As you may or may not have heard, WOTC announced today that it is not renewing the Star Wars license. Announced products will be produced through May and the company will suppot the game though August, shutting it off soon after GENCON. Rumor has it that Hasbro is not happy about this decision from WOTC so we'll see if anything happens as a result of it.
I'll be sorry to see it go, especially the role playing version. Star WArs has always been a magnet for RPG players, both the WOTC Saga and d20 versions and the earlier West End Games version. The boxed sets that both companies offered were especially good for new players. hey were low prices, about $20 or so and designed to introduce a new player to the Star Wars universe AND role playing with minimal confusion. When they were available, I lost track of the number of new players I introduced to roleplaying through the Star Wars intro sets. Say Dungeons and Dragons to someone unfamiliar with the game would just look at you confusedly. Say "Star Wars"and it was immediate recognition.
The store still sells WEG's d6 books on occasion as well as WOTC's d20 version in the used section and people still buy the Saga version as well. If WOTC doesn't change its mind and re-up the license, I can see another company, such as Mongoose Publishing, Margaret Weis Publishing or Crucible 7, making a bid for it, though I fear the license would be fairly expensive.
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