14 DAY TRIAL // EA has just revealed a few more details about its upcoming title Star Wars: The Old Republic, and how it will deliver a high quality game experience that won't require a huge number of subscribers to be profitable, unlike World of Warcraft.
EA is gearing up for a huge 2011, and by far one of the most important titles, at least judging from the development cost, is Star Wars: The Old Republic, an MMORPG currently in development at BioWare.
EA has poured a lot of money, and this upcoming title is shaping up to be the biggest threat to Activision Blizzard's World of Warcraft, the current king of MMOs and one of the most profitable games ever released.
According to EA, however, The Old Republic won't require a huge number of subscribers in order to reach profitability and is going to offer one of the best experiences out there.
"The key thing here is to really perfect the product," said EA's Chief Financial Officer, Eric Brown.
"We're shooting for an extremely high quality game experience. We view this as a ten-year opportunity.
"Our assumptions for break-even and profitability are not seven-digit subscribers. We think we can run and operate a very successful and profitable MMO at different levels."
World of Warcraft is currently the most popular and the most profitable MMORPG in the world, with over 12 million paying subscribers.
Star Wars: The Old Republic is shaping up to be one of the largest MMOs in terms of content and story, and will allows players to enter the universe of the famous science fiction series.
Still, even if EA is saying that the game will deliver a quality experience, Activision Blizzard boss Bobby Kotick isn't concerned that it will steal subscribers from World of Warcraft.
As of right now, Star Wars: The Old Republic is set to be launched sometime next year, although EA hasn't committed to any release date.