Star Wars Galaxies: Still Causing Heartburn in Folks Who Can't Walk Away
At the academic group virtual-worlds blog Terra Nova, IT associate professor Liz Lawley describes what she saw when she took her son to a Star Wars Galaxies "community summit" hosted by LucasArts and Sony Online Entertainment in Seattle. Interesting findings: of roughly 200 attendees few were under 18, many hated recent developments in the game but still played because of the social ties they had developed, and it's a good bet that gamer conferences will lead to one chauvinistic idiot grabbing a microphone.
I'm still astonished that my little-read blog is still receiving comments from strangers on my December article on the game's PR fiasco. I can't explain the passion, and the persistent hard feelings, for this game. Then again, I can't explain why I still look in on the game's forums from time to time....
Comments
It's like watching the New Coke fiasco as a massive hobbyist in the soda industry.
If you're involved in any software industry, you just have to watch it in awe -- it'll be a LONG time before we see another company misread their current player base, misread the potential target market, and throw away that much money TWICE without any apparent accountability.
It also proves something I've always thought -- virtual world games aren't as popular, but their players are as sticky as hell. It takes a LOT to get one to quit, but if you make them quit in anger or despair they will NEVER shut up about it.
Nasty word of mouth.
Posted by: Morat | May 9, 2006 5:56 PM
the new coke comparison is a good one.
Posted by: Star Wars Galaxies Cheats SWG Guide and Star Wars Galaxies Download | April 4, 2007 1:18 PM