EA: 1.5m register SWTOR beta interest

Nearly 1.5 million people have registered their interest in taking part in a potential beta test for forthcoming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic, publisher EA has announced.

According to Gamasutra, CFO Eric Brown made the announcement during a presentation at an investor event yesterday, adding that the figure was "a great indicator in the interest level in the franchise."

However, he went on to explain how EA has its sights set much higher, insisting its potential audience could number well over 12 million.

"We're not that concerned about generating initial demand," he explained.

"For us it's about creating the right experience for expanding from tier one and the tier two users to getting people who have never played an MMO before, but are interested in Star Wars, to engage and give it a try.

"If we do that, our addressable market is well beyond 12 million people... into more of a general gamer population, pretty much anyone that has a minimum spec personal computer."

Elsewhere in his presentation, Brown narrowed the release window for the BioWare-developed MMO, telling his audience that it was "reasonable to infer" the game would launch between July and December this year.