John Riccitiello on Star Wars: The Old Republic Prospects

EA has been losing grounds to its competitors, but CEO John Riccitiello firmly believes it is on the right track to regain its previous leadership position. One of the properties he cites is Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Riccitiello also discussed upcoming Star Wars MMO The Old Republic, speaking boldly about efforts to unseat World of Warcraft from its perch atop the genre.

“We’re going right at it. We want share, we want leadership position here,” he said. “I’m not expecting to sort of knock them over, but … we’re gonna get a big chunk of [their market].”

He added that the Star Wars universe is just different enough to provide innovation that’s been largely lacking in competing MMOs, and that new technologies used in the game would help set it apart.

“In a way, theirs is a silent movie and ours is the first talkie,” he said. “By and large, theirs is not a voiced MMO. Ours is a fully voiced MMO in multiple languages.”