Runes of Magic
Frogster secures licences for all European territories - and the Spanish-language North American version too.
Berlin, 26.03.2009: At the Game Developers Conference still in full swing Frogster has secured the rights to further territories and language versions of Runes of Magic. The management team of Frogster Online Gaming has been granted the exclusive rights for all further European language versions of Runes of Magic for Europe as well as the exclusive licence for the for the Spanish language version for the USA and Canada. This means that the Frogster Group is now holding, along with the Korean licence, all of the licences for Europe with the exception of Turkey. In securing these licences, Frogster has risen to become the de facto almost sole publisher of the international blockbuster MMORPG in the western hemisphere.
In its first week of sales in German retail, Runes of Magic has simultaneously moved into the top spot in the GfK (Society for Consumer Market Research) sales charts. The German boxed version of the MMORPG leapt straight from out of the blocks to the top of the chart for PC games in the segment below 28 Euro, knocking the genre king, World of Warcraft, from the throne. Taking the PC title sector as a whole, the virtual fantasy world peaked in second place according to units sold among current full-price titles. “Although Runes of Magic is available worldwide as a free download, we have been able to create a very successful boxed product for the German-speaking market by assembling an attractive item and collector package”, commented Rolf Klöppel, Frogster’s Head of Marketing and PR, discussing Runes of Magic‘s chart entry in the industry magazine “GamesMarkt”. “Within incredibly short time we have managed to create a hype around Runes of Magic which is reflected by having 700,000 registered players already. Following on from the successful online marketing, we are now experiencing a strong impact on the retail market."
Runes of Magic – a world full of wizardry and adventure
Runes of Magic was commercially released on 19th March 2009. During a successful open beta the population soar to over 700,000 registered players. All interested fantasy fans can continue to download the online role playing game for free at www.runesofmagic.com and can plunge into the game world after a short registration process.
With an extensive range of features Runes of Magic prepares to redefine the standard of free to play massively online role playing games. Runes of Magic conveys an absorbing story through more than 1.000 quests embedded in an atmospheric fantasy world. Players can choose between six main classes and combined with a secondary class they present 30 individual combinations of character classes over all. All characters possess unique skills with impressive combo attacks and can use mounts like war horses and more. A particularly attractive feature for guilds and players is the possibility to arrange their own virtual homes with individual furnishing. Thanks to an extensive crafting and reputation system, thrilling PvP, as well as demanding dungeons and boss-monsters, no wishes remain unsatisfied. The Taiwanese developer Runewaker has developed Runes of Magic according to western MMO standards within a time frame of three years. The studio will provide new challenges for players every four to five months with free add-ons and updates. MMO fans can find more information, pictures and videos on the official website www.runesofmagic.com.
Features
• Free to play: no monthly fees, free download
• Extensive dual class system (six primary and secondary classes)
• Versatile spell- and attack-combinations
• Enthralling background story
• More than 1.000 quests and quest series on launch
• No zone boundaries thanks to seamless architecture
• Dungeons: Instanced and tile based as well as persistent
• Individually developable skills and spells
• Armour sets with special bonuses
• Dynamic item system with hundreds of runes for upgrading
• Optional PvP system with arena battles and guild wars
• Ranking system with player-ranking lists
• Multitude of unique mounts
• Epic crafting system with the chance to improve existing items
• Personalization of player houses through individual furnishing
• Reputation system
• Customisable user interface with the option to use Add-Ons
• Map and radar system to find dealers, resources and quests easily
• In-game auction houses for trading items
• Teleport-Runes for instant travel
• Mouse and keyboard controls for movement
• Regular updates with new content
• Guild castles in special zones
• Cross-server fights in three-server-battle in development
Facts
Titel: Runes of Magic Genre: Fantasy-MMORPG Platform: Windows-PC Publisher: Frogster Online Gaming Developer: Runewaker Entertainment Ltd. Release: March 19th 2009 PEGI: 12+ About Runewaker Entertainment Ltd.Runewaker Entertainment was founded in August of 2004, with the headquarters located in Taichung, Taiwan. The founding members are all very experienced in the field and decided to come together to pursue their own dream. Currently Runewaker employs over 40 highly skilled programmers, designers and artists and is constantly expanding. Runewaker specializes in making massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPG). The company has built their own engine from scratch that rivals some of the best that is available out on the market. Their first product, Radiant Arcana (Runes of Magic), is already completed and currently in Open Beta Phase in China. Runewaker is currently producing more content for Runes of Magic. Webpage: http://www.runewaker.com/
About Frogster Interactive Pictures AG
As a holding with different shares in the computergames industry, the listed Frogster Interactive Pictures AG based in Berlin is focusing on the growth sector of massively multiplayer online games. The company licenses, markets and operates different online games in the German speaking market and internationally. Its Korean joint venture Frogster Asia Co., Ltd. based in Seoul develops MMO Games and markets their own as well as licensed virtual worlds in Asia. Frogster America Inc. based in San Francisco, USA, markets and operates MMO Games in North America in 2009. At their offices in Berlin, Seoul and San Francisco, the Frogster group employs more than 80 staff members in the fields of development, marketing, PR, web design, web development, community management, customer support, hosting, billing and administration. Internet: www.frogster-interactive.de
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Frogster Interactive Pictures AG
Philipp Senkbeil
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