It's sneak peek time! It's been a long time coming indeed, but now, we finally get to see what we can expect in that new Star Wars MMORPG that BioWare's cooking up. They've finally released the first batch of screens for Star Wars: The Old Republic - and they're huge! We've got ight sabers and Force action right here. What more can you ask for? Grab your Jedi garb and Force-jump to the full article for some screens! [Insert wookie gurgle here]

 "The worst-kept secret in the video game industry" finally comes out into the open. The KotOR-based MMO has officially been announced bearing the standard Star Wars: The Old Republic. Check out concept art and early screens after the link.

Sony Online Entertainment's Star Wars Galaxies has gotten game update 5 which adds a lot integrated voice chat, an in-game browser, and more. So hop on that speeder and head on over to the full article for the full patch notes.

Heads up, both Jedi and Sith! We got information that will surely interest you. Game Update 3.1 for SOE's Star Wars Galaxies has just been released. It contains about three changes that we know you'd want to know. Find out what they are after the jump!

Fancy yourself as good a bounty hunter as Boba Fett? You get your chance in Star Wars Galaxies, where you can track down interstellar fugitives with the Bounty Check skill. Details in the full article.

It's definitely hard to believe the rumor spreading that SOE has plans of discontinuing Star Wars Galaxies since the latest game update has just been released. The presence of this update show us that the game is alive and still kicking. Check out the details of the game update after the jump!

Lucas Arts and Sony Online Entertainment has picked The Fortress of Memory for this week's Galactic Showcase for their MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies. The place belongs to the founder of the Order of the Burning Blade guild, Thran.

Aside from being a training ground for new Jedis and a great hall, this place also serves as a link to the past as it is home to many ancient artifacts. More on this place after the jump!

  

LucasArts and Sony Online Entertainment have another offering today for MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies' Galactic Showcase. These are in-game events or places created by players for their association. For this week, we get to visit the Corellian city hall in Talus, FreedomCliffs (4972, 102, -2629).

At one look, we can attest that this place was designed and created with the word majestic in mind. It was erected to celebrate the one year anniversary of the town as well as the guild. The ceiling is decorated with asteroids and the walls are littered with Sayormi tomes and scrolls, not to mention veteran rewards collected over the years.

For the Jedi characters, you will be pleased to know that a unique room dedicated just for you has also been included. Go ahead and visit this place if you have nothing else to do in the vast universe of Star Wars Galaxies MMORPG. After all, its proprietor will be too happy to accommodate you without charging a single cent.

 

If you've already hung up your lightsaber, blaster pistol, or whatever weapon your online avatar wielded in the digital battlegrounds of Star Wars Galaxies, here's a reason for you to get that battle instinct of yours to kick in and get that weapon back in your hand, where it rightfully belongs: Sony Online Entertainment is calling you to return and fight the good fight once more!

Yes, you read right. For a whopping 21 whole days, former players with accounts that have been inactive for 90 days or more can come back and experience the latest in the MMORPG about that legendary space opera, Star Wars Galaxies.

Get to tinker around with the game's newly-introduced Beast Master expertise system yourself, instead of having to hear about it from your still-active friends - see what all the buzz is about. Who knows, you might even find more reasons to stay active as you once were.

You'd better get right on it, though - the offer expires right on the dot, 11:59 p.m. of September 30, PST. So if you've been looking to get your digital Jedi avatar back in action, now's the chance.

Even in something as unpredictable as World of Warcraft, expect political-correctness to ensue. In light of the new jewelcrafting skill introduced by way of The Burning Crusade expansion, Aeus is letting everybody know that he's planning to mail a JewelCrafting link to the WoW Community team.

And just like any new conception, it deserved a name - which is where it got interesting. As Aeus wrote:

So, I was just about to mail a handy Jewelcrafting link to the Community Team, when I noticed that the tag [Jew] doesn't really work that well.
Then I thought, perhaps [JC], but that might upset people too.
Has anyone agreed on a good tag yet? Perhaps just [Jewel]? Or is that too long?

And, keep it clean in here, I don't want to suspend anyone from the forums today..

Fortunately, the boards were perfectly comfortable with the idea of the [JC] tag, although posters did suggest turning it into [JCR] just in case somebody got touchy - other propositions were that JC be used as the new link for the woodworking profession (carpentry, get it?), or it be dubbed "The Jedi Council". Consider this one of the more mundane happenings to ease over the recent bug reports.