Guild Wars: Eye of the North Goes Live

NCsoft and ArenaNet issued a press release this morning announcing the launch of their Guild Wars: Eye of the North expansion pack.

Guild Wars: Eye of the North Goes Live, Expanding Guild Wars World

NCsoft releases the first expansion to award-winning, subscription-free Guild Wars franchise, builds bridge to Guild Wars 2.

Bellevue, WA. Aug. 31, 2007-NCsoft® and ArenaNet® have launched Guild Wars: Eye of the North™, the first expansion to the Guild Wars® franchise of subscription-free, online role-playing games. Guild Wars players who purchase the expansion can access Eye of the North content through the multi-million-selling Guild Wars campaigns-Guild Wars, Guild Wars: Factions™, or Guild Wars: Nightfall™. The expansion also includes an innovative feature that allows players to take achievements they have earned over the years with them into the forthcoming Guild Wars 2™.

Guild Wars: Eye of the North, continues the subscription-free business model pioneered by ArenaNet. The expansion is now available at www.GuildWars.ph, as well as from retailers nationwide, for an expected suggested retail price of PhP2,200.

Eye of the North advances the story told in the original Guild Wars campaign, and is set in the unexplored area of the continent of Tyria. One of the highlights of the expansion is the Hall of Monuments, which allows players to preserve armour sets, pets, Heroes, and titles earned while playing Guild Wars, Factions, Nightfall, and Eye of the North, and take those accomplishments with them into Guild Wars 2.

The expansion also contains a host of new features that will appeal directly to veteran Guild Wars players, including 18 multi-level dungeons, 150 new skills across all 10 Guild Wars professions, 10 new Heroes to aid them in their adventures, 40 new armour sets, and more items, weapons, and titles.

(We think fans will find a lot to love in Guild Wars: Eye of the North,) said Mike O’Brien, co-founder of ArenaNet. (Not only do we go back to the original Guild Wars lands and stories to wrap up plots and themes fans have clamoured to learn more about, but we’ve also built a bridge to the future through the Hall of Monuments. This will give loyal players a way to preserve what they’ve accomplished in Guild Wars over the past two years, and reclaim the legacy of their favourite characters in Guild Wars 2.)

The Guild Wars franchise recently surpassed four million units sold and is one of the most popular and critically acclaimed online role-playing game series of all time. Guild Wars 2 is expected to go into public beta in the second half of 2008.

For more information, visit the Guild Wars website at www.GuildWars.ph or www.GuildWars.com.

About AsianMedia
Established in 1999, Asian Media Development Group, previously known as AMDG, built up a nationwide sales and distribution network for licensed PC games, which penetrated more than 90% of internet cafes in the Philippines. Expanding into the online gaming market in 2007, the company adopted a vibrant new logo and re-emerged as AsianMedia to reflect its commitment to providing the best online gaming experience for regional gamers. To learn more, visit www.AsianMedia.ph.

About ArenaNet
ArenaNet, located in Bellevue, Washington, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NCsoft Corporation. ArenaNet has built a state-of-the-art interactive game network and develops premier multiplayer online games for dedicated game players. ArenaNet’s titles, Guild Wars, Guild Wars: Factions, Guild Wars: Nightfall, and Guild Wars: Eye of the North, are global online role-playing games that allow gamers to play with anyone, anytime, and anywhere in the world. More information about ArenaNet can be found at www.arena.net.

About NCsoft Corporation
NCsoft North America is headquartered in Austin, Texas and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Korea-based NCsoft Corporation. NCsoft, with its own development and publishing offices in Texas and California, also works with other NCsoft subsidiaries and third-party developers throughout North America to develop and publish innovative online entertainment software products. The company has successfully launched multiple online titles in the last three years and continues to support its franchises, which include Lineage®/Lineage II, City of Heroes®/City of Villains®, Guild Wars/Guild Wars: Factions™/Guild Wars: Nightfall™/Guild Wars: Eye of the North™, and Dungeon Runners™. More information about NCsoft can be found at www.plaync.com.

In addition, the official DirectSong website is now selling the Guild Wars: Eye of the North soundtrack.