Sony can’t do much right these days. Their newest customer disappointing incident involves forcing major changes to the MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies and it’s definitely alienating customers:

The number of professions under the NGE has been reduced to nine — one of which is Jedi. In the previous version of the game, only a precious few dedicated, lucky players could hope to attain the use of the Force. Now, any player can choose that path from the game’s onset.

Greeting this influx of lightsaber-wielding newbies is a more action-based experience, with a fast-paced, point-and-click battle system that replaces the strategic encounters of the original.

Sounds like those who played and worked on leveling up their characters are finding this year and a half of time being vaporized by these changes. We’ve owned Galaxies since it came out but never played it all that much, but I can definitely see players being disappointed if they played (and paid) over a year and find their characters are being negatively impacted.

Giving these former characters some sort of special in-game blue halo sounds totally lame. Plenty of refugee stories are available at the forum Imperial Crackdown.

Simi Parhenopaeus, a former Galaxies player lays it on the line:

Due to this mess, and messes experienced in other games by SOE It has pushed me to the point where I will never again purchase anything made or even affiliated with Sony or Lucasarts, and try to let anyone I see going towards them know just exactly what their practices are…

Wow, sounds eerily familiar to some folks angry over that (cough, cough) rootkit debacle. Way to go, Sony, you just keep winning over more fans and the PS3 could be having a very disappointing launch in 2006. Of course Microsoft is helping you by not having enough Xbox 360s to go around and Nintendo probably won’t have Revolution done until after the PS3.

Lump of coal in Sony’s stocking. Bet Sony will be really glad to see 2006 get here. Any guesses what they’ll screw up do next?

• Star Wars Galaxies MMORPG on Tablet PC
• Player reviews Star Wars Galaxies MMORPG
• Sony gives 30 days free Everquest to prior customers in good standing
• Let’s hope the Firefly MMORPG will be better than Star Wars Galaxies
• Star Wars TV show staging for 100 episodes
• Star Wars 3: Return of the AOL 9.0 install CD