Jedis! Sith! Droids! And not a Gungan in sight! The wildly anticipated Star Wars: The Old Republic, a massively multiplayer entry into BioWare’s amazing Knights of the Old Republic series, is making records and headlines all over the gaming world this holiday season. And now you can get a piece of that awesome experience on your Android phone! Except that you can’t. Because it’s a lousy confirmation app.

In all fairness, it would be nigh impossible to replicate a game as complex as The Old Republic on Android, even with the recent advancements in hardware. And there’s a real need for security in online games, where dedicated players spend hundreds of hours and a not inconsiderable amount of real cash on their role playing characters. The Star Wars: The Old Republic Mobile Security Key helps keep that investment safe, in an online environment where gaming identity theft is all too common. Blizzard, maker of World of Warcraft, uses a similar authentication app for its Battle.net service.

The app is basically just a second level of authentication for The Old Republic, allowing security-conscious players to require a login on both their computer and Android device. Once it’s properly set up, you’ve got a two-stage verification system that would be tough to crack without a would-be hacker physically taking your phone or tablet. It’s a useful addition to a game that’s likely to sell millions of copies and hook players for months, if not years. Still, I would have liked to have seen a lightsaber training app, or an inventory manager or something… please, BioWare?

[via DroidGamers]