Why are People Getting Hacked Over Hyperspace?

June 20, 2003

There seems to be some squawking about things Star Wars these days. The StarWars.Com website has changed its look. People aren’t grousing about that. Their beef is with a new premium service being offered on the site called Hyperspace.

I remember when I went to see “Star Wars for the first time. I was stunned. It was the most incredible movie I had ever seen. It was a story from everyone’s imagination: the farm boy who hasn’t had a chance to do anything ends up being the hero. Not just of the neighborhood, or the town or the country, but hero of the whole galaxy. It was a story that I had played over and over again in my own mind ever since I could remember, and here it was on the big screen. The characters were different, of course – in my fantasy, the hero was always me. And the situations and locations were beyond my imagination. And the tech stuff. Now that was cool.

I was enthralled with the movie. Everything about it clicked with me. So much so, that I went to see it eight times, and I would drag just about anyone who hadn’t seen it yet with me. I even took my mom once. This story was so great, everyone had to see it. Eight times. Up to the time of Star wars, I had never paid to see a movie more than once. Not even the Godfather. But it seems that I wasn’t the only one who kept going back to the theater.

The box office revenues for Star Wars hit an unprecedented high for the movie industry, more than any other movie had ever made. And it wasn’t entirely because more people went to see it. It was because there were a lot of people out there like me who wanted, no HAD to see it more than once. The movie captured the imagination of almost everyone who saw it. I think it would be safe to say that the only people who saw Star Wars and then didn’t go to see Empire Strikes Back were people who had died before ESB came out. Either that or they were “dead” when they saw Star Wars. So dead that Star Wars couldn’t revive them.

So now we fast-forward to today. In between that day that Star Wars first hit the big screen and today, a lot of stuff has happened. Several companies have made all kinds of Star Wars stuff. Some of it good, some bad. There aren’t very many things that haven’t been offered under the Star Wars name. Someone has figured out a way to make just about everything, from clocks to cups to trading cards to jewelry in the Star Wars mold. And people have bought it.

Documentaries have been made, sequels have been released, action figures and toys have made their way to department store shelves. Arcade games came out, then home games, then PC games, and then the internet hit and we now have massive multiplayer on-line gaming available. Not only that, but there are all kinds of internet sites that people have made that are based exclusively on Star Wars or some aspect of it. And these sites are visited regularly by scores of people.

Books have been written. All kinds of books: from technical books that try to explain some of the gadgets of Star Wars, to collector’s books, to novels that extend the story and fill in where the movies leave off.

A fan club was formed and, while its moved through some lean times, has grown to a world-wide club of people all captivated by the story. And other clubs have formed as well: people who build their own R2-D2’s; people who make their own Star Wars costumes; and even people who collect Star Wars memorabilia. And there are all kinds of conventions, shows and other events that people will travel great distances to participate in, simply because those events have something to do with Star Wars.

Not a day goes by that some reference to Star Wars isn’t made in the news somewhere in the world. It has become a part of the fabric of cultures all over the world. What an impact. I don’t know how many times I read a review of some book that said “this story will resonate...” This movie, this story, this universe that has sprung forth from the mind of George Lucas that we know as Star Wars has shown what can happen when a story really resonates. Star wars related “stuff” moves from the stores into the hands of the fans so quickly that one could get the impression that this “stuff” is necessary for survival. For our imaginations, maybe it is. There is no question that Star Wars “resonates”. We just can’t seem to get enough of it. I have been enthralled as well.

I have several hobbies, but two that consume are my R2-D2 collection, and this web site. Here is where I feel the passion. This is what I like to do. I belong to the Official Star Wars Fan Club. I read the magazines, and I own several Star Wars related books. I’ve got several editions of all the movies, some have been watched, and others have never been opened, to be preserved for the future. I’ve been to conventions and shows, and I haven’t missed a single episode of the saga – many I attended like a lunatic on opening night. Some might think I’m a fanatic. I don’t think so. My collection doesn’t fill my house. It doesn’t fill the room that it’s in, although it does consume a significant portion of it. I don’t spend every waking hour in some Star Wars related activity, although I probably make more references to it throughout any given day than most people do. I’ve made my own Jedi Knight outfit, and I have to say I did a pretty good job on it. But I’ve only worn it once – to a Halloween party. I go out to eBay on a pretty regular basis looking for stuff to add to my collection. I’ve spent a lot of money on Star Wars. This site alone has cost what many would consider to be a lot of money - for the registration of the site, the monthly hosting fees, and the software that I use to build and maintain it. I don’t know the total amount of money that I’ve spent specifically on Star Wars. I’m not sure I want to know, although I recon it’s a big bunch of money. But any hobby has a cost, and the more involved one becomes with a hobby, the more one tends to spend.

All of the stuff, with the exception of a few gifts from friends, I paid for. I bought it because I wanted it. I enjoy it. I get excited about it, and its fun. I’m willing to spend the money.

I paid to go see the first movie eight times, and I paid to see every episode that came out afterwards. (I didn’t mention it before, but I went to the theater multiple times each time a new episode came out, although the original Star Wars is my personal record for number of times seen at the theater.) I purchased every ticket I used. I bought every book I own, as well as every action figure. Everything I have that is related to Star wars, with the exception of a few gifts and prizes that I’ve won, I paid for. I’m not unique in this: discounting theives, everyone who has some sort of fascination with the story that owns things related to it paid for the the things they have. I’m sure that the large majority of the Star Wars related things I get in the future I will purchase.

Because the story of Star Wars was and remains so vibrant with me, and because of my collection and my web site, I feel like I have some level of ownership in the whole thing. I can put myself in that world and be a part of it. My imagination conjured similar stories before I ever saw it on the screen, so when I did, it was familiar in a way. I had been there before, but in a dream. Now, it was real. It was my imagination I was watching. A lot of people feel the same way. And that feeling comes from the fact that the story is so good. The story is good because it has that universal appeal. It resonates with us.

But the resonance doesn’t come from buying stuff. We buy the stuff because of the way we respond to the story. We go to the movies, and the conventions and the parties and other events for the same reason. But the ownership we may feel in the story is a perception, not a fact. What I own of Star Wars is exactly what I paid for and nothing more. I own my collection. I own my books and magazines. I own the software that I use for this site. I own my memories and my imagination. I have no license beyond that. Owning tons of Star Wars stuff doesn’t somehow grant franchise to me or anyone else. Not for Star Wars or anything else in life.

I’ve bought several thousand gallons of gasoline, but I’m not entitled to own a refinery as a result. I have eaten tons of food in my life, but I haven’t been given a farm because of it. I watch as much TV as most people, but it doesn’t entitle me to my own broadcasting company. I’m not outraged at the fact that I can get certain channels for free, while others I have to pay for. I drink a lot of Diet Pepsi, but that doesn’t mean I own the company, or that I should own it. In any of these examples, if I were to claim that the amount of money that I’ve spent on any one of them, or the fact that I am an avid fan of them entitles me to any kind of ownership, people would think I was crazy, and rightly so. When we buy what a company sells, we are buying their product, not their stock.

I know of no one who has a problem with buying action figures when they want them. Or books, or movie tickets, or membership in the Official Fan Club, or any of the other things I’ve talked about. So why is it that when Lucas offers Hyperspace as a premium membership on the StarWars.Com web site, a lot of people get angry and frustrated, and say that it’s not right? What’s not right about it?

The offer to join Hyperspace is just that: an offer. People have said that the premium price just shows that Lucas doesn’t care about the fans; that the only concern is money. I don’t understand. Why is the premium membership any different than any other offering that Lucas has made? No movie, book, action figure, game or other Star Wars product has been offered for free, and yet no one ever said it wasn’t right to charge for them. Membership in the Official Fan Club has never been free, either, and yet no one was outraged. Is it because the site has been free in the past? I’m an avid fan of Star Wars and especially R2-D2, but that doesn’t mean I’m entitled to anything for free.

Lucas has said that the thousands of pages of content that are currently free will remain so. The premium is for new content that will be exclusively available to paying members. New content will also be added to the free pages, too. So why is there such fervor against Lucas creating a new product to sell? What is different about that then say, having free channels on TV and paying for HBO?

The quality and content of the StarWars.Com site is produced and presented very professionally. I know from personal experience that it can’t be done for free. Even the simplest graphic can take several hours to produce. I do it on my site as a hobby. I’m teaching myself the software while I produce a site about a subject I really like. If a company wanted me to produce graphics and content for their website, I would expect to be paid for it, just as I’m sure that the people who run the website for Lucas expect to be paid. The point is that the StarWars.Com web site costs money to produce. If we want to help keep the web site available, I don’t think it’s out of line for Lucas to ask us to help support it in the way of premium memberships. And paying for the service is no different than paying for any other Star Wars related thing. It’s no different than paying for cable TV, or Fan Club Membership, or anything else that consumers consume, and I don’t understand how anyone can say it isn’t right.

What do you think? Let us know.