Hah! I remember Gun! That was a gret game.

And I also remember Dakrwatch, which was... a... game...

I personally think this is a great idea. I mean, sure, Star Wars: Galaxies wasn't the best game, but there's a reason for that. It had no commercial appeal, and it got left on the floor. The same goes for Lord of the Rings online. Both are excellent MMO's, but they are all lacking commercial appeal. If Bioware can (and if anyone can, Bioware can) make this into the game everyone wants it to be, they will have a powerhouse on their hands.
They will need to focus on the basics mostly: Storyline. Star Wars is known for having one of the most in-depth storylines in the sci-fi world, even today. When they made KotoR, they expanded that tenfold, and people loved it. That is one of the main reasons for World of Warcraft's success.
Also, they need to work on the simplicity of gameplay. No one likes a game that's too complicated to even start playing. That's what I think was wrong with Galaxies. They need to make it simple, for the younger age, and add more complicated tactics and such for the more hardcore MMO gamers out there.
I mean, if they follow the path World of Warcraft has put down, they should have no problem making this into an excellent MMO.