First of all, which system do you guys use when playing D&D? 3.5? 5e? If you guys are on 5e, I would say they would probably be okay learning Fantasy Flight Game’s system for their Star Wars RPGs. If you guys are old school, you might want to consider checking out your other two main options.
The Saga Edition came out in the 00s, and it basically uses the d20 system. From what I understand it is similar to 3.5 or Pathfinder. If you’re really old school, you find some online resources for the old '87 West End Games Star Wars tabletop game, which was a d6 system.
But honestly, the new FFG system has the most resources, as far as books on planets, crime syndicates, ships, quests, yada yada. I personally just love reading through them. I think the thing that is intimidating for new players is the unique dice that come with the game. It doesn’t use traditional dice, rather there are different types of dice that have symbols on them, and those symbols either represent success/failure and advantage/disadvantage. Some people who are used to just the d20 system might not like it, but on the other hand I’ve heard long time D&D players say they like it because it encourages creativity within the game and keeps the focus on storytelling.
Here is a brief webcomic that illustrates the way the dice work. https://www.uptofourplayers.com/comic/edge-empire-rulez-pt-1/
Here is a video that goes over the system as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC-ch0Yckp4&feature=youtu.be&t=12m3s
I feel like once you get used to it, it actually simplifies things. I think it depends on the person though. There are definitely pros and cons to each version.
Another thing I’d recommend would be to check out some videos of people actually playing the FFG system so you can see it in action.
At first I felt having three different books felt a little gimmicky, but then I realized how much content was in each of them. So picking one up depends on what kind of game your group wants to play, either criminal underworld, rebels vs empire, or Jedi/Force stuff. What setting do you think you guys would go for?