It appears some Star Wars Galaxies players aren't taking the news of their MMO's imminent destruction well. Although many have no doubt come to terms with Sony and LucasArts' decision to end the eight-year MMO on December 15th, thousands of fans havestarted petitioning Sony to keep the gamealive as a free-to-play title, while others are going so far as threatening legal action.
“We, the subscriber base and supporters of the Massively Multi-player Online Role-Playing Game, Star Wars Galaxies, with regards to Sony Online Entertainment as the developer and publisher, and LucasArts as the license holder for the intellectual property of Star Wars in regards to the video game, implore that Sony Online Entertainment and LucasArts resume discussion in regards to the permanent closure of Star Wars Galaxies and attempt to reach an agreement that results in keeping the current incarnation of Star Wars Galaxies in operation past December 15th, 2011,” reads the beginning of the (needlessly) lengthyonline petition.
Above: "Please Sony, Ibeg you to reconsid--ackakck [muffled choking sounds]"
The petition, which has fetched over 2,500 signatures,implores Sony to either keep the game going as a free-to-play MMO, go free-to-play with premium content, keep the Trading Card Game component alive, or at least allow remaining members to transfer freely to more populated servers as the game begins its slow march into oblivion. For Sony's part,the company hasreportedly been shutting downany and all petition related threads, explaining to VentureBeat that, “Promoting an online petition causes disruption within the community and does not provide gameplay feedback that our development team can use.”
Beyond collecting signatures, VentureBeat is reporting some members are considering takinglegal action against Sony for – quite literally – destroying their worlds. As noble as the cause may be - andas VentureBeat rightly points out -the grounds for legal recourse are flimsy at best.
One can understand how loyal Star Wars Galaxies players may be feeling, however Sony appears firm in it decision to go through with the game's cancellation. Kudos to people for trying, but perhaps it's best to just sit back and enjoy the end of the world.
Jun 30, 2011
[Source:VentureBeat]
LucasArts and Sony pulling the plug on aging Star Wars MMO
The Top 7... Disappointing games of the decade
We expected so much. They delivered so little
