A new massively multiplayer game (MMO), it is not only a new world is also a community of players, who unite around common goals, shared experiences, hopes disappointed or realized. These interactions and virtual meetings, but with this sense of belonging to a world more real. For years, we evolve on land that is slowly becoming ours, surrounded by his family. Then one day, someone pushes the button off the game server, and it is the end.
Star Wars Galaxies (SWG) has lived eight years. Born in 2003, his death warrant was signed on December 15, 2011. The end of the world a year before the end of the world ... Ambitious and original worn by Sony Online Entertainment, who had already recorded Everquest, SWG immerse the player in the center of the universe of George Lucas. For fans of the genre, this was the perfect opportunity to bring justice to Tatooine to Alderaan lightsaber in hand, or extend the domination of the empire, white-helmeted soldiers in support, while watching the vermin rebel.
Unfortunately, the promises are not good games, and the lack of content soon betrayed a lack of interest. Yet the originality of the combat system, the principle of trades, skills, playing styles allow rich and varied ... quickly undermined by bugs of all kinds and especially radical changes made by developers, most of the time against the current expectations of the players.
The housing was the most extensive we've seen, with the possibility of Sprouts entire cities, to elect a mayor at its head and go on a crusade against the enemy city nearest ... all in the middle of a desert lost in the depths of space.
And the steamroller World of Warcraft has been there, and everyone has said that to succeed, you had to copy it so that SWG has adapted too, to the dismay of players, again. .. But in fact, on this basis that has formed one of the most dynamic community of MMO, as at the beginning of the game online, with Ultima Online and The 4th Prophecy, when the content was extended by the players.
An MMO dies of itself, it happened. When it is depopulated to the point that everyone can not see the interest to connect - because, and this may be a truism, but an MMO is played with the others - he goes out into indifference: the end of the game is decided by the players, so to speak. When multiple servers are active with a community alive and that, in an office thousands of miles away, it was decided to end it is the anguish of the condemned on death row. So, with all the energy of despair, a petition was launched to at least the game goes free to play.
This business model has proven itself. Aside from WoW, the most profitable are undoubtedly those games that require no subscription charge, but various improvements, horses, pets, skins ... Lord of the Rings Online Dungeons & Dragons as we make this choice rather than putting the key under the door, and are doing quite well today.
Sony had promised that future release of another licensed game developed by Bioware Lucasarts, Star Wars: The Old Republic, n'obérait not support SWG. It has been decided differently, perhaps for economic reasons. Unless the reason for this is existential: the Jedi can they live in two different worlds at once?
