Electronic Arts reboots Star Wars as free game

Electronic Arts reboots Star Wars as free game

Online games, it seems, just want to be free.

Electronic Arts on Tuesday announced that it will offer up substantial portions of its “Star Wars: The Old Republic” multi-player online game to players for free starting this fall. A premium version with unlimited access to all levels, plus any new content, will still be available for $14.99 a month.

The move by the Redwood City, Calif., game publisher is an acknowledgment that the current economic climate makes it virtually impossible for a subscription business model to thrive on the Web, where thousands of free games now compete aggressively for attention.

“Players want flexibility and choice,” Matthew Bromberg, general manager of BioWare Austin, one of several studios that developed the game, said in a statement. “The subscription-only model presented a major barrier for a lot of people who wanted to become part of the ‘Old Republic’ universe.”

[Read more...]


dif

Star Wars: The Old Republic Expands to New Countries in Europe and Middle East

Star Wars: The Old Republic Expands to New Countries in Europe and Middle East

Award-Winning MMO from BioWare and LucasArts Launches in 38 New Countries Today

BioWare™, a Label of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) and LucasArts announced today that Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ will officially launch in 38 additional countries throughout Europe and the Middle East. Starting today, fans in those regions will be able to purchase the critically-acclaimed massively multiplayer online game and enjoy the story-driven experience that has captivated critics and fans since the game’s historic launch in December.

Players will be able to choose from the Standard Edition and the Digital Deluxe Edition of Star Wars: The Old Republic at Origin.com* and participating retailers located in Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Bahrain, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, Estonia, Gibraltar, Iceland, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. For a complete list of participating retailers and for pricing by territory, please visit http://buy.swtor.com.

The Old Republic is set thousands of years before the classic Star Wars™ movies, with the Galactic Republic and Sith Empire locked in the middle of an epic, galactic war. By choosing one of eight iconic Star Wars characters, including the Jedi Knight, Jedi Consular, Smuggler, Trooper, Sith Warrior, Sith Inquisitor, Bounty Hunter and Imperial Agent, players become the hero or villain of their own personal Star Wars saga. Players team up with friends online, fighting in heroic battles reminiscent of the films, immersing themselves in a galaxy full of vibrant characters and planets, while experiencing visceral Star Wars combat.

Included with the purchase of every copy of Star Wars: The Old Republic is 30 days of access to the game, after which players can continue to play by subscribing** to the current service, which gives players access to new, ongoing content such as the recently released Game Update 1.2: Legacy. For more information on Star Wars: The Old Republic, please visit www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com, follow the game on Twitter® at http://twitter.com/swtor or “Like” Star Wars: The Old Republic on Facebook® at http://facebook.com/starwarstheoldrepublic. Press assets for Star Wars: The Old Republic are available at www.info.ea.com.

STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE ON ORIGIN.COM IN ALGERIA LUXEMBOURG OR TUNISIA.

** FOR SUBSCRIPTION PRICING BY TERRITORY, PLEASE VISIT THE OLD REPUBLIC FAQ.

About LucasArts

Founded in 1982 by filmmaker George Lucas, LucasArts is a leading publisher and developer of interactive entertainment. With development facilities in San Francisco and Singapore, LucasArts leverages the global skills, technology and resources of the Lucasfilm family of companies — including visual effects leader Industrial Light & Magic, Lucasfilm Animation and Skywalker Sound — in addition to strategic partnerships with best-in-class external partners, to further the boundaries of game development. LucasArts is dedicated to delivering deeply immersive, visually spectacular and engaging experiences that inspire and amaze generations.

About BioWare

The BioWare Label is a division of EA which crafts high quality multiplatform role-playing, MMO, social, play-for-free and strategy games, focused on emotionally engaging, rich stories with unforgettable characters and vast worlds to discover. Since 1995, BioWare has created some of the world’s most critically acclaimed titles and franchises, including Baldur’s Gate™, Neverwinter Nights™, Star Wars™: Knights of the Old Republic™, Jade Empire™, Mass Effect™ and Dragon Age™. BioWare currently operates in eight locations across the world, including Edmonton (Alberta, Canada), Montreal (Quebec, Canada), Austin (Texas), Fairfax (Virginia), San Francisco (California), Los Angeles (California), Sacramento (California) and Galway (Ireland).

In 2008, BioWare was acquired by Electronic Arts, a leading global interactive entertainment publisher. In 2011 EA created the BioWare Label, alongside EA Games, EA SPORTS™ and EA Play. For more information on BioWare, visit www.bioware.com, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/bioware. To join the millions of fans already registered with the BioWare community, go to http://social.bioware.com.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) is a global leader in digital interactive entertainment. The Company’s game franchises are offered as both packaged goods products and online services delivered through Internet-connected consoles, personal computers, mobile phones and tablets. EA has more than 100 million registered players and operates in 75 countries.

In fiscal 2011, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.6 billion. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for critically acclaimed, high-quality blockbuster franchises such as The Sims™, Madden NFL, FIFA Soccer, Need for Speed™, Battlefield™, and Mass Effect™. More information about EA is available at http://info.ea.com.

LucasArts, the LucasArts logo, STAR WARS and related properties are trademarks in the United States and/or in other countries of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. © 2012 Lucasfilm Entertainment Company Ltd. or Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. BioWare is a trademark of EA International (Studio and Publishing) Ltd. EA and the EA logo are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Star Wars: The Old Republic Expands to New Countries in Europe and Middle East

dif

Pre-loading “Star Wars: The Old Republic” Begins for Pre-orders

Pre loading Star Wars: The Old Republic Begins for Pre orders

Early Game Access* for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ is only a few days away! Starting December 13, 2011, The Old Republic will begin emailing invitations to start your Early Game Access. Invitations will be sent throughout the Early Game Access period offering rolling access to the game in the order in which you redeemed your Pre-Order Code, so be sure to check your email inbox!

To ensure that players can get into the game as quickly as possible when their Early Game Access begins, we are now allowing everyone who has redeemed a Pre-Order Code at our Code Redemption Center to pre-load the game to their computer.

In order to download the game client before Early Game Access begins, you need have already logged into your account and redeemed your Pre-Order Code. Once you have done this, you can download the game client by clicking on “My Account” in the upper-right of the window and then click “Pre-Order.” On your Pre-Order page, click the large button that says “Download Game Client” to begin download of the game!

If you participated in our recent Beta Testing Weekend between November 25th and 28th and still have the game client installed, you will be able to patch this client instead of re-installing by simply launching your client, logging in and allowing the download to complete. If you did not participate in the November 25th – 28th Beta Weekend, first uninstall the Game Testing Client and then re-install to ensure your game client will function correctly during Early Game Access.

Learn more about how to get ready for Early Game Access HERE.

*Source SWTOR.com

Pre-order Star Wars: The Old RepublicPre loading Star Wars: The Old Republic Begins for Pre orders or the Star Wars: The Old Republic Collector’s Bundle today!


dif

Star Wars: The Old Republic Beta Begins Today, No Release Date Set

Star Wars: The Old Republic Beta Begins Today, No Release Date Set

Star Wars: The Old Republic begins phase two of its beta testing for those who have pre-ordered the game this Friday. This is a long-time coming for the PC MMORPG originally announced in October of 2008. According to gaming sites EA/BioWare is seeing how the beta will shake out before setting a firm release date.

“It is definitely tied to the beta test feedback that’s ongoing and so far, so good. We feel good about the date that we’re heading towards but you’re right, you could have a Crazy Ivan show up in the September/October beta test and be like, ‘wow, I’ve got to fix that,’” says Frank Gibeau of Electronic Arts. ”We’re totally focused on quality, so whatever the beta test tells us is what will be the determining variable on when we will hit.”

The large-scale beta testing was announced during their PAX panel last week. In the meantime if you’d like to get a jump start feel free to pre-order the gameStar Wars: The Old Republic Beta Begins Today, No Release Date Set right here!

Star Wars: The Old Republic Beta Begins Today, No Release Date Set

PRE-ORDER

Star Wars: The Old Republic Beta Begins Today, No Release Date Set

dif