Neverwinter Nights 2 Toolset Available Exclusively as Part of Atari's Pre-Order Campaign With Select Retailers
NEW YORK, Sept. 11: Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR), one of the world's most recognized brands and leading third-party video game publisher, today announced that the Company will support a pre-order campaign for Neverwinter Nights TM 2 with GameStop and Best Buy. In development by Obsidian Entertainment, the highly-anticipated Neverwinter Nights 2 is set in the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ® Forgotten Realms ® universe created by Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS), and will transport players back to the embattled city of Neverwinter. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is under license from the Hasbro Properties Group, the intellectual property development arm of Hasbro. The pre-order offer is available now and will give participating gamers exclusive access to the Neverwinter Nights 2 toolset one month before the game is available. Additionally, the pre-order offer will include The Merchant's Friend, a special feature enabling players to obtain powerful items crafted especially for each of the 12 classes.
"The Neverwinter Nights 2 toolset is groundbreaking software that provides players with unprecedented ability to create their own universes, quests and storylines" said Stephen Baer, Senior Product Manager, Atari, Inc. "The Neverwinter Nights 2 community has been extremely supportive of the upcoming game and with this pre-order offer we hope to reward those who are particularly excited to experience the next installment of the Neverwinter epic tale."
"Atari has certainly set the stage for a very exciting Neverwinter Nights 2 launch," said Hasbro Properties Group Senior Licensing Manager Jerry Chu. "The pre-sell toolset gives the millions of fanatic Neverwinter Nights players a jump start on the next epic tale and the keys to create new storylines with limitless quests and endings. The level of customized mods will be phenomenal."
The Neverwinter Nights franchise has sold more than two million copies worldwide, is translated into 10 languages, sold in more than 40 countries and features one of the largest and most active fan communities in all of gaming. To date, fans of the franchise, which includes Neverwinter Nights, Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide TM and Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark TM , have created nearly 4,000 modifications to the original game using the original, award-winning Aurora Toolset. A more robust toolset will be included with the release of Neverwinter Nights 2.
Neverwinter Nights 2 is scheduled for release in October 2006. More information about Neverwinter Nights 2 can be found at www.nwn2.com, which includes user forums, project news, development updates and more.
About Obsidian Entertainment
Obsidian Entertainment, Inc. is a premier software development company passionately dedicated to creating high quality, next generation role-playing games for PC and console systems. More information about Obsidian Entertainment can be found online at www.obsidianent.com.
About THE HASBRO PROPERTIES GROUP
The Hasbro Properties Group (HPG), the intellectual property development arm of Hasbro, Inc., (NYSE: HAS), translates one of the industry's richest portfolios of brands into a world of fun and excitement for children and adults globally. Through a host of publishing, digital media, lifestyle and entertainment platforms, HPG is able to surround fans worldwide with consumer products that expand Hasbro's core brands, such as TRANSFORMERS, LITTLEST PET SHOP, MY LITTLE PONY, MONOPOLY, G.I. JOE, TONKA and PLAYSKOOL.
About Atari
New York-based Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) develops interactive games for all platforms and is one of the largest third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The Company's 1,000+ titles include hard-core, genre-defining franchises such as The Matrix TM (Enter The Matrix and The Matrix: Path of Neo) and Test Drive ® ; and mass-market and children's franchises such as Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues TM and Dora the Explorer TM , and Dragon Ball Z ® . Atari, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (Euronext - ISIN: FR-0000052573), the largest interactive games publisher in Europe. For more information, visit www.atari.com.
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With the exception of the historical information contained in this release, the matters described herein contain certain "forward-looking statements" that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements in this release are not promises or guarantees and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and are naturally subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. We caution you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. Actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the statements herein. Some of the factors which could cause our results to differ materially include the following: the loss of key customers, such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target, GameStop and EB Games; delays in product development and related product release schedules; inability to secure capital; adapting to the rapidly changing industry technology, including new console technology; maintaining relationships with leading independent video game software developers; maintaining or acquiring licenses to intellectual property; fluctuations in the Company's quarterly net revenues and results of operations based on the seasonality of our industry; the termination or modification of our agreements with hardware manufacturers; and other factors described in our SEC filings.
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All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, FORGOTTEN REALMS, Neverwinter Nights, Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide TM and Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark and related logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions, and are used with permission. Hasbro and its logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Hasbro, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other jurisdictions, and are used with permission. Atari and the Atari logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Atari, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other jurisdictions, and are used with permission. Obsidian Entertainment and the Obsidian Entertainment logo are trademarks of Obsidian Entertainment, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other jurisdictions. Copyright 2006 Atari, Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.