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Talk about by the skin of its teeth. BioWare has ended a year of speculation by finally announcing a final release date for MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic.
And true to its word, it has made its self-imposed 2011 deadline. Just.
The game will be released in North America on December 20th and then in Europe on December 22nd.
This means two things. Firstly, die-hard Star Wars MMO fans now have a big decision to make: spend Christmas with the family or with the Star wars universe? Secondly, BioWare’s tech team had better get their apologies to their families in now – it’s going to be a busy festive ‘holiday’ for them.
Pricing for the game has also been announced. Subscriptions for UK consumers will cost 8.99 per month, which incidentally is exactly as the same as Blizzard charges for World of Warcraft.
Three months will cost 25.17 and six months 46.14.
US and European subscription prices are as follows for the same three tiers – $14.99/€12.99, $41.97/€35.97 and $77.94/€65.94.
Just days ago BioWare was having to fend off talk of a possible slip to 2012 for the game, the release date of which has been the bone of contention for some time now.
Releasing on December 22nd gives EA a small chance of grabbing the tail end of the key Christmas shopping period. But with the publisher previously stating that it will limit the number of copies available on release, the company can certainly expect a scramble for any units that are available…
