EA executives dropped the news that BioWare's Star Wars MMORPG is expected to ship in fiscal 2011 in a conference call with investors. This puts the release in April at the earliest, and clarifies the original "Spring 2011" launch window.

CEO John Riccitiello noted that while the game will hopefully be a profitable venture, EA's cash flow is running slow right now. "MMOs can cost as much as two to six, seven times as much as a front-line title, if they’re done right.... It is a major investment for us."

The trailer that EA showed at last year's E3, while impressive, had a higher budget than many full-fledged games (no, I'm not exaggerating). Are all those truckloads of money going to result in the kind of game that we've been hoping for? Are you going to drop your current MMO, or take your first dip into the genre, when The Old Republic finally comes out?

[via VG247]