SWG: State of the Game @ GameSpy

Gamespy takes a look at the State of the Game for Star Wars Galaxies. The article is a lengthy examination of the history of the game with a mixed conclusion:

The general consensus among gamers is that Star Wars Galaxies is on deathwatch, and despite the NGE, the expansion packs, and Sony and LucasArts' obvious dedication to the title, it's hard to disagree. Looking at the game objectively, all the hard work that the dev team has done has definitely paid dividends. Rage of the Wookiees, Jump to Lightspeed, and The Trials of Obi-Wan have all added interesting and enjoyable content to the game, and the NGE and the upcoming Galactic Civil War revamp, for all their problems, at least make Galaxies something that today's World of Warcraft-trained MMO gamer might feel comfortable with.

The problem is that this probably isn't enough to cut it in the face of a stiff MMO market. Galaxies continues to labor under certain bizarre and cumbersome legacy gameplay systems, the game often feels fragmented, the interface is clunky and confusing, and even after the NGE, there are still plenty of issues with the ground game that need to be addressed. More importantly, we have to wonder if there's anything SOE can do to overcome the player perception that Galaxies is a coded-up nightmare. After three years, it may be time to consider that the Force was never really with Star Wars Galaxies to begin with.