Exclusive Access To Guild Wars For Pre-Order Customers
Dates For Final Two Beta Events Confirmed
Thursday 10 March 2005/... ArenaNetTM, creators of the highly-anticipated online- roleplaying game, Guild Wars®, and NCsoft®, the world's leading developer and publisher of online computer games, today confirmed details of a preorder programme across Europe, and simultaneously announced that the final beta events will be available only to those who have pre-ordered the game.
"We wanted to offer preorder customers the opportunity to enjoy exclusive access to Guild Wars as we near our release date," says Mike O'Brien, co-founder ArenaNet. "Caring about our fan base is something we take very seriously here at ArenaNet, and this is reflected in our decision to go with a simultaneous European and North American release and with multi-language support."
The next Beta Weekend Event will begin on 18th March, and the final Beta Weekend Event will begin on 15th April. European players wishing to take part in these exclusive final events can pre-order the game from the following sites:
UK - www.gameplay.co.uk
Germany - www.4u2play.de
France - www.alapage.com
Spain - www.centromail.es
Italy - www.mediaworld.it; www.dvd.it; www.multiplayer.it; www.pergioco.com; www.internetbookshop.it; www.dominiox.com
According to EB GamesTM, Guild Wars is one of the best-selling preorder PC games year-to-date in North America. More than 500,000 players have participated in public preview events in the US and Europe. In Korea, Guild Wars was named the number one most anticipated game of 2005 by The Electronic Times.
Guild Wars is an online roleplaying game that rewards player skill. Players explore a rich fantasy game world, acquire skills, build personalised characters and compete in head-to-head guild battles with friends around the world. It is the first title from ArenaNet, which was founded by some of the key members of the creative teams behind the hit games Warcraft®, StarCraft® and Diablo®.
ArenaNet has created a unique, global game world that invites players from around the world to play together seamlessly. There are no sharded servers, no language-specific versions of the game and nothing to keep players from exploring the game world with friends from other countries.
More information about Guild Wars and the upcoming Beta Weekend Events can be found at www.guildwars.com.
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About NCsoft Europe
NCsoft Europe (NC-E) is headquartered in Brighton, England and is part of Korea-based NCsoft Corporation, the world's leading developer and publisher of online games. NCsoft has already successfully established itself in North America, Japan, Taiwan, China and Thailand. NC-E began operations on 1st September 2004 and serves as a central hub for all NCsoft sales, marketing and distribution operations in Europe, via its European distribution network. NC-E is launching Lineage® II in November 2004, with City of HeroesTM and Guild Wars® scheduled for Q1, 2005. More information about NCsoft Europe can be found at http://www.plaync.com.
About ArenaNet
ArenaNet®, located in Bellevue, Washington, is a wholly owned subsidiary of NCsoft and was founded by some of the key members of the creative teams that developed the hit game series StarCraft, Warcraft, and Diablo as well as Battle.net. ArenaNet has built a state-of-the-art, interactive game network and is developing premier multiplayer online games for dedicated game players. More information about ArenaNet can be found at www.arena.net.
NCsoft, the interlocking NC logo, Auto Assault, ArenaNet, and all associated NCsoft logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of NCsoft Corporation. Guild Wars is a trademark of ArenaNet and NCsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
EDITORS' NOTES - For further information please contact in the first instance:
Deborah Coster / Leo Tan
Barrington Harvey
Tel: UK +44 (0) 1462 456780
debi.coster@bhpr.co.uk / leo.tan@bhpr.co.uk
Issued by: Barrington Harvey, Troopers Yard, Bancroft, Hitchin, Herts SG5 1JW