[UPDATE] EA Earnings Call: Release Window For TOR?

[UPDATE] Live blog beginning soon, scroll to bottom of page.

We just wanted to issue a quick reminder for AAJ readers that the Electronic Arts Q3 2011 Earnings Conference Call will be held tomorrow, February 1, 2011 at 2:00pm PST.

So why is this important to fans of Star Wars™: The Old Republic™?

Well, as part of the agenda for the call, EA typically provides a information regarding their scheduled releases for the upcoming fiscal year. In this case, that fiscal year is 2012 and we’ve known for some time the plans for The Old Republic were squarely in this timeframe.

With all of the hoopla about a potential change in the release window, this call should be able to shed some light on exactly what might be happening with TOR. While we don’t expect an actual release date, we think the picture will become much clearer, one way or another, on the call.

You can listen to the investor call yourself simply be registering here.

Of course if you don’t want to sit through all of the boring non-TOR info, keep your browser locked right here on Ask A Jedi, and we’ll be posting all of the highlights that matter!

Live Blog for TOR Highlights:

[5:01pm] – John Riccitiello – continue to concentrate on fewer, bigger, better games
[5:04pm] – Focus on digital – growth 39% year over year
[5:05pm] – Announce a $600 million share buyback
Note: there is no mention of TOR or FY12 in any of the released documentation.
[5:19pm] – TOR will ship in Calendar 2011, after Fisccal 2011 – in Fiscal 2012
[5:20pm] – Will not share more detail until next quarter. They
Note: So basically, nothing has changed but we’ve got no new information. The release is still on track for FY12, CY 11. The window is a little bigger than most TOR fans may want to hear though :)
[5:22pm] – Just ran through a list of releases, which didn’t include TOR
Note: They seem to be keeping specific TOR info close to the vest for competitive reasons.
Note: So, look for TOR release info when they talk about Q4 earnings, sometime in May.
[5:28pm] – Q&A Starting, we are queued up for one.
[5:34pm] – Question About TOR business model
[5:35pm] – “Another north of a million is a substantially profitable business”
[5:36pm] – “Don’t refer to gamer blogs for guidance” (re: EALouse $300 millon budget crap.)
[5:38pm] – “Game is looking very good – beta scale testing over the coming months”
[5:49pm] –  Mike Hickey from Janco just asked a question… non TOR-related.
[5:52pm] – Piper Jaffray – Asked “How big is the opportunity for Star Wars, in terms of # of users?”
[5:53pm] – EA Comments on their “chief competitor” having 12 million subscriptions, but doesn’t have to challenge the market leader. But also have no intention to remain a “distant” #2
[5:56pm] – “The market will be receptive to light sabers vs. swords.”
[6:00pm] – Q&A and Call is wrapping up.

There is no TOR info in these documents, but here is what was released:

Q3 FY11 Slides

Q3 FY11 Results