Electronic Arts Q4 2011 Earnings Call – TOR 2nd Half of 2011

At 2:00PM PDT (5:00PM EDT) today, Electronics Arts will hold their quarterly call for investors to report results and provide guidance going forward.

That’s all well and good, you say, but what about TOR?!

Welp, prior to the call, EA releases their financial support documentation, including a list of key upcoming title releases for all platforms. Conspicuously absent from that list proper was Star Wars: The Old Republic, however upon closer inspection, the release chart had a footnote:

Fiscal Year 2012 Key Titles by Label and Platform — this list excludes Star Wars^®: The Old Republic™, which is scheduled to launch in the second half of calendar 2011.

So, with this bit of information, the release date of TOR remains status quo – calendar year 2011.

You can listen to the conference call here for yourself, or follow along here as we liveblog any highlights that might pertain to The Old Republic.

Liveblog:

5:16PM – Guidance assumes Star Wars: The Old Republic will ship in calendar year 2011, with the outside possibility of a January 2012 launch.

5:18PM – Additional guidance does not include Star Wars: The Old Republic, which will launch as a digital service.

5:20PM – Expect significant subscription revenue from Star Wars: The Old Republic

5:24PM – “We close the year with Star Wars: The Old Republic in operation”

5:29PM – “The biggest event of the year” will be the launch of TOR

5:29PM – Subscription-based MMO

5:31PM – Q&A beginning

5:35PM – How long does beta last for TOR? “Typically about 6 month cycle for MMOs”

5:37PM – What’s the high end guidance for Star Wars: The Old Republic? “90 cents per share, but not giving subscriber metrics” “interest in beta highest we’ve ever seen”

5:40PM – Expect to sell some of the clients digitally

5:50PM – Significant capital expenses in FY12 for Star Wars: The Old Republic infrastructure/service