@Joyeuse Star Wars has a bit of an "up and down" reputation with Mushers.
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SYSTEM: There have been multiple attempts using the West-End Games d6 system (low complication, but pretty rigid when it comes to force users), the d20 edition (D20, Saga, both were like D&D: level-based, lots of stat blocks, lots of code to support it, but definitely WALLS of +5 to this, +7 to that, +2 if you're within 5 feet of another...), and the new Fantasy-Flight system (low complexity, but using a dice system most games aren't currently designed to handle. Will take effort to port it over). In the end...the fan favorite seems to be the D6 WEG system.
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The Dreaded Force-Slot Debacles: For years (probably from about mid 1990s-2008) the D6 WEG games were the only Star Wars games, and it seemed the same issue with Feature Characters (Han, Luke, Leia...) and Force Users (as in, users ALLOWED to have the Force) happened at every game: There were a limited number of allowed FCs and FUs, and everyone else had to have a normal-type character. In many cases, FC/FUs were slotted to staff members or friends of staff, and because they were special characters a lot of the good plots and great things were built around that higher caste of characters. There were rules on each game as to how active FC/FU characters were supposed to be, but rarely enforced. Often, when one would open up there would be this weird "Hunger Games" display of "taking applications" for Force User slots, which would STILL often go to staff or friends of staff.
So, some players have a bit of fatigue from dealing with #2. Sure, there was fun to be found, but it was very hard to simply play what you wanted to play.
- Divided Playerbase: Some people want BIG UNIVERSE with MANY FACTIONS, and others seem to want ONE PLANET with LESS FACTIONS. There seems to be no general consensus as to what makes a Star Wars game work. Some have tried and people have cited not playing because the game was in too small of a setting without many factions. For some it's WHO staffs the game. For others its WHICH system is used. For some, the moment FC/FU slots get mentioned they're out (I would probably be one of those, because that feeling of waiting and being rejected just to play a character concept you have in mind suuuuucks).
Sidebar: Not long ago were some D20 Saga Edition games where the guy running the game would constantly berate the playerbase, calling them stupid, etc. I quit 2 of them within a day after watching the head staffer bitch people out for not being smart enough to listen to him. This staffer, who is a bit infamous, was also taking side money from people over paypal for stuff like "buying levels" or "purchasing rare equipment".
- Repeated Playerbase Habits: This may not be a popular opinion, but I think it's relevant. Star Wars, World of Darkness, and Battlestar Galactica have revolving-door players. By this I mean that if you go onto a Battlestar Galactica game, you'll probably come across players who were on the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh etc Battlestar Game that has come and gone. With enough time in the hobby you may notice that players and/or characters tend to repeat things from game to game. I don't think this is KEEPING anyone from making a new Star Wars game, but I think most elder-type players will expect things like this:
Example:
Steve played "Chad Starshooter" on four different iterations of Star Wars games. When a new one comes out, he may want to play "Chad Starshooter" again. If not allowed to, he may make "Bill Sunblaster", who maybe uses a different PB, but is the same character in essence. Ellen, who played "Tiffany Darkside" on those previous games was a girlfriend to "Chad Starshooter". She will then play "Debbie Shadowside" and be with "Bill Sunblaster".
Also an example:
Dave ran Star Wars games 1-3. On the 2nd, he disagreed with some player resulting in an OOC spat. The 3rd consisted of players who either sided with him in the spat or people who didn't care. The 4th Star Wars game after Dave's was a "refuguee game" of players/staff that said "FUCK DAVE" and made the new Mecca of Star Wars Mushing. Eventually, the players of that 4th game splintered, some went back to Dave's game. Some just moved on. POINT: A NEW Star Wars game will likely involve the players of Dave's 1-3 game and the 4th game, and will likely bring old baggage based on who is staff and who plays who into the game, resulting in a number of players passing based on who is there or chosen as staff.
Also another example:
I've also seen some players who had issues on, say, one Star Wars game in 2004 get back into Star Wars in, say, 2019 (theoretically) and come back with those same issues. This is kinda like the above example, but more like "I put up with this shit on "Dave's" game in 2004 and am super on alert for it in 2019, so many of the same complaints to staff and whatnot can get repeated or handed down from game to game.
I'm not without my preferences. I think the best there was (despite force user slots) was some of the EPIC starfighter stuff I got into on SW1 eons ago (shit, when was that? closed in 2003? fuuuuuuckme #old). I'd consider coming back for some RP for a few games, one of them being a proper faction/galaxy-spanning Star Wars game that allowed for playing force users right out of character generations. I think it might do well if people gave it a clean slate chance.
