Analyst predicts a Mass Effect MMO could top The Old Republic

Still having geek dreams about a Mass Effect MMO? Your flights of fancy have another advocate today, as an analyst thinks it could be not only feasible but extremely profitable to boot. In a recent investor's note, Janco Partners' Mike Hickey predicted that a hypothetical Mass Effect MMO could make more money for Electronic Arts than Star Wars: The Old Republic will.

Hickey made this claim based on the strength of BioWare's science-fiction series and the historical weakness of Star Wars games: "Looking forward, we believe BioWare could develop an MMO based on their highly successful Mass Effect franchise, which should have a considerably better (relative Star Wars MMO) margin profile, given the dilutive nature of the LucasArts royalty."

So far, BioWare's been fairly coy on the subject of a possible Mass Effect online game, although it hasn't ruled out the possibility.