http://darthhater.com/2011/08/08/building-a-death-star-this-weeks-pre-order-update/
A number of you have probably pre-ordered The Old Republic (TOR) for a number of reasons (I know I have). Only being a bit over a week into launching pre-order availability, TOR is clocked in at 234,000 pre-orders. The interesting tidbit about this number is that due to the sources used in generating that number, digital sales (through EA's Origin system) are likely not being taken into account.
I believe that BioWare has a perfect storm for the upcoming MMO. Combining fanbases of Star Wars (and specifically Knights of the Old Republic), BioWare's reputation for story centric RPGs, and the timing of people desiring a new MMO to truly take hold of the market seems to have already had the desired effect. It also seems that BioWare is attempting to leverage as much of those strengths as possible from what they've been releasing on their Friday updates at swtor.com.
Of course, with these fanbases clamoring around them they stand to face either great success or great failure. Given their past as well as my personal bias, I am holding out hope that BioWare will push this generation of MMOs further than its predecessors have managed in their tenure.
--Zack