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Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game Announced
Posted by Brian Crecente at 5:00 AM on July 3, 2008
Never one to give up on a dead horse, Sony Online Entertainment today announced that they are launching an online trading card game version of Star Wars Galaxies.
Following in the footsteps of Legends of Norrath: Oathbound, Champions of the Force will be playable through your SOE online account. Playing the virtual trading card game will require a "fully-paid subscription" to Star Wars Galaxies.
The game will let you play on either the light or the dark sides and play on your own or against other players. Hit up the jump for the full run down of the card game as well as some of the other things SOE and LucasArts are doing to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the MMO.
Champions of the Force [Star Wars Galaxies]
LUCASARTS AND SONY ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT CELEBRATE THE FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF STAR WARS GALAXIES(TM) WITH THE STAR WARS GALAXIES TRADING CARD GAME
The First Release of the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game, "Champions of the Force" to be Released Summer 2008; In-Game Fifth Anniversary Events to be held Throughout the Summer
JULY 2, SAN FRANCISCO - LucasArts and Sony Online Entertainment announced today the Star Wars Galaxies(TM) Trading Card Game as part of the fifth anniversary celebration for the massively multiplayer game, Star Wars Galaxies. The first release for the online trading card game, Champions of the Force, is scheduled to be released late this summer, following several months filled with in-game anniversary events.
The release of Champions of the Force marks the first ever Star Wars® trading card game offered exclusively online. Available only through a valid, active, fully-paid subscription to Star Wars Galaxies, Champions of the Force provides Star Wars Galaxies subscribers an entirely new gameplay experience by combining the challenge of a trading card game with the adventures and community of the massively multiplayer game. For the first time, players can:
• Choose between the light and dark sides of the Force and build their own Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game decks to fight virtual matches for the Rebel or Imperial factions; • Challenge their skills in story-based solo-play or against other Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game players in epic one-on-one matches, cooperative Heroic Encounters, and official tournaments; • Find more than 20 "loot" cards in the first release, Champions of the Force that can be redeemed for fantastic virtual items for use within the Star Wars Galaxies massively multiplayer game; • Adventure in Star Wars Galaxies and collect desirable cards that enhance their virtual trading card game deck.
All Star Wars Galaxies subscribers with valid, active, fully-paid accounts in good standing are scheduled to receive five Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game booster packs per month, included at no additional cost, as part of their valid monthly subscription to the game, providing a simple way for players to quickly and easily build their decks. In addition, all subscribers will be able to purchase booster packs and starter decks through Sony Online Entertainment's Station Store at www.store.station.sony.com.
More information on the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game and its first release, Champions of the Force, can be found at www.StarWarsGalaxies.com/tradingcardgame.
In addition to the upcoming release of the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game, LucasArts and Sony Online Entertainment are celebrating the fifth anniversary of Star Wars Galaxies with several in-game events.
Beginning this week and continuing through July 22 in Star Wars Galaxies, players can gather with others to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the game through virtual "Empire Day" festivities. Featuring notable Star Wars characters and events, players of all factions can experience festivities in the cities of Theed and Coronet that include:
• Performances by the Max Rebo Band;
• The debut of two new prominent in-game statues: the Emperor in Theed, and Yoda in Mos Eisley, both accompanied by new vendors to distribute celebratory buffs that enhance the players' in-game characters; • Regularly scheduled Imperial parades; • Appearances by Princess Leia; • In-game fireworks.
In addition, all Star Wars Galaxies players will receive several in-game items to commemorate the fifth anniversary, as part of their regular subscription to the game:
• A Star Wars Episode V The Empire Strikes Back virtual poster for decorating an in-game home or player structure; • New, wearable goggles inscribed with a "V," in honour of the fifth anniversary for use by an in-game character; • Plus, during the first week of the in-game festivities, community members will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite Star Wars Galaxies Fifth Anniversary Fan Art Contest submissions at www.StarWarsGalaxies.com. Both the winning Rebel and Imperial fan art submissions may then be added as in-game virtual posters to Star Wars Galaxies in honour of the Fifth Anniversary.
More information about the fifth anniversary celebrations can be found at www.StarWarsGalaxies.com.
Anyone wishing to try Star Wars Galaxies can do so at no charge for up to two full weeks through the Star Wars Galaxies 14-Day Trial. This trial includes all the content of the base game, Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided and its first expansion, Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed(TM). Beginning late this summer, the 14-Day Trial will also include access to the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game tutorial. Available by download from www.StarWarsGalaxies.com, the 14-day trial gives players a chance to meet and fight with or against their favourite Star Wars characters as they explore this massive online universe filled with other Star Wars fans.
About Star Wars Galaxies
Star Wars Galaxies, developed and published by LucasArts and Sony Online Entertainment, is one of the longest-running and most popular online experiences, bringing gamers of all ages and skill levels together in the ultimate Star Wars® journey. Begin aboard the Millennium Falcon helping Han Solo and Chewbacca fend off the notorious Darth Vader. Along the way, join with Star Wars characters on missions that span across the galaxy. Ally with the Rebels to fight against the Galactic Empire, or join forces with the dark side and crush the Rebel scum. Heroic adventurers can seek their fortune in space or on the ground as a bounty hunter, smuggler, Jedi or a host of other unique Star Wars professions.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
wild homes is weathering cephalopod trouble!
Posted 5:53 AM 3/7/08
I'm a bit perplexed by the move. An actual quality Star Wars trading card game would be awesome-- the old Decipher game was balls-out fun until Decipher lost their grip on good design. And the WotC games? Meh and blah. I wouldn't trust Sony's take on the game enough to touch it with some other guy's penis, but I have to admit a high-quality, well-designed Star Wars card game that tied into Galaxies in a way that made sense? I'd be all over that.
wild homes is weathering cephalopod trouble!
Naia
Posted 5:47 AM 3/7/08
@Category9: Ha!
Naia
Category9
Posted 5:45 AM 3/7/08
"is one of the...most popular online experiences"
HA!
Category9
EnigmaNemesis
Posted 5:43 AM 3/7/08
Disgusting that people still latch on to this abomination of a game!!!
EnigmaNemesis
enewtabie
Posted 5:38 AM 3/7/08
Would people be interested in a Star Wars Battle/card game like Eye of Judgement? I think that could possibly work.Use the PSeye.
enewtabie
Stevetrop
Posted 5:27 AM 3/7/08
I'm a pretty big star wars fan but SW:G was never interesting to me. I'd much rather hear the news that Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 3 was being announced.
Stevetrop
0bsessions
Posted 5:26 AM 3/7/08
*Sigh*
I was just talking to my girlfriend about how much I miss this game. She was all "I miss World of Warcraft immensely, but you don't hear me complaining!"
"Yeah, but the difference is you have the comfort of knowing that it's there if you ever really want. I've tried Star Wars Galaxies since the complete overhaul. Star Wars Galaxies, as it was, no longer exists."
The original incarnation was simply the best MMO I have ever played. The combat was fun, the world was engaging, the community was fantastic and the skill system was damn near perfect. Then came the NGE and the game was completely and utterly ruined. The combat was gimped, the skill system was dumbed down and the community left. Sure, it still has interesting environments, but that doesn't do much when no one's there.
What happened? The developers broke a cardinal rule: they listened to message boards. They took the whines and complaints of the vocal minority. They ignored the fact that they had, at the time, one of the most successful MMOs on the market and completely ripped it apart for the sake of a bunch of idiots on message boards whining that it was too hard to become a Jedi.
On the plus side, I did actually look into the free month of EQ 2 SoE was doing and it's surprisingly more fun than I remember it. If they'd just turn around and make Star Wars Galaxies 2 with updated graphics and the same exact same skill system, they'd get my money back. The worst thing is, I've heard it said that the developers have routinely admitted they screwed up and that they'd go back if it were feasible.
0bsessions
quadmonkey
Posted 5:25 AM 3/7/08
Those clever post modernists - online trading card games.
There's not "really" any cards.
Just like there will probably not be any players!
*ouch*
quadmonkey
Polterg3ist
Posted 5:22 AM 3/7/08
I think we can safely stamp this as an ep-tacular fail.
Polterg3ist
i_9
Posted 5:22 AM 3/7/08
@cynopt:
WoW has no tcg?
i_9
Cats
Posted 5:21 AM 3/7/08
@Naia:
I'd be right there with you. Me and my buddy, and we'd be slowly working our way towards complete domination of our server of choice again.
Cats
Cats
Posted 5:19 AM 3/7/08
@Azures:
/signed
Cats
Naia
Posted 5:19 AM 3/7/08
@lbregitzer: Ohh, if they ever did that, a lot of people would resubscribe. I know a few who vows never to return to SWG again, even if they reverted back to pre-CU. Whether or not they would really stick to their word if (more like never) SOE reverted back is a different story.
Truth be told... if SWG went back to just the CU I'd resubscribe. :")
Naia
thefais
Posted 5:19 AM 3/7/08
This game still exists? How quaint.
thefais
Azures
Posted 5:16 AM 3/7/08
Let this gaming abortion die already. Bring on Kotor MMO!
Azures
cynopt
Posted 5:16 AM 3/7/08
Too little too late, but actually a pretty clever idea nonetheless. The first *succesful* MMO that incorporates a card game should get a lot out of this idea.
cynopt
Sharkz
Posted 5:15 AM 3/7/08
*Continues waiting patiently for SWG Emu*
Sharkz
Naia
Posted 5:15 AM 3/7/08
What a way to try to boost the SWG subscription numbers.
I'll pass. My beautiful twi'lek tailor/armorsmith is off to a better place until a new Star Wars MMO comes along.
Oh wait, is this card game the new revamp / gaming enhancements? I kid! :)
Naia
lonkley
Posted 5:14 AM 3/7/08
Wow. That is just. Sad. So Sad. I do miss the original SWG, and my near useless Droid Engineer (Droid Engineers of Ahazi, Local 203).
lonkley
PsycheE
Posted 5:14 AM 3/7/08
@singlecoilpickup: This is SOE's method of siphoning extra 15 dollars from you every month.
Might as well pay 30 dollars a month for all of SOE MMO's right?. They are merging servers left and right and keeping them alive; it must work as the station access still exists.
PsycheE
lbregitzer
Posted 5:13 AM 3/7/08
Now if they actually took it back to the original version, That would be a reason to re-subscribe.
lbregitzer
F22
Posted 5:13 AM 3/7/08
as much as Star Wars holds a place in my heart i just think anything Star Wars nowadays is just cashing in, they've been beating the ever-loving f*ck out of this franchise for years on end. sadly the entire concept is just cliche now, and any reference to Star Wars in any shape or form makes my eyes roll. can't deal.
F22
Covert_Knight
Posted 5:12 AM 3/7/08
Sadly, this will probably make them more money than the actual game.
Covert_Knight
singlecoilpickup
Posted 5:11 AM 3/7/08
SWG still exists? They still run servers for that crap?
singlecoilpickup
Belabras
Posted 5:08 AM 3/7/08
Someone, somewhere, is still playing SW:G? Why?
Belabras
Cats
Posted 5:07 AM 3/7/08
@Cats:
Now I'm mad at SOE again. I can't talk about this game with my friends because it makes me ANGRY!!! CATS SMASHHH WORKKKPLACE
Cats
PsycheE
Posted 5:06 AM 3/7/08
I just can't seem to figure out the appeal of these game related card games that are not on a national scale. There is nothing tangible reward wise, nor the attached reputation for being a top ranked player in a community of less then a million people.
PsycheE
Lyrai
Posted 5:06 AM 3/7/08
NO.
NO. BAD SOE.
NO. YOU DO NOT DO THIS. THIS IS NOT HOW YOU SAVE A GAME.
Someone needs a good whacking with a newspaper.
Lyrai
Cats
Posted 5:05 AM 3/7/08
[nostalgia]
I loved this game. Passionately, I made amazing amounts of credits dancing/playing music. Then the Jedi fanatics were like, "OMG PLEEZ MAKE JEDI COOLER", and the game exploded. Take me back to the first two years of the game and I'd cream my pants to be whoring myself out to the crowd in a cantina chatting with people again and seriously enjoying the social aspect of a game as much as the combat for once.
[/nostalgia]
Cats
Libo
Posted 5:05 AM 3/7/08
Why did they not make it standalone like Legends of Norrath? I thought SOE would want my money, I guess I'll look elsewhere.
Libo
Beyond-Infinity
Posted 5:05 AM 3/7/08
People pay for this?!
Beyond-Infinity
i_9
Posted 5:04 AM 3/7/08
Turtle mount ?
i_9
SnakeCL
Posted 5:02 AM 3/7/08
Roughly Translated
"SOMEBODY PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLAY OUR GAME!!! PLEASE?!"
SnakeCL
interstate78
Posted 6:35 AM 3/7/08
Here's an idea
A Daikatana Collectible Card Game!
I'm gonna be rich!
interstate78
wild_world_girl
Posted 6:35 AM 3/7/08
I too, loved this game during it's first 2 years. It was freaking amazing.
wild_world_girl
goddessakasha
Posted 6:35 AM 3/7/08
Not even the prospect of a possibly good online tcg could entice me back to the mess that is SWG.
goddessakasha
kidko
Posted 6:33 AM 3/7/08
Oh, i get it. Slowly migrate the remaining people playing SWG over to the card game before they shut down SWG and BioWare comes out with the KOTOR MMO. Hopefully then they'll be attached enough to the card game to keep their subscription open once KOTOR drops.
kidko
Jomo7
Posted 6:26 AM 3/7/08
Here's an idea. Tempt the old SWG'ers back with a Pre-CU server. Hell, a lot of people would be happy with just a Pre-NGE server.
If you want your players to play the game. Admit you screwed up and bring back the good times. You'd have my subscription till the closing of the servers if you'd do this and I'm sure there's plenty of old die-hard SWG'ers who would be with me.
Jomo7
Odin
Posted 6:11 AM 3/7/08
This has little hope of suceeding unless it's a very good game. I mean the WoW TCG is successful because it's a very competant system and fun to play as well (despite inspire being broken) but it definitely was carried through the first couple of sets by the online game before it could stand on its own two feet.
Odin
Johnny_Under
Posted 7:22 AM 3/7/08
All these years I hoped someone would make Star Wars Galaxies fun again, and all I get is a freaking digital card game.
I hate you, SoE. I hate you SO bad.
Johnny_Under
Odin
Posted 7:15 AM 3/7/08
@Neo-Senku:
As I mentioned the WoW TCG is doing pretty good. It's more successful than a lot of other ones and is probably up there with MtG and YGO.
Odin
Neo-Senku
Posted 7:01 AM 3/7/08
I wish people would stop trying to make card games for every single damn thing. The only ones i can remember that ever took off, were Magic the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon. I can't think of one that was even remotely successful.
Neo-Senku
Jamie_W
Posted 7:55 AM 3/7/08
Was ahead of it's time. Jedi should never have been included, the Hologrind destroyed the game.
Jamie_W
FreekyDeeky
Posted 8:46 AM 3/7/08
I see your Darth Vader card and use my Patch 4.2 card that so completely changes the mechanics of this game that half the players must quit immediately.
FreekyDeeky
Keldan
Posted 8:19 AM 3/7/08
Clarification:
Some people think this is a brick and mortar card game. It is not. It is merely an online, electronic card game, where you still have to buy cards and what not.
I've been playing EQ2 with a friend, as Sony was nice enough to give us two free months with all the content in some sort of vain attempt to regain it's userbase. The EQ card game, in all actuality, is somewhat entertaining, if somewhat bland and hero based.
As an ex-SWG player, I'm still saddened to no end by what SOE managed to do to that game. It was a gem, a flawed gem, but a gem nevertheless. The CU was game changing, but honestly, it wasn't that bad. Then the NGE came, and destroyed what little vestige of SWG there was left. That game has been dead for years now, and for shame.
In short: SOE, beating a dead horse, etc. Nothing to see here people.
Keldan
FreekyDeeky
Posted 8:49 AM 3/7/08
@Cats:
That's exactly why I quit playing that game after about a week. I couldn't believe people paid to go online and just watch their character dance online for 3 hours so that they could increase Dancing Skill I and have people throw virtual money in the hat all day. I think it was around that time that I realized the MMORPG genre needed a serious kick in the butt if it was going to stop being so mundane.
And along came WoW.....
FreekyDeeky
EnigmaNemesis
Posted 9:41 AM 3/7/08
@wild_world_girl:
I would even go back if they reverted it to CU, and worked on a bit more balancing with that.
But now it is nothing but regurgitated puke from a lobotomy.
And in line for their 8 man dev teams, so they are not paying too much to operate a game ... yet still charge a premium price to play.
EnigmaNemesis
cynopt
Posted 9:33 AM 3/7/08
@i_9: WoW has a tcg, but they don't let you play it online as part of WoW itself.
cynopt
Alicia
Posted 9:33 AM 3/7/08
let the milking begin..
Alicia
adragonfang18
Posted 10:15 AM 3/7/08
Can you play a trading card game in the Galaxies game?
adragonfang18
Naia
Posted 10:08 AM 3/7/08
@Jomo7: Wouldn't we all wish. They won't ever do it though. That'd be too much pride to swallow.
Naia
Vexorg
Posted 12:58 PM 3/7/08
So... Are they planning to completely change the rules after everyone's been playing this for two years?
Vexorg