Skip to main content

EA Says It Can't Guarantee SW:TOR Pre-Orders

Thursday we reported that EA and BioWare will release three editions of the upcoming MMOG, Star Wars: The Old Republic, which includes the Standard, Digital Deluxe and Collector's editions. Gamers can now pre-order all three editions from EA's online store Origin or via a participating retailer although Origin will sell all digital versions exclusively.

But even before the news went live, the Origin storefront indicated that the $149.99 Collector's Edition, which requires an up-front payment of $20 USD, had already sold out. Then Edge Magazine discovered on Friday that EA won't even be able to guarantee pre-orders at launch. Why? Because the company has decided to limit the original launch supply as stated here in the pre-order FAQ.

This throttled release is most likely intended to limit the day-one server load "to ensure a great user experience," or rather, to keep the lag low due to a sudden load of eager gamers. There's also a good chance that a reserved copy of the game may not be available for collection after the launch date. That said, it appears that fans will have a better chance of scoring a copy on day one by purchasing the digital versions through Origin.

Coincidence? Probably not. It sounds like EA is receiving more pre-orders than it will be able to handle at day one. Thus, consumers who have already fronted the five or twenty bucks will need to get in line pronto or risk not getting access to the virtual Star Wars universe for a while. Even if you pre-ordered and wait until two days later to pick up the copy, it may not be there ready and waiting. It's called first come, first serve.

"Further supplies will be released post-launch," the company states.

In a seemingly contradictory statement, EA states that securing a pre-order for Star Wars: The Old Republic will ensure that a copy of the game will be reserved to purchase upon launch despite the throttled release. "Pre-ordering also ensures that you may be granted Early Game Access before the Game’s official release," the company adds. "More information on Early Game Access will be provided at a later time."

Star Wars: The Old Republic is slated to arrive sometime this holiday season.

  • saxplayingcompnerd
    EA is worthless. Companies that screw over customers because they don't want to dip into their insane profits should be fined for every game they don't supply on release day. They need to buckle under and get pay up. People put up their money before they even knew when the game was going to be released. EA should cough up the cash to let all of them play the game that they paid ahead of time for.
  • kyee7k
    Like Star Trek Online, I'll wait a year or so for them to iron out the game before I purchase the standard game. Hopefully, the demo will include 2-3 missions instead of the 1 in STO.
  • s997863
    Of course they guarantee cannot. Difficult to see the future is, even for Jedi, much less the dark-side clouded minds of corporate imperials ...
  • crewton
    Hmmm I pre-ordered 2 copies with the early access...doesn't seem right to have early access but not be able to play :( Guess I'll wait and see on release if I can play or not.
  • kingnoobe
    .. Eh all hype.. IMO.. Although kyee why wait.. I personally find the first year to be the funnest.. Granted it does have the most bugs any everything, but that can actually be the fun part.
  • The author of this article leaves out ALOT of pertinent info! Anyone who pre-orders the game will receive an early access code. The quicker you pre-order, and enter the code, the quicker you will be given early access. If you get the collector's edition it will be 6 or 7 days. The standard and digital deluxe versions will get you 3 days. This has been done countless other times with other games. When early acces is granted, you will have the ability to download the game from EA's website, and then play! A physical copy of the game will ONLY be neccessary after the early access period expires. And in case there is a screw up, and there isn't enough physical copies of the game to cover all the pre-orders, I can 100% guarantee you that they will extend the early access period. This later problem HAS occured, and the game company did just what I said: extended the grace period! It was by a couple of weeks too! Do you honestly think that they will mess this up? It's only been the most anticipated game/MMO in the last 3 or 4 years! They also stated, that they will use a process called "sharding" in the event that the servers get too crowded or overwhelmed with players logging in! Sharding basically copies the area of the game world that you are in, so that their are multiple "instances" of it. That way if tons of players are in that particular area, there wont be over-crowding! I am not in anyway saying that problems won't arise, but they have plans in place to cover any issues that might crop up. It will all lie in the execution of those plans.
  • martel80
    Why couldn't they just generate the serial keys for the customers and distribute them (together with the game) via internet (download)? And ship the physical boxes later?
    Perhaps they know their servers won't be able to handle the load and this is just an excuse.
  • @ martel80, that is exactly what they are doing. You pre-order, you register your code at When the head start begins (or just before) you'll be able to download the client from Origin and start playing. Your box will come later.
  • brandonjclark
    Irish, then why can't they guarantee?
  • chronicbint
    I was going to preorder the digital download, only to find its hideously expensive and cheaper to buy a physical copy. Why? WHY? robbing gippos.