Star Wars Galaxies was a tremendous disappointment on many levels. Not only did it make the road to becoming a Jedi almost as difficult as actually becoming a Jedi, the game was a barren expanse of rocks, stones, and other synonyms for hardened mineral formations. Sony never did much to amend the situation either, their only attempts at adding content resulted in massive overhauls of core game mechanics that most people had started to enjoy, and when Sony came in and started throwing monkeys into the gears, many people were upset. Combined with the massive popularity of World of Warcraft and actually having sex, SWG lost many players, and those players left behind homes; homes that were once cozy sanctuaries where people developed their hopes and dreams and raised cuddly tauntaun pups for fun and profit. With the mass exodus, they became cold, lifeless shells, and a constant reminder of the emptiness of the human soul.
Sony, always one to change things without thinking through the consequences, has decided to smash all those homes to piles of ones and zeros, and is employing players to do the work for them. According to Opposable Thumbs, quests are going to be implemented for people who want to kick in doors and tear out virtual plumbing, with the rewards being redeemable for in-game shinies.
As much as I spend my nights defecating in envelopes destined for Sony HQ, I think this is a stroke of genius. They have all this real estate taking up valuable memory, and instead of having one of their wage-slaves double click the houses into oblivion, they make people pay them for the opportunity to fix their problems! Sony, if you were a beautiful woman, I’d totally do you, but afterwards, I’d be a little scared that you were going to steal my kidneys.
