May 12
8
Gaming giant EA has verified reports that BioWar MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic has lost around 400,000 followers since February. The significant drop is a kick in the teeth, although EA Chief Financial Officer Ken Barker stated:
“The substantial portion of the decrease [for The Old Republic] was due to lower numbers of trial players, upping the percentage of paying subscribers.”
“Some of those casual customers have gone through a billing cycle and have decided not to subscribe to the game,” added EA Labels president Frank Gibeau.
The CEO of Electronic Arts, John Riccitiello, has compared the figures to be in line with things such as The Sims and Madden, although it definitely still more important than something like the Tiger Woods PGA Tour.
Ea are still hopeful that The Old Republic will be profitable, and estimate a 500,000 increase in subscribers before December 2012, leading to profits for the 2013 Financial Year.