I wish I could share your optimism CO, but I'm not so sure.

Yes, many have jumped ship. But an equal many have joined. So what if $20 million worth of OOT fans have left--double that amount in new kids have joined. The success of the prequels and all of its anscillary products is testament to that. Enough Star Wars fans eat this shit up, and even though OOT fans have turned their back on this stuff, an equal amount if not more have flocked in. Look at the video games, the novels, the comics--people are buying these. A lot of them are adults, most of them are kids, lots of them have been in the fandom for years and some of them are newly indoctrinated. Basically the way the fandom has always been.

In the end, you are right, the OOT is the one that will be remembered and this will ultimately be what most people watch. But not in this generation. The PT-version of the Star Wars series will continue to be as successful as it has always has been. The Clone Wars had a poor reception but I think they expected that, even if its lower than they estimated. Think of it this way: Its 1985. Lucasfilm releases Droids: The Great Heep in theaters. What do you think happens? It gets awful reviews and does lacklustre business (whilst nonetheless making a profit several times over). Does this mean that the OT is dead? All it really means is that only a fraction of the people who saw the episode films will turn out for a children's television cartoon--the hardest of hardcore and the audience the movie is actually targeted at, ten year olds. Thats basically what happened here. I wish I could say this means that Star Wars will finally get back to its roots now that Lucas has got a slap in the face, but this honestly is nothing unusual, remarkable or unexpected.