Nah I never played Jade Empire
You're right about KOTOR 2, but that was made by Obsidian and I think ( to the point of knowing) that they had to rush it because Lucasarts were breathing down their neck.
I don't know what this record number of Beta testers is, but I do feel that it is more of an indicator of curiousity and the fact that there is a starwars brand on it.
Once the novelty and dust propelled by the propaganda machine clears up however, I wonder what will remain.
A game like world of warcraft is really generic and accessable, starwars however is something that at least I think is very much a niche.
I mean not everyone likes Starwars and from the people who like starwars only a small portion like ( some of) the games and from that group not everyone likes MMO's.

But this thread is not about me being wrong or right ( or anyone for that matter), just about how you feel about this game based on what you know...