EA invested over $80mil in The Old Republic

That’s according to Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter.
It’s been a while since we’ve reported on the antics of Mr. Michael Pachter. So, here goes…
In an investor note publisher on Thursday, Pachter wrote that EA have spent over $80 million on BioWare’s upcoming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic and will spend roughly another $20 million advertising, manufacturing and distributing it. 
“Given that the game was in development for over four years, with an estimated 200 full-time developers working on it, we estimate that EA’s investment exceeds $80 million,” said Pachter.
He continued by stating his believe that the game will still launch before the end of 2011 and that EA will easily make back their investment:
“We estimate that EA will cover its direct operating costs and break even at 500,000 subscribers (this is exceedingly conservative, and the actual figure is probably closer to 350,000)”.