially shut down at the end of 2011. This marks the end of the game's tumultuous 8 year existence.

On September 15, 2011, both the Star Wars Galaxies MMO and trading card game will be removed from all physical and online retailers. Billing will end on October 15, with refunds for those that have paid for subscriptions beyond that date. For all subscribers in good standing by September 15, Star Wars Galaxies will be free to play until the service shuts down for good on December 15, 2011.

Star Wars Galaxies launched in summer 2003 to much anticipation as the very first MMO set in the Star Wars universe. The game faced a gargantuan amount of controversy two years later in November 2005 when an update called the "New Game Enhancements" majorly simplified Star Wars Galaxies' gameplay and class mechanics (read about it here [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_101/560-Blowing-Up-Galaxies]). The NGE was largely considered a serious blunder, and the game may never have recovered.

SOE is planning a "galaxy-ending event" for Star Wars Galaxies that it says will be partially written by fans. Further details will arrive at a later date. As an extra fan appreciation bonus, Star Wars Galaxies subscribers in good standing will also be able to play other SOE MMOs such as DC Universe Online [http://www.amazon.com/Everquest-I-Anniversary-Pc/dp/B000OU66JU/ref=sr_1_2?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1309050705&sr=1-2] for free from October 15 until the end of 2011.

Star Wars and MMO fans can take solace in the fact that BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic [http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Old-Republic-Pc/dp/B001CWXAP2/ref=sr_1_3?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1309050813&sr=1-3] will presumably arrive to take Star Wars Galaxies' place sometime in the future.

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[Sucal]

Alas, HK-47 us puny meatbags will miss you.

 

[Trogdor1138]

This obviously has nothing to do with the fact that TOR is coming out >_> Smooth guys.

Never played the game myself but heard a lot about it (mostly controversy). It sounds like they're handling it well to the people that play it.

 

[Jinjiro]

Whatever happened to those guys that were planning on running a server for SWG, but a version of the game before NGE? Did that ever come to fruition?

 

[night_chrono]

Whatever happened to those guys that were planning on running a server for SWG, but a version of the game before NGE? Did that ever come to fruition?

Still being worked on.

Got SWG on steam as part of a bundle. I will activate it on October 14th.

 

[Ravison]

I am still angry about the NGE, after six years of not playing the game because of it. I loved Galaxies before... RIP Galaxies.

Hopefully they won't do that to ToR. Thankfully, that game won't be in Sony's hands.

 

[oldtaku]

I can't believe this s#$% is still up.

I guess if there's a single good thing about Sony Online it's that they will keep games up forever as long as they think they can they can get enough subscriptions to pay for the servers and one dude to periodically back them up.

Last I heard Vanguard was still going, but there's nobody left at SOE who can actually change content so you can still get stuck in dungeons you can't take the stairs out of. True?

 

[Therumancer]

I'm seriously hoping that Old Republic Online is not going to take until 2012 to be released to be honest, though as time goes on it's seeming more and more likely that this will be the case as annoying as that is.

That said "Star Wars Galaxies" was an ambitious project. I almost feel sorry for it going down. SoE at one time defined the MMORPG with "Everquest" and it doesn't seem they have been able to catch back up with the curve.

 

[Infernai]

Look on the brightside...atleast we still have the EMU (Although i ain't going back to playing it until they get player ships in there...honestly, you have no idea how annoying it is to have to constantly spend money to go from one planet to another.)

 

[Deathfish15]

Star Wars and MMO fans can take solace in the fact that BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic [http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Old-Republic-Pc/dp/B001CWXAP2/ref=sr_1_3?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1309050813&sr=1-3] will presumably arrive to take Star Wars Galaxies' place sometime in 2012.

Eh? I thought SW:TOR was coming 2011? Now it's assumed 2012? Oh boy, now I'm smelling a Warhammer Online all over again.

 

[Zing]

Star Wars and MMO fans can take solace in the fact that BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic [http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Old-Republic-Pc/dp/B001CWXAP2/ref=sr_1_3?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1309050813&sr=1-3] will presumably arrive to take Star Wars Galaxies' place sometime in 2012.

Eh? I thought SW:TOR was coming 2011? Now it's assumed 2012? Oh boy, now I'm smelling a Warhammer Online all over again.

It's still expected for the second half of 2011, calm down.

And yeah, saw this coming. There's no way a company is going to pay for that kind of network infrastructure with a superior, modern game of exactly the same IP on the market.

 

[killamanhunter]

I remember watching the trailer for that back when I was thinking of buying Battlefront 2. Is it really that old?!

 

[Kimarous]

Speaking as a former player (I left soon after Jump to Lightspeed), I say... GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD RUBBISH!

 

[Canadamus Prime]

You mean people still play that??? I thought that had died years ago.
BTW, what was this NGE thing? I've never heard of it before. Was it really that bad? ...wait, considering fan's tendency to blow things waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out of proportion, I'll just assume it wasn't.

 

[Toastngravy]

Oh...that explains why, not two days ago, I re-downloaded and was able to log in to my account without paying.

I just wanted my free veteran stuff. Doesn't matter now of course.

 

[deth2munkies]

I played this game from release to the Combat Update. The Combat update dropped the game population by 25%, the NGE by over 50. The game was a mess before, but it was OUR mess to make do with, and we did quite nicely, then SoE bungled it beyond imagination.

Truegalaxies.org has been working on a F2P, pre-CU version of SWG, but progress is ridiculously slow, if you're a modder and wanna help, hit them up.

I still have fond memories of being a BH/CH with a Giant Grual pet and a double-sliced, Krayt-LLC. Wrecked everything in PvE, got destroyed by TK/Doc, Combat Medic/Rifleman, and Commandoes that used the OP as shit flamethrowers and Composite armor (OK, I had a set of that too).

God I'm getting nostalgic...

 

[Dr. wonderful]

To be honest I heard noting but bad things for it.


The most? You can become a jedi!

 

[Soviet Heavy]

To be honest I heard noting but bad things for it.


The most? You can become a jedi!

That was the result of the NGE. Before it came out, only the absolute highest people could become Jedi. After the NGE, it looked like a proto version of The Old Republic.

 

[Mr. Grey]

I feel bad still from NGE. That ruined the game completely for me and I'm still bitter over it, I tried to give it an honest try, I did... but I just couldn't.

I am still angry about the NGE, after six years of not playing the game because of it. I loved Galaxies before... RIP Galaxies.

Hopefully they won't do that to ToR. Thankfully, that game won't be in Sony's hands.

Ready for the kicker? It was Lucas Arts that was behind NGE.

Want to know why that's good? Because EA is publisher and at most Lucas Arts can restrict what they do with the IP, not how the game is handled. So rejoice for now, but I haven't seen much for myself that gets me excited for Star Wars The Old Republic, my excitement has drastically waned since more information has been released. It's just not turning out into what I thought it would, and while I hoped for something like Star Wars Galaxies I knew it would never happen, but I still saw something in this game that disappeared for me.

It sort of just turned into a Single Player Knights of the Old Republic that you pay monthly to access planets that amount to nothing more than lobbies. Unless I read something wrong or something changed, which I'd like to be true.

You mean people still play that??? I thought that had died years ago.
BTW, what was this NGE thing? I've never heard of it before. Was it really that bad? ...wait, considering fan's tendency to blow things waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out of proportion, I'll just assume it wasn't.

Imagine having the ability to be anything you wanted, a cross of Bounty Hunter and Medic or Entertainer and Smuggler, or hell... A tamer and fashion designer. You could do anything and be anything -- except sometimes Jedi, but that made sense. Then imagine that being taken away from you... then seeing Jedi everywhere. Everywhere.