1Up - Why Star Wars- The Old Republic Might Already Be Too Late. Thanks Mike Martinez via Slashdot.
And it goes beyond play mechanics as well. The success of World of WarCraft over the years has driven many publishers into the realm of browser-based and microtransaction-driven MMOs with varying degrees of success, to say nothing of the explosion of ultra-casual MMOs like Farmville. It's difficult to imagine The Old Republic working as a free-to-play MMORPG, but the point is that the genre is clearly moving in a number of different directions. It's entirely possible that World of WarCraft has sucked the oxygen out of the market for subscription-based MMOs, leaving even massive games like The Old Republic with no room to grow.