Re:I hope they do _this_ one right... (Score 1)

Galaxies had good role playing for two reasons: Primarily, there was the right crowd there, more mature than your average MMO player, looking for storyline more than your mundane MMO elements. Despite not finding it in the actual game, many purists insisted on making up for the lack of it by themselves while giving SOE the benefit of the doubt on their many failed promises. However, also worth note was that there was nothing better to do. People idled in the cantinas and RPed because the game itself was boring as all hell, and unless you were devoting years of your life to unlocking the inevitably disappointing Jedi, you'd seen a great deal of the game's content by your second month. (Old content, I might add, if you were a beta player; and most were.) You tout the game for it's social aspect, which may have worked well enough (Though honestly how practical is it bringing a dancer or musician along with you? These classes primarily stayed in the cantinas and therefore saw none of the action; relegated to making their own. If they multiclassed with a combat profession, they ultimately ended up being less useful at both ends). The fact of the matter is that SWG only saw its limited success and tiny niche market for so long because it had a social dynamic AND the player base willing to support it. The game did little else right, from combat mechanics to content to proper consumer support. You could ultimately get the same end result in a MUD. The problem is just assembling the initial player base and finding ways to keep them interested.