That launch is going to be vital. This is BioWare's bid to reclaim their territory on the PC. "The PC is in a terrible place," says Walton, "but online is in a great place." Does he see the PC and online as separate platforms? "They are different platforms. They require different methodologies." For Walton the evolution of online gaming has created both a new format, and a new gamer. "They're looking for evolution, not static. They're looking for a differentiated product. Look at Team Fortress 2... You have to keep bringing out content, or the game disappears after the first weeks."

Vogel chimes in at this point: "The PC industry is like the music industry, it's evolving away from a sold product to an online presence." An online presence. There's one online presence that looms so large on the PC that it scarcely needs mentioning: World of Warcraft. Even when The Old Republic is at its most exciting we can only think back to how much we've already gotten out of WoW. Something ActiBlizzard boss Bobby Kotick once said springs to mind: anyone intending to take on WoW had better have some pretty deep pockets. But

do you really need a billion dollars to take down WoW?
Vogel laughs: "You have to be smart. You have to develop with people who have experience and understand the game." Walton is similarly upbeat: "If I was doing a fantasy RPG on the same plane as World of Warcraft, well, you better spend a shit load of money." But he doesn't see taking WoW on at its own game as a realistic, or even desirable goal. He argues that new MMOs need to create their own template.

"I thought Age of Conan would be more differentiated. We were betting that both Age of Conan and WAR (Warhammer Online) would have been bigger than they are, but that's down to their execution, not the market... Age of Conan would have really had something if they've maintained that great experience beyond the first 20 levels... What happened to that? When you get past the first 20 levels that experience went away. You can't do that, not in this climate. The market is ready for differentiation. There's a lot of WoW fatigue. It doesn't matter how good that game is, you're going to get tired of it."