EA chief financial officer Scott Brown stated, ”At half a million subscribers, the game is substantially profitable, but it’s not the kind of thing we would write home about. Anything north of a million subscribers, it’s a very profitable business.”
Brown’s words are probably directed at nervous investors who have heard a lot of negative comments directed at the ambitious MMO from various sources ranging from developers to fans.
Brown took aim at news sites and bloggers that he states have inflated The Old Republic’s development costs: ”There’s been a fair amount of talk on various blogs describing (Old Republic development) spends that are vastly higher than anything we’ve ever put in place. Don’t read gamer blogs as having any substance. They bring a chuckle, but they also bring a frustration for those that are being responsible with the management of EA’s R&D dollars.”
In a less heartening note, Brown did mention that the game would be released sometime between March and the end of 2012.
