I'm not sure I'd agree with author re graphical overhauls not happening often. On the contrary, most of the older MMOs have gotten at least one, some more. Likewise, it's hard to argue that "prettier visuals" will draw in the crowds -- UO's multiple visual overhauls are prime examples of that simply not being so (the vast majority of players prefer the ugly graphics from 1997). In fact, what seems to draw in the crowds are the games that pander to longtime veterans and loyal playerbases with consistently good (or at least consistent) gameplay, content, events, and, above all, nostalgia. New games by definition and design lack years worth of meat. Of course they fail to rope in folks accustomed to their comfortable sandboxes.

The sad part about SWG's NGE is that it chased off a lot of folks who will never give it a chance again. The same is true of articles like this one, which insinuate that the game imploded and even stopped dead over four years ago. I despised NGE, but SWG has come a very long way since then. The dev teams since then have been pretty focused on repairing the NGE's damage, reinstating pre-NGE systems, and improving on existing ones. I wish more authors would remember that while SWG is a convenient object lesson in "not changing too much", it's also a good lesson in "recovering from stupidity." But I suspect the former is better readerbait. Who doesn't love to kick the NGE around?