Guild Wars Nightfall Weekend Event Sets Records

ArenaNet issued a press release earlier this morning announcing that nearly a half million players experienced last weekend’s World Preview Event for Guild Wars Nightfall.

Guild Wars Nightfall Debuts to Mass Acclaim and Record-Breaking Numbers in Weekend Global Event

Nearly 500,000 Fans Played more than Four Million Hours in Landmark Gaming Event!

October 5, 2006 (BELLEVUE, WA) With the October 27, 2006 release of Guild Wars® Nightfallâ„¢ drawing close, nearly half a million players around the world got their first taste of one of the year’s most-anticipated games in last weekend’s World Preview Event. Players spent an average of 8.5 hours each over the course of the weekend, announced ArenaNet®, developer of the award-winning Guild Wars franchise, amassing more than four million total hours of game play. This weekend’s numbers shattered the previous attendance record of three million hours set during the Guild Wars Factionsâ„¢ preview event earlier this year, as fans immersed themselves in the new Guild Wars Nightfall continent of Elona, sampling the game’s new features, mechanics, and missions.

“We knew we had struck a chord with our players as soon as the Nightfall World Preview Event got underway,” said Mike O’Brien, co-founder of ArenaNet. “Their response has been amazingly positive to everything in the game; especially the Heroes.” Heroes are a new feature of Guild Wars Nightfall. They are non-player characters integral to the storyline that players can customize and control throughout the game. “Heroes gain experience, follow player direction in battle, and can be equipped with skills, weapons, and even secondary professions of the player’s choice, said O’Brien. “They are a wildly popular component to this game that we’ve spent significant time developing, and we’re thrilled our fans have responded to it the way they have.”
Guild Wars, an instant bestseller in North America and Europe upon its release in April 2005, and Guild Wars Factions, the number one game in both North America and Europe earlier this year, are global online roleplaying games. In Guild Wars Nightfall you’ll explore opulent cities, brave savage coasts, delve deep into ancient monuments, and find your way across poisonous deserts as you determine the fate of the new realm of Elona. The Guild Wars Nightfall Prerelease Bonus Pack is available in retail stores worldwide now. The Guild Wars Nightfall Standard Edition and Guild Wars Nightfall Collector’s Edition will be released worldwide on October 27, 2006.
For more information, please contact Jenny Bendel at ArenaNet at 425.372.5041 or jenny@arena.net.

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 and Guild Wars Factionsâ„¢, are global online roleplaying 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 that include Lineage®/Lineage II, City of Heroes®/City of Villains®, Guild Wars/Guild Wars Factions and Auto Assault®. More information about NCsoft can be found at http://www.plaync.com.