I agree with a lot of what VicSage, and DarthBryan are saying, but there comes a time when you can't just "accept" things any longer. I'm not even talking about the new trilogy, I'm willing to accept that (even if they weren't fantastic movies in themselves, they didn't do anything to particularly ruin the events of the original trilogy). I'm talking about The Force Unleashed.
If there is ANYTHING since the original trilogy that has destroyed what Star Wars is, its that story. I'll explain why.
Before i get into it, let me just say that the story of Force Unleashed IS canon. Before it came out, Lucas gave his approval that it would now be a part of the Star Wars canon, and is now a legitimate chapter in the Star Wars universe.
Now, my problem with it. think back to Return of the Jedi, when Vader finally returns to the light side, and saves Luke's life by killing Palpatine. In that instant, he finally fulfilled his destiny, he brought balance to the force. He proved that he IS the chosen one. It was such a powerful scene because, up until that moment, Vader was always seen as a brutal, heartless killer. It showed that even someone as "evil" as Vader, could be redeemed under the right circumstances.
Force Unleashed crapped all over that. For those not familiar, Force Unleashed showed us that:
1) The Emperor created the Rebellion. He did this so that he could get his enemies, his worse threats, together, so that he could destroy them all at once. how stupid is that?? Obviously, that plan backfired, and his greatest enemies ended up growing from insignificant nobodies, into a force to be reckoned with, and eventually caused the downfall of the Empire. So, the Rebellion was created by the Emperor. *face palm*
2) Vader had a secret apprentice: Starkiller. Though Starkiller is a VERY cool character, that gets thrown out the window when you find out WHY Vader had an apprentice. The reason was for Starkiller to kill the Emperor and overthrow the Empire. You see, Vader hated the Emperor for the death of Padme. That's all well and good, except now, instead of Vader being evil like he was in the original trilogy, we now find out that he was NEVER truly evil, and that all along he's been waiting for his time to kill the Emperor. This totally negates the entire point of the end of Return of the Jedi (which, in turn, is the most important part of the entire original trilogy). Vader might wear a helmet that completely covers his face, but when the Emperor is killing Luke, you can still see the emotional conflict that Vader is going through when he's trying to decide if he should save Luke or help the Emperor. If he hated the Emperor, like Force Unleashed shows us, then there would BE no conflict. Force Unleashed showed us a bigger change in the core of what makes a character tick since Greedo firing first. This single story ruined the character of Darth Vader. One of the best villains of all time. Such a shame.
So, as you can see, some things are unforgivable. Having said all that, I will always be a Star Wars fan, but I'll just choose for myself what to accept as canon, because the Force Unleashed is a perfect example of how new ideas can completely ruin old ones. (it was still a fun game though, lol)
So in answer to Vic's question, I don't think Star Wars will ever truly be dead. But I DO think its one of the few franchises out there that allows the fans to pick and choose what to acknowledge as canon. Its unique way of telling individual, interlocking stories, all told at different points in time, allow us to accept what we want. Don't like the new trilogy? Forget it happened. Only pay attention to the original trilogy. Don't like Force Unleashed? Forget it happened, it has no bearing over how good the original trilogy is on its own. For that reason alone, I think Star Wars will always be alive and kicking.
Thanks for reading all this guys (if you did), I would like to hear your opinions on my (long) thoughts :)