Lots of excitement overnight about some Spanish and Polish websites showing pre-order information and box shots of Star Wars: The Old Republic. One of the more fascinating ones (labeled as ‘work-in-progress art‘) is this shot of the Collector’s Edition pre-order:
For what it’s worth I love the look of the whole set and on first look it’s convinced me to fork out for the Collector’s Edition. Although it may only be a mock-up, for that it’s looking mighty nice. There’s also plenty of dicussion about some boxes already shipping and release dates coming up close. Here’s hoping, but I think both should be taken with an enormous grain of salt.
Bioware’s response to the pics has been a little more jovial than I expected. Senior Community Manager for SWTOR, Stephen Reid, posted this in response:
So it seems that San Diego Comic Con could be one interesting platform for announcements. We’ll be covering those in detail here and on this weekend’s Flash Point podcast.
Over to you: do you like what you see?
A big thanks to Darkflare on the forums for the initial heads-up: you can hear him as a guest on this week’s podcast as well.
Update: Kotaku amongst many others, have a run down of what they believe the collector’s edition contains:
Exclusive Gentle Giant Darth Malgus statue
Star Wars: The Old Republic game disks in collectible metal case
The Journal of Master Gnost-Dural annotated by Satele Shan
Old Republic galaxy map
Custom Security Authentication Key
Exclusive Music of Star Wars: The Old Republic CD
High-quality collector’s edition boxIncludes 7 additional digital items:
Flare Gun: Fires flares into the air.
Training Droid: Hovers at your side for combat assistance.
HoloDancer: Project your own holographic dancer.
HoloCam: Keep visual records of in-game adventures.
STAP: Sleek and unique in-game vehicle.
Exclusive Mouse Droid: Spunky droid to join your adventures.
Exclusive Collector’s Edition Store: Unique in-game vendor with a dynamic assortment of items.
What’s not to like?
Definitely going for that Collectors Edition, looks great.
yo david, this is probably worth mentioning (if true)
Originally Posted by Optiplex
I just spoke to EA representative from origin store :
1 ) YES IS IT CONFIRMED, preorder starts 21st july 2011
2) YES, everyone outside USA can preorder the game
3) YES, they outsourced their online support to INDIA
re: potential aus delays.
cheers
Well, guess we’ll find out for sure tomorrow. Origin store automatically redirects to an Australian version if you go to it with an Australian IP address, so if it’s available to pre-order tomorrow, then all systems go. If not, I guess it will be fairly clear that we’re going to be delayed.
This is exciting stuff – I’ve been checking Twitter all day while at work to stay current on the news – but until I hear it confirmed that Australia is in line with everyone else for release… I remain nervous.
Its official guys. Pre-order page is up on the office site. Australia out. Screwed.
Looks like worst fears realised. Pre-order is up. Via digital distribution, get this message:
“Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ is not available in your region
To maintain a high quality of service, only certain regions worldwide will be able to pre-order Star Wars™: The Old Republic™.
Sign up for the newsletters on SWTOR.COM to learn when the game will be available in your area.”
Physical copies only available from US, Canada and European retailers.
From the official preorder FAQ
http://www.swtor.com/preorder/faq
Will Star Wars: The Old Republic be available for retail purchase in countries not listed above?
At launch, Star Wars: The Old Republic will be available only in the countries listed above. Details on additional countries are not available at this time, but will be released when available.
Talk about a kick in the nuts
Checked today, bugger… Doesn’t seem like it’s going to be available for a while in Aus, well we at least cant take preorders at this point in time. Really disappointing I was really looking forward to getting my hands on this game asap but I guess I’ll be waiting a little longer… Damn you to hell EA