Today Bioware announced that Star Wars: The Old Republic would be launching in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore on March 1st. Players in those countries who are currently playing on EU and NA servers can apply for a free transfer after the release of the game in the region.

Players in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore will be able to choose from the Standard Edition ($79.99 AUD, $89.99 NZD, HK$389.00, S$64.00) and the Digital Deluxe Edition ($89.99 AUD, $99.99 NZD, HK$465.00, S$76.00) of Star Wars: The Old Republic at participating retailers.

Star Wars: The Old Republic has a lot of things going for it, but there is one complaint I’ve heard from quite a few  people; “The economy is in need of some work.” I’ve constantly seen and heard players saying things like “You’re going to want to not buy anything for a few levels if you want to get that” or “New abilities are way over priced in later levels”. With The Old Republic being so new it still constantly having things patched and changed to try and meet the demands of the players so maybe we will see some changes to the credit system over time, but for now I have a few tips on how to make your credits grow.

First off, one of the most important things you can do is always sell those gray items you loot off of NPCs. It’s a really simple tip that many players already know, yet it can make a big difference in the end. Here’s a secondary tip to make this chore a little easier. If you’re currently avoiding looting gray items off of NPCs, then you should really consider going to “Preferences” and turning on “Auto Loot” even though you think they may be a waste of space in your bag. You will be surprised at how much money you can get from some of these grey items for such a small slice of your time and bagspace. Finding yourself with a bug full of grey items? Don’t forget that you can send your current companion away to sell all of your grey items. This is something you should constantly be doing, especially when your questing. It’s quick, easy and it helps clear up bag space and generate a steady stream of credits in the process.

Hit the jump for additional tips and tricks.

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It’s not quite over yet, but 2011 was not a banner year for the MMOG genre. There was no massive success, no breakaway hit. Players did receive their handful of expansions and new content patches, but with the exception of the just-released Star Wars: The Old Republic – a title which may become that massive success – most events were a blip on the radar.

Perhaps 2011 will be remembered not for its lack of breathtaking releases in the genre. No, no, the Year of the Rabbit may go down in history for a paradigm shift in the genre itself. Yeah, you guessed it, a continued aggressive shift to the free-to-play model.

What started with a last-ditch effort by Turbine Entertainment to save Dungeons & Dragons Online has continued to spread through the industry like wildfire. From dieing titles to titles that would have surely been paid-to-play years ago to upcoming AAA games, escapisms from every subgenre, every part of the world and catering to every type of game were released, entered beta or teased during the year. It’s getting to the point that drawing the line between what is an MMOG and what isn’t is becoming increasingly difficult.

Below you’ll find the titles that have us here at LoreHound.com the most excited. There’s a little bit of everything, AAA to F2P, MMORTS to MMORPG, casual to hardcore. An exhaustive list of expansions, content patches and releases? No, but the post is choke full of excitement, previews and information.

We’ll kick it off with the prediction for Star Wars: The Old Republic’s seemingly bright future. More after the cut.

Star Wars: The Old Republic: BioWare has definitely set themselves on the right track with this game, going full blown into production. They have stated that they have a years worth of content already in back log before launch, giving them a year’s head start worth of content as they still work on more to come. Add to the fire the fact they’ve watched every MMO that was released in 2011, and took notes, along with everything the head megabeast, World of Warcraft, has done for the last 5 years. The game is only just over a week old (officially), and besides the hiccups with a launch of any new game, the game is going pretty solid with 1 million subscriptions already created on December 22nd (before people who got it for Christmas could subscribe).

Is the game perfect right now? No. Give it a few months, and all the kinks will be found and ironed out, with some new content. Yes, yes, that statement could be recycled for almost every MMOG release in modern history. That doesn’t make it any less true. The fully voiced story gives a very cinematic feel. Check out the Lore Cast Episode 5 in the coming days to hear how Mordil, Beararms, and perhaps a few others are feeling about the game.

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In this SW:TOR Midnight Release special, we talk with people at the festivities, and chill outside GameStop in cold weather for 4 hours to… not pick up our copies of the game.

Watch below our new intro and a small glimpse into what we did yesterday… morning? Also, keep your eyes out for info on the Empire and Republic Lore Hound guilds!