You might expect Blizzard to be a little wary about Bioware’s entry into the MMORPG market with Star Wars: The Old Republic (SW:TOR). After all, SW:TOR has a lot going for itself on paper: a highly respected developer at the reins, it’s based on the world’s ultimate science fiction IP, and EA has reportedly spent more on its development than any of its previous games.<\/p>\n
Speaking to MCV<\/a> Blizzard co-founder Frank Pierce has explained that the publisher has high hopes for SW:TOR. “This is a game that has an opportunity to grow the MMO market if done right and therefore is very important to the industry as a whole, not just EA,” said Pierce, who was echoed by CEO Mike Morhaim who believes that “It’s certainly a strong franchise and BioWare’s a great developer.” <\/p>\n “We’ve talked about this internally and from our perspective we hope they make an enjoyable game because they’re going to bring in a lot of new players to the MMO genre, and those players’ idea of whether or not they like this type of game is going to be determined by that experience.”<\/p>\n There are a few ways to read this. In my books, it’s just a polite way of saying “We hope that SW:TOR is good so that it introduces loads of new people to MMOs so that we can steal them for WoW later.”<\/p>\n Blizzard is also hard at work on a brand new MMO, which is currently codenamed Titan and is scheduled for release in 2013. <\/p>\n EA had less kind words to say about WoW earlier this month, saying that SW: TOR will not share the world’s biggest MMO’s “shopping list gameplay”<\/a>. Of course that comment came off the back of a another statement which said that SW: TOR will not “break WoW rules”<\/a>, so go figure. <\/p>\n Either way, SW: TOR is currently one of 2011’s most anticipted titles, with around 1.5 million gamers <\/a>already signed up for the incoming open beta. <\/p>\n