Diablo III delay leaves the holiday season wide open for The Old Republic

Earlier this week, EA CFO Eric Brown discussed The Old Republic’s release date during an investor call, confirming that there will be a slight chance that the game could slip into the March quarter. This, obviously, set the internet ablaze, with some assuming that Brown’s words were a preamble to an inevitable delay.

But today, that all changed. Blizzard announced that it will delay Diablo III until 2012 in order to polish its PC-exclusive hack-and-slash. While this is bad news for Blizzard and hardcore Diablo fans, it’s absolutely stellar news for BioWare and The Old Republic – the highly-anticipated MMO now has the holiday season to itself, and we’ve a feeling BioWare is going to take full advantage of this sudden lead.

Yes, there are still other games coming out in the holiday season, but no others flew so close to The Old Republic’s fanbase. Despite being different games in different genres, both definitely share a target audience. Diablo III’s biggest fans were those who dumped hundreds of hours into Diablo II, but many of those gamers became World of Warcraft players when Blizzard released its MMO. Similarities in the franchises and loyalty to the company brought them in and now, years later, those WoW players have become MMO players, constantly looking for the next big thing to jump onto (before, usually, returning to World of Warcraft). Considering The Old Republic is the absolute definition of “the next big thing” when it comes to MMORPGs, it definitely qualifies.

The games share more than a fanbase, though. Both games are PC-exclusive, online-focused RPGs that ask for a hefty commitment from players. While gamers might have been able to find an excuse to buy both games, finding time to play both would have been another matter entirely. Odds are, if they had gone toe-to-toe, Diablo III would likely come out on top. EA and BioWare know this – it’s possibly why they didn’t announce a release date at their last investor call.

BioWare understands the power of nostalgia and fandom – that’s why it’s making a Star Wars game. But in this case, the nostalgia would have worked in Diablo’s favor, not Star Wars’. This, mixed with the lack of a monthly fee, would have likely lead to lackluster post-launch numbers for The Old Republic. But if The Old Republic has time to hook players – and really hook them good – it has a better chance of competing when Diablo III finally does come out.

As long as Eric Brown was being honest in saying that there was a “slight chance” of a delay, it means that there was a “large chance” of the game coming out in 2011, and if there was every any chance that The Old Republic was going to be released in 2011, that release is probably secure now.

Well, at least we hope.

Sep 23, 2011

CATEGORIES
Hollander Cooper

Hollander Cooper was the Lead Features Editor of GamesRadar+ between 2011 and 2014. After that lengthy stint managing GR's editorial calendar he moved behind the curtain and into the video game industry itself, working as social media manager for EA and as a communications lead at Riot Games. Hollander is currently stationed at Apple as an organic social lead for the App Store and Apple Arcade. 

Latest in Action
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing Yasuke kneeling and praying while wearing a traditional purple robe
Ubisoft reaches deal with Tencent to create $4.3 billion mini-Ubisoft subsidiary to "spearhead development" on new Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six games
Assassin's Creed Shadows Belly of the Beast Ise Sadaoki sending Naoe to get papers
How to retrieve the papers in the Assassin's Creed Shadows Belly of the Beast quest
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
Assassin's Creed Shadows shoots past 3 million players and 40 million hours played with the "second-highest day 1 sales revenue in Assassin's Creed franchise history"
A cartoon woman catches a tomato while cooking in Rhythm Heaven Groove
Rhythm Heaven Groove has one of Nintendo's longest-suffering fandoms absolutely feasting: "AFTER 10 YEARS WE FINALLY WON"
Assassin's Creed Shadows The Killing Field executioner boss fight
How to find and kill the executioner in Assassin's Creed Shadows
The Forgotten Cellar door beneath St. Katherine's Church in Atomfall.
How to open the Forgotten Cellar door in Atomfall
Latest in News
Everybody's Golf Hot Shots
The surprise theme of today's Nintendo Direct was classic PlayStation franchises getting a comeback without Sony's involvement
Hogwarts Legacy how many spells
Unannounced Hogwarts Legacy DLC reportedly canceled, partly because the studio wasn't sure it'd be worth players' money
Ultimate X-Men #14
Ultimate X-Men #14 pays homage to a classic Wolverine moment as the Shadow King returns
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing Yasuke kneeling and praying while wearing a traditional purple robe
Ubisoft reaches deal with Tencent to create $4.3 billion mini-Ubisoft subsidiary to "spearhead development" on new Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six games
Kaitlyn Dever as Abby in The Last Of Us season 2
The Last of Us showrunner says he isn't worried about fan reaction to season 2: "The best way we could respect our fans and honor them is to not worry about them"
Black Myth: Wukong
English is no longer the biggest language on Steam as Chinese gamers embrace PC gaming even harder after Black Myth: Wukong