Critically Acclaimed Game from BioWare Already the Fastest Growing
Subscription MMO in History
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
BioWare™, a Label of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA), launched Star
Wars™: The Old Republic™ on Tuesday, and already fan engagement is
setting new standards for an MMO game launch. Star Wars: The Old
Republic is the fastest-growing subscription MMO in history, with more
than one million registered players since launching on December 20,
2011. BioWare and EA will continue to steadily pulse players into the
game through the holiday and into 2012 by limiting supply, ensuring a
smooth and enjoyable experience for all while further growing the
community. Fan reaction has been extremely positive, with the first wave
of players posting impressive play-time feats after having been granted
Early Game Access and playing up to seven days before launch. To date,
players have:
-
Logged 28 million in-game hours — roughly equivalent to watching all
six Star Wars movies, two million times
-
Averaged well over five hours a day playing the game
-
Created more than 3.8 million characters; 510,000 Jedi Knights and
550,000 Sith Warriors
-
Killed more than two billion non-player characters in the eight days
since Early Game Access began
"Already over a million players strong after our Dec 20th launch, The
Old Republic has become the fastest growing subscription MMO in the
history of our industry," said Dr. Ray Muzyka, General Manager of
EA's BioWare Label and Co-Founder of BioWare. "Everyone at BioWare, EA
and LucasArts is honored - and humbled - by the stellar response from
our fans. We're going to work together closely with our community in the
weeks, months and years ahead, continually serving our audience with
regular delivery of compelling new features and content."
The first reviews are in and critics around the world are giving the
game high praise for dramatic, genre-changing innovations in the MMO
category. By adding voiced characters and story, BioWare is innovating
the genre and giving players a much more immersive experience. In the
USA, G4 scored Star Wars: The Old Republic a perfect 5 out
of 5 and PC Gamer rated the game a 93%. Australia's AUSgames.com and
Germany's Games Aktuell scored the game 95%, and Sweden's GameReactor
gave The Old Republic a 90%.
Star Wars: The Old Republic stands as one of the largest and most
ambitious achievements in video game history. Beyond the critical and
commercial success, this game represents an enormous milestone for
Bioware and LucasArts teams. In 2006, Dr. Ray Muzyka, Dr. Greg Zeschuk
and the talented team at BioWare began this project with a great vision
and a plan to recruit an army of engineers, designers, artists, quality
assurance, customer service agents, marketers, community managers,
network operators, scriptwriters and voice-over talent. Five years and
millions of hours of game testing later, BioWare and LucasArts have
released an unparalleled artistic achievement, always putting fans and
product quality first.
Star Wars: The Old Republic is a story-driven, massively
multiplayer online (MMO) game from BioWare and LucasArts. Set thousands
of years before the classic Star Wars movies, players will be
immersed as they team up with friends online to fight in heroic battles
reminiscent of the films, exploring a galaxy of vibrant planets and
experiencing visceral Star Wars combat. Players join forces with
either the Galactic Republic or Sith Empire and choose one of eight
iconic Star Wars characters, including the Jedi Knight, Jedi
Consular, Smuggler, Trooper, Sith Warrior, Sith Inquisitor, Bounty
Hunter and Imperial Agent.
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 through subscribing* at either $14.99 per month, $41.97
for 3 months ($13.99 per month), or $77.94 for six months ($12.99 per
month). 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.
* Subscription pricing in the United Kingdom is £8.99 per month,
£25.17 for three months (£8.39 per month) or £46.14 for six months
(£7.69 per month). Subscription pricing in Europe is €12.99 per month,
€35.97 for three months (€11.99 per month) or €65.94 for six months
(€10.99 per month).
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. © 2011 Lucasfilm Entertainment
Company Ltd. or Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. BioWare Mass Effect,
Jade Empire and Dragon Age are trademarks of EA International (Studio
and Publishing) Ltd. The Sims and Need for Speed are trademarks of
Electronic Arts Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners.
Electronic Arts
Alana Logan, 512-287-7732
Publicist
alogan@bioware.com
Andrew
Wong, 650-628-2781
Director of PR
anwong@ea.com
Tammy
Levine, 650-628-7223
VP, Worldwide PR
tlevine@ea.com
Source: Electronic Arts
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