NCsoft Joins Direct2Drive Roster With Online Game Hits City Of Heroes And Lineage II
NCsoft Signs Outside Digital Distribution Deal For First Time To Partner With Leading Digital Retailer
BRISBANE, Calif. - Sept. 29, 2005 - NCsoft®, the world's leading developer and publisher of online computer games, has made two of its hit titles, City of Heroes® and Lineage® II, available for purchase on Direct2Drive, the successful online digital retail store operated by IGN Entertainment.
The award-winning City of Heroes is a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) that allows players to take on the roles of super-powered heroes in the 3D graphical world of "Paragon CityTM." Since its launch in April of 2004, City of Heroes has grown into a major franchise title, spawning a passionate network of community and fan sites, forums and comic books. Lineage II, also an MMOG, is the sequel to the wildly popular title Lineage, which established NCsoft as a key player early on.
"We are thrilled that NCsoft chose Direct2Drive as the only outside digital delivery outlet to carry their games," Jamie Berger, vice president and general manager of IGN Entertainment's consumer products division, said. "Direct2Drive is dedicated to gamers who appreciate the best quality games, and our partnership with NCsoft further accelerates Direct2Drive's momentum as a leader in the digital distribution market."
"City of Heroes and Lineage II are massively successful games; we wanted to broaden our reach," said Dorothy Ferguson, vice president of sales and marketing for NCsoft's North American business. "Direct2Drive is a leader in digital distribution, offering AAA hardcore games from the best developers and publishers in the industry, and we're excited to be a part of the digital revolution."
Since launching in October 2004, Direct2Drive has been gaining popularity among IGN's largely 18-34 year-old male customer base with its growing roster of top games. Direct2Drive builds on the proven operational infrastructure of FilePlanet, IGN Entertainment's download site and IGN's separate HitPoints program, which provides full digital game downloads as rewards to IGN and GameSpy subscribers.
About NCsoft
NCsoft's North American business is headquartered in Austin, Texas and is part of Korea-based NCsoft Corporation. NCsoft, with its own development and publishing offices in Texas and California, also works with subsidiaries and third party developers throughout North America to develop and publish innovative online entertainment software products. The company launched two massively multiplayer titles on the same day last year: Lineage II and City of Heroes, and in April of 2005 released its third title, Guild Wars. NCsoft expects to launch two more massively multiplayer titles in coming months: City of VillainsTM in the fall of 2005 and Auto AssaultTM and Tabula RasaTM in 2006. More information about NCsoft can be found at http://www.PlayNC.com.
About Direct2Drive
Direct2Drive (http://www.direct2drive.com), IGN Entertainment's digital download retail store, serves the users of IGN's popular games and entertainment sites. Direct2Drive offers game publishers a new channel to sell both their new and catalog PC game titles. The service uses proven Digital Rights Management technologies to ensure a secure transaction for both the buyer and the game publisher. As a digital-download-only store, Direct2Drive carries no physical inventory, meaning Direct2Drive can offer as many games to its customers as a publisher wishes to put on sale.
About IGN Entertainment
IGN Entertainment is a leading Internet media and services company focused on the videogame and entertainment enthusiast markets. Collectively, IGN's properties reached more than 30 million unique users worldwide in the month of August 2005, according to Internet audience measurement firm comScore Media Metrix*. The company's network of videogame-related properties (IGN.com, GameSpy, FilePlanet, TeamXbox, Direct2Drive and others), is the web's number one videogame information destination and attracts one of the largest concentrated audiences of young males on the Internet. IGN also owns and operates the popular movie-related website, Rotten Tomatoes and one of the leading male lifestyle websites, AskMen.com. In addition, IGN provides technology for online game play in videogames. The company is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices throughout the U.S. and in Montreal.
IGN Entertainment, IGN.com, GameSpy, AskMen.com, Rotten Tomatoes, FilePlanet, TeamXbox, 3D Gamers, Direct2Drive, GameStats.com and IGN FilmForce are trademarks of IGN Entertainment, Inc. NCsoft, the interlocking NC logo, Lineage, Guild Wars, Auto Assault, Tabula Rasa, PlayNC, PlayNC.com and all associated NCsoft logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of NCsoft Corporation. City of Heroes, City of Villains and Paragon City are registered trademarks or trademarks of Cryptic Studios, Inc. and NCsoft Corporation, Other trademarks and copyrights mentioned are the properties of their respective holders.
"PlayStation"is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment. "PSP" is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment.
*Worldwide data cited herein represent an aggregate of 32 countries reported by comScore Media Metrix on a monthly basis.