Star Wars Galaxies Forums Turn Player-Only

mwbay writes "A note from the Star Wars Galaxies Forums indicates that starting today, SOE will be hiding the PC MMORPG's forums from the non-paying public. Raph Koster submitted this response [on the now-inaccessible forums]: 'It isn't really that we have anything to hide. We spend a lot of time on the boards here talking to you, and I don't think we have been shy about confronting controversial issues... But yeah, publicity is at the heart of it. The heart of the matter is will a game's Internet forums ever be a source of positive publicity post-launch? And I'd suggest to you that the answer is no... Someone who isn't a player has no idea exactly how widespread a given issue is.' It is certainly well within SOE's rights to do what they want with their boards, but isn't this a bit extreme?"

Comments

One way to get folks to pay

[emptybody]

The way i see it they need more people to play. If people Think the game is good they will sign up. If they access the forums and see a lot of nnoise from a few squeeky wheels they may not.

Of course I can see a new market for public forums to take the place of the official forums.
In fact...

Other sources of information

[neglige]

...will a game's Internet forums ever be a source of positive publicity post-launch?

With the internet being what it is, do the producers really think that closing the forum is a good move? I assume that problems and negative opinions will be voiced in other forums, wikis, product sites, ./, game reviews... On their forum, they have at least some form of control over it (I assume).

The truth is out there and everyone will know it, eventually :)

Makes sense

[Andy Smith]

It's a good decision for exactly the reason stated.

Anyone going to a game's forum will find countless complaints and very little positivity, an unbalanced ratio that is of course NOT representative of the majority of players. It creates an inaccurate impression of what people think of the game, which in turn may discourage other people from playing it.

Now you may say that it's also 'hiding' the legitimate complaints from potential customers, and of course that's true. However, it has only come about after many years of openness from all (or nearly all?) games companies.

The reason is has got to this stage is that the vast majority of people posting on a game's forum will be very angry, very vocal, very rude and somewhat-obsessive. If you want to blame someone for this decision then blame them, because they have created the situation that is now being addressed.

To be clear: I don't *like* the decision, but I understand and agree with it.

What an Interesting String of Words!

[swdunlop]

"The heart of the matter is will a game's Internet forums ever be a source of positive publicity post-launch?" -- Raph Koster

Also, just as important, would a designer's desire to close off forums to the public be a sign of a worthwhile game? While it is true that most forums are plagued by trolls and screaming, petulant adolescents, hiding behind anonymity while they snipe at anything anyone holds dear, it's also the one of very few places to find an honest opinon about a given game.