In the OT, Tatooine is basically a desert planet without much going on. Luke wants to "get off this rock". Most of the inhabitants seem to be Jawas or sand people. There is one city, Mos Eisley, which basically seems to be a transfer point for pilots. Tatooine is hardly what one would consider a destination.

But in the PT, Tatooine is a hoppin' place. It's actually a bit like ancient Rome. The pod races are like gladiator contests with tens of thousands of screaming spectators. There is clearly an established, legal slave trade, and bustling markets where you can buy rare spaceship parts. It's hardly a "rock".

According to the "original vision", did Tatooine become a dead place only after the empire took over? If not, why didn't Luke enter a pod race? Why did uncle Owen need Luke and droids, when he could have just had a couple of slaves? I'm just having trouble equating the two Tatooines - they seem like very different places.