As one of the major “failed” course corrections, the “New Game Experience” for Star Wars Galaxies goes down in history.
What was the situation?
Mixed.
SWG was released in 2003 and was praised for its complexity and freedom in character creation and world design. It had a certain cult status because so much was left to the players. The MMORPG was demanding: it took 4 months for the first player to become a Jedi.
Despite critical acclaim and fan love, SWG likely fell short of expectations. Sony probably anticipated more from a game that aimed to ride the wave of the second Star Wars film.
A recognized problem was that the game wasn’t “Star Wars” enough. Translated, one could say: someone coming out of the cinema excited for Star Wars shouldn’t be scared away by an ultra-complex MMORPG.
What happened?
In November 2005, the “New Game Experience/Enhancements” (NGE) was introduced. Star Wars Galaxies significantly lost depth and complexity here. Everything was simplified. This angered many existing players.
The game’s head, John Smedley, stated that the changes were necessary because subscriptions were dwindling.
How did it turn out?
A turnaround never occurred, and the game languished. However, it wasn’t discontinued until many years later, in December 2011.
The myth of the “different MMORPG” with a lot of player freedom, however, had already died years prior with “NGE.” Many veterans hold Smedley responsible for these changes and remember dearly the time when MMORPGs were very different.
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