http://www.1up.com/news/ea-limiting-copies-the-old-republic-launch-digitally-retail
Some people had already heard via customer service associates, but EA had announced that there was a limit to their digital copies that will be sold. Many people had miniature bouts of rage over this, thinking "How can you run out of something that isn't physical?"
However, there are a multitude of reasons as to why this is likely considerably more than simply "running out". The immediate issue that I think of is that it can be used to anticipate server load on launch so that their systems don't get overloaded and also so that they don't end up with 60+ low population servers because of the initial load. Another reason is simply for distribution load. Keeping in mind that the magic number is unlisted to the public, it could be high enough such that exceeding it will inhibit the distribution speeds through the Origin system. Finally, there is the very real possibility that it is a marketing maneauver to get people off their fence and pre-order it.
In any case, it is clearly more than a potential shortage announcement and always remember that their magic number could very well be in the millions.
--Zack