Electronic Arts CFO Eric Brown told attendees at a Lazard Capital Markets Technology & Media Day presentation that the company has ”over one million, closer to 1.5 million” people opted-in to be notified of a coming open beta test for the MMO, adding ”It’s a great indicator in the interest level in the franchise.” No kidding.
Brown stated, ”We’re not that concerned about generating initial demand. For us it’s about creating the right experience for expanding from tier 1 and the tier 2 users to getting people who have never played an MMO before, but are interested in Star Wars, to engage and give it a try.”
While it’s widely assumed that the game will be subscription-based, Brown did gives hints the game might use microtransactions to support a lower monthly fee than other MMOs: ”The key (question) is, what do you include in a base monthly fee versus what do you charge extra for? That requires some careful decision making, (but) for now we’re focused on the standard monthly subscription model.”
At the same meeting, Brown told investors the game would not be released before July 1.
