Spring 2011 release date?

[Novus]

EA chief executive John Riccitiello has said that the publisher is planning to release a "major MMO" in "spring 2011".

It seems likely that Riccitiello was referring to BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic, a joint venture with LucasArts. The other unreleased massively multiplayer games on EA's slate are less conventional and scheduled for 2010 releases: Realtime Worlds' subscription-free online action game APB, and the free-to-play Need for Speed: World Online.

"One key driver is going to be the launch date of our major MMO," Riccitiello said in an investor conference call (thanks Shacknews). "As it stands today, the game is making great progress towards a spring 2011 launch.

"But given the volatility of this particular sector and the fact that we haven't yet provided a specific launch date, at least for now, we're excluding the revenue, or will be excluding the revenue, from our FY11 plans."

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/ea-to-release-major-mmo-in-spring-2011

[KayCei]

Doh, I found the same thing at :- http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6245213.html?part=rss&tag=gs_news&subj=6245213&tag=nl.e513

So we have plenty of time for Beta then!

[Orix]

Interesting, well, that means I won't miss out on much when I'm away during 2010

Yay!

While we have not announced a specific date, we can confirm that we are targeting a spring 2011 release for Star Wars™]www.swtor.com/tester[/url] and sign up today. We can’t wait to share more about the game with you as we progress through the year, so make sure you stay tuned to the official website for details.

Source

[Bramble]

I'm telling you, Lego Universe is the future...

[Nybor]

Perfect timing! Have abstained from MMO's for the duration of my PhD, and I ought to be all done and examined in early 2011!

No beta for me this time though. I'm not even going to look at the website......

Again......

Well, again today anyway.

[Kojack]

TOR is still going to be summer earliest.......trust me i have a man on the inside

Saying that im 'told' Fall is the earliest realistic timeframe.....

[Orix]

I'm telling you, Lego Universe is the future...

I just watched a video about Lego Universe! Looks like an interesting game, I do love the Lego games by Traveller's Tales, simple but fun, but when you add in player creativity, as Spore and LittleBig Planet are something to go by, you get some wonderful creations (and, of course, plenty of bad ones...).

TOR is still going to be summer earliest.......trust me i have a man on the inside

Saying that im 'told' Fall is the earliest realistic timeframe.....

Hmm, it would be great if your source is right. Spring 2011 seems a long time away, but hopefully I'll be busy enough this year not to notice too much until it comes out

[Nelson]

The financial geek's translation:

Well he's in a conference call to investors which means it's hard to judge whether he's being cautious or (more likely) an optimist - (bonus' and all that).

They're not budgeting revenue for FY 11 which means up until march 2011 (that's their year end), if they're doing that then it means they are more likely of the belief that they won't get the money, which means a pre-spring release is less likely. Basically costs are building up on the project and it's in their best interest in terms of attracting investors to project a revenue stream asap otherwise it will have a negative effect on their shareprice.

(basically the accounts geeks will be hasselling the games development geeks to hurry up )

Of course it could be a load of tosh