[Christian IV]

http://www.swtor.com/news/news-article/20090929_001

Bioware announces beginning of Beta team selection...

Just to remind us/you this was the original press release:

LUCASARTS AND BIOWARE
REVEAL STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC

OCTOBER 21, SAN FRANCISCO – LucasArts and BioWare™, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), today announced the development of Star Wars®: The Old Republic™, a story-driven massively multiplayer online PC game set in the timeframe of the Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™ franchise. Star Wars: The Old Republic, being developed and published by BioWare and LucasArts, represents an innovative approach to interactive entertainment, featuring immersive storytelling, dynamic combat and intelligent companion characters.

Beta testing selection has been announced and the response was so overwhelming that they had to take the site down for six hours to adjust it for the load

We are excited to announce that we are now collecting information for those interested in applying for the opportunity to test Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. Our goal is to get feedback to help us make the best game that we can.

We will be selecting testers from the Star Wars: The Old Republic community based on various requirements such as systems specifications, age, and region. Because the testing program requires feedback from within the community, you must have an active Star Wars: The Old Republic (“TOR”) community account to participate (no banned accounts). The testing is limited to members who are 18 years of age or older and requires the acceptance of the Game Testing Agreement included in the TOR community sign-up process. Users that meet the requirements of the test and are selected for inclusion in the test program will be contacted via email (so make sure your email address is up to date!).

Game testing for Star Wars: The Old Republic will be rolled out in several phases over an extended period of time. These test phases will begin with smaller, tightly focused test groups, and later tests will expand.

Want to get your name on the list of potential testers? First, make sure you are a registered member of the Star Wars: The Old Republic community. If you’re not already a member, click here to become one today! Be sure to check the box to indicate you are interested in becoming a tester. If you’re already a member, go to the Game Testing Portal to begin the sign up process.

Please keep in mind that there are no guarantees that you will be selected once you have completed the sign up process. For more information about testing Star Wars: The Old Republic, take time to read the Game Testing FAQ.

We look forward to your help in making Star Wars: The Old Republic a success!

Update: Thank you for your overwhelming support and interest in our Game Testing program. It’s been a humbling 24 hours. We knew that interest would be high but yesterday the community proved just how highly anticipated Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ is. We experienced an overwhelming amount of traffic which resulted in having to bring the website down so the team could address the performance and capacity issues.

While we are still experiencing a high degree of traffic, we have brought the service back up and are accepting new accounts and Game Tester applications. We will be continually monitoring the service and do our best to manage the continued volumes of interest. We have also brought up the community section of The Old Republic but please understand that we will take the forums down as necessary to alleviate some of the traffic.

We recognize and have heard from some of you that there are some difficulties in registering with us, and want you to know that we are working to provide you with ongoing solutions. For those of you experiencing issues in signing up, please see the following thread for more information.

Thank you again for your continued interest!