Interact with Darth Vader! Play with thousands of others! Chat online!
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And pay $50 upfront, plus monthly fees of up to $15, to do it.
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That's the good news, and some would say the bad news, of the new, massively multiplayer online role-playing PC game "Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided" from Sony Online Entertainment.
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Jeanne Kim Trais, a contributor to Electronic Gaming Monthly and Computer Gaming World, tells me "Star Wars Galaxies" is "Pretty graphically impressive." Considering the game was in development for more than two years, that should come as no surprise. But even with so much time devoted to making the game, will it be a success?
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Trais says it's too early to tell.
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One reason is that you've got to keep one hand on your wallet while gaming -- or you'll be out of the game. "Star Wars Galaxies" charges monthly fees, and Trais says people might not be foaming at the mouth to hand over additional cash to operate in its virtual world.
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Additionally, Trais says, finding a large audience that's into this "niche genre" of games, where you "meet people online ... and do quests together," isn't a sure bet.
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Another game based on this formula, though, has succeeded.
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"Everquest," also from Sony Online Entertainment, has 430,000 subscribers, and the company boasts that it's the "World's No. 1 massively multiplayer online game." It reached the top while charging its fans almost $13 a month to be part of the action.
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cnn.com