After successfully concluding one of the largest-ever Beta tests for an MMO, BioWare is now making final preparations for one of the biggest entertainment launches of the year as Star Wars: The Old Republic reaches stores on December 20, 2011 in North America. Gamers can get a head-start in this epic online universe through pre-orders. Players can use Early Game Access starting December 13. The developer talks about the new MMO in the exclusive video interview below.

Finally...the wait may soon be over.  After many months of speculation in the "will they, won't they" sense and news about continuous add-ons for the game, we've finally gotten word when Star Wars: The Old Republic will fly out of Bioware's camp and onto computers everywhere.  It turns out that the wait won't be that long at all...and many Jedi fans will be happy come Christmas morning.

Sony Online Entertainment has worked closely with Dave Filoni, supervising director of the Cartoon Network computer animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, to create the exclusive storyline in the Mission on Iceberg Three summer campaign for Clone Wars Adventures. Filoni was at San Diego Comic-Con 2011 to talk about season four of the TV show and the new online video game adventure in this exclusive video interview.

San Diego became a Mecca for Star Wars fans. The movie was celebrated everywhere during Comic-Con 2011. Electronic Arts had the new Star Wars: The Old Republic game playable. Sony Online Entertainment had new content for The Clone Wars Adventures. Microsoft featured Kinect Star Wars and unveiled a new Star Wars console bundle. And 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment unveiled new bonus features for the upcoming September Blu-ray Disc release. But there was also news in the comic book realm, involving Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

As legions of aspiring superheroes strap on their capes for the 41st annual Comic-Con International, Xbox 360 is set to take San Diego by storm with Gears of War 3, Halo, Kinect Star Wars, Kinect Sports: Season Two, Dance Central 2, and a sizzling lineup of other Xbox 360, Kinect, Xbox LIVE Arcade, Games for Windows and Windows Phone titles. Microsoft will have Xbox 360 and Kinect games set up all over downtown San Diego.

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) welcomed the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling that underscored constitutional protections for video games, developers, and video game industry artists. At issue was a 2005 California statute restricting the sale and rental of computer and video games. The ESA, the lead party in the case Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association/Entertainment Software Association, argued that the statute presented unconstitutional limitations on expression, and the U.S. Supreme Court agreed, holding the California law unconstitutional under the First Amendment.