Bioware is part of the EA family now.
You guys keep forgetting that it's all a question of what LA wants to do with their IP, not what developers around the world would like to do with it. LA wants maximum return of investment. I think most people guessed a few years ago where it was headed, when Bioware had established a MMO studio in Austin (2006) and a joint domain name featuring Bioware and LucasArts was registered (2007). I don't think they want something that would detract players from paying monthly subscription fees, it wouldn't make sense
Maybe after it has established itself and found it's level of activity, spin off games might be considered.