NEXON AMERICA'S NEW MMO DANCE GAME, AUDITION, RAPIDLY GAINS MOMENTUM WITH TEEN AUDIENCE HITTING 100,000 USER MILESTONE
Los Angeles, CA - June 1, 2007 - Nexon America Inc., the U.S. division of Asia's leading online games company Nexon Group, announced today that their newest release, Audition, the free-to-play, massively multiplayer online dance game, has hit 100,000 registered users in North America. Audition's success follows another major milestone for Nexon this year, with MapleStory recently achieving the illustrious 3 million registered users mark in North America.
"We are very encouraged to see the North American market embracing Audition in such a short period of time, particularly among teenage girls," says John H. Chi, chief executive officer and president of Nexon America. "Our development team will be adding more features and events to the game over the next year, like cool haircuts, trendy clothes, and game contests, which will continue to fuel the game's growth and popularity."
Audition provides an accessible, fun, and user-friendly virtual club for exciting dance-offs accompanied by today's hottest music, including Hilary Duff's smash hit "With Love." In addition to testing rhythmic game play skills in head-to-head and team battle modes, players can socialize and customize avatars by selecting from over 1000 distinctive and stylish items from the in-game cash shop. This combination of stellar game play and first-class customization provides a gaming experience unlike any other.
Nexon games are free-to-download at www.nexon.net and utilize an innovative cash shop system (microtransactions), which offers players the option to use real currency to pay for game enhancements. In Audition, players can purchase in-game apparel and accessories that enable them to create unique identities. These features are purely optional, and players can preview items prior to purchase in virtual dressing rooms.
As the pioneer of the microtransaction, or Item Selling business model, Nexon has sold millions of virtual items worldwide through Audition, MapleStory and other hit titles such as KartRider and BnB: Crazy Arcade. In 2005, Nexon Group reported $230 million in revenue, driven primarily from millions of microtransactions.
About Nexon America
Nexon America Inc. is the North American publishing arm of Nexon Group, a pioneer of interactive entertainment software and the world's leader in massively multiplayer online games. Based in Los Angeles, Nexon America was founded in 2005 to bring the best of online entertainment to the North American audience. The company's growing library of titles includes the world famous, smash-hit franchise MapleStory, and the new online multiplayer dance game, Audition. The foundation of all Nexon America titles is the Item Selling business model, in which users access the full game for free and can later opt to pay for game enhancements.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Hillary L. Lyons
Nexon America Inc.
(213) 820-5829
hlyons@nexon.net
Lilit Baron
Bender/Helper Impact
(310) 694-3110
lilit_baron@bhimpact.com