So the status has gone from 'at the printers' back to 'in development'.

So there's still hope. Hope that FFG actually makes the best Star Wars game they can.

 I wouldn't read too much into this. Their web guy probably just bumped it up to 'at the printers' too quickly and then fixed it when he updated the page today. I've seen that before.

It's not like there was a news announcement or anything like the last time.

Even if they spent another year developing this thing, there is going to be a portion of the population that is pissed off and thinks FFG is making a huge mistake. I personally didn't see anything wrong with the game as it was at GenCon 2012. Been playing Netrunner to kill time until SW launches.

For the sake of an argument, let's say it is being pulled back once again for revision. (Though I would find this highly surprising, after the extensive post-GenCon update on the game's mechanics such as the focus system, etc. This would have to have been an independent decision within FFG, not influenced by the game's reception at GenCon.)

If this is truly the case, in order to maintain credibility, the company would need to either have a finished product available for sale by next year's GenCon, or forego this game's showing altogether. I just can't see them demoing a new version of Star Wars: The Card Game for the third year in a row and expecting fans to take it seriously.

Personally, I never take anything on the Upcoming page seriously. Before now, I have had games in my hands that still say they're at the printer/on the boat, and I live in the UK. 

spalanzani said:

This. I check the upcoming page a LOT to keep tabs on upcoming games and adventure packs I'm planning to pick up. Many games are out before they say they're available and others get moved to 'on the boat' and then don't actually show up for sale for like 6-7 months. Overall it does a decent job of keeping us informed but it isn't without flaws.

Has anything been confirmed or denied about this or is Fantasy Flight not paying attention to this nonsense?

Even if "in development" is accurate, all it's likely to mean is there's been an issue at the printers that's required some more work to fix. Most likely a problem with the proofs for the cards, the rulebook or one of the other components.

I've just been through to actually look at the upcoming page, because I thought it might help, and along with this game being labelled as "in development", there are also the Blood Bowl Team Manager expansion, Heirs of Numenor, all four ships for wave 2 of X-Wing, and the second Hobbit saga expansion all showing as "in development", but all have been promised for release before the end of the year, some of them quite a long time ago too. While FFG does appear to be famous more for missing deadlines than anything else at times, I really don't think the Upcoming page is all that relevant to the actual stage the game is at.

spalanzani said:

When you look at the volume of big ticket product there, that's a pretty tight window for all of it to come by the end of the year.  I know they basically promised as much at Gen Con, but really; 2 boxes for Lord of the Rings, another wave of ships for X-Wing, AND the release of a long-awaited BRAND NEW game?! That's a lot of marketing hype going on at once for some many different things that all need their own time to shine.

I'm not going to be particularly shocked if I'm not tearing open a Falcon pack in February.  Sad, yes.  But not shocked.

cleardave said:

Same here, but got to keep the faith! The other thing that occurs to me is that games tend to jump around on that list without following the expected pattern, so it could go straight from "in development" to "on the boat", or even "in stores now".

I suppose the theme to take away from all of my posts on this subject is "don't pay attention to the upcoming page"!  

A case in point: the Call of Cthulhu expansion Seekers of Knowledge is listed as on the boat, and yet it arrived in my hands yesterday. 

I just wanted to share this with everyone :P

spalanzani said:

What's helpful, is that beyond waiting for Star Wars LCG, there's the X-Wing Wave 2 ships, the first expansion pack for Netrunner, and not one but TWO big boxes for Lord of the Rings, so whichever of those squeezes out of the FFG sphincter next, I will be there, ready to lap it up.

Wait…I think I need a new metaphor…

 It is back at the printers, I'd still say they could have this in our hands by december.

 What I would really like to see soon is a rules PDF. I need to know exactly how much of this game I like, and how much I don't like, so that I can decide here and now whether to set money aside for it.

 generally rules are not released until a couple weeks before the actual product release.