When it came to the anticipated Star Wars: The Old Republic at E3, Bioware gave us the usual orgasmic cinematic trailer, and even held selective demos for some of the more elite press, but compared to past E3 events they gave us very little of a game that should be close to it's release. Now they are dedicating an entire comic-con panel to the innovative game, and you can count on some juicy exclusives coming out of it.

The official program description: “BioWare and LucasArts are creating the most immersive MMO experience you've ever played with Star Wars: The Old Republic. Hear from BioWare developers as they discuss development of a story-driven MMO, debut new gameplay footage, and perhaps spring a few surprises along the way. Exclusive reveals, giveaways, guests, and Q&A! Room 6BCF”

I think I speak for everyone when I say it's about time Bioware announced a release date. The game has been in development since before Mass Effect 2 was released, and now Mass Effect 3 has a solid release date while The Old Republic does not. I want them to take as long as they need to make the best game possible, but they seem very confident the game will be released this year. If they are so confident about it coming out this year then why haven't they announced a release date?

Besides a release date, I'm hoping that they go further into their companion system, and how similar/different it will be from the companion system in their single player games. The diversity of companions in a Bioware game is one of their strong points, so it will be awesome to see this aspect translated into their first MMO game.