Neverwinter Nights Platinum Edition Announced

Straight from my inbox:

ATARI UNVEILS THE NEVERWINTER NIGHTS PLATINUM EDITION

The Original Neverwinter Nights; Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide; Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark All-In-One This October

LOS ANGELES Aug. 4, 2004 Neverwinter Nights™, developed by BioWare Corp. and published by Atari, Inc. under license from Hasbro, Inc., has captured the hearts and minds of PC gamers worldwide with one of the most captivating Dungeons & Dragons® role-playing experiences to ever grace a computer screen. Based in the Forgotten Realms® universe, created and published by Wizards of the Coast, the Neverwinter Nights™ Platinum Edition will give gamers a chance to rediscover the magic, extend the experience or even explore it anew this October.

The Neverwinter Nights Platinum Edition will feature all of the most compelling aspects of Neverwinter Nights gaming including an extensive 100-hour official campaign, which is also playable in multiplayer mode; the amazing Neverwinter Nights Aurora Toolset which lets players create their own adventures, and the Dungeon Masterâ„¢ client that allows players to step into the shoes of the Dungeon Master to tell their own stories; and, most importantly, access to an absolutely thriving player community brimming with content and support.

The Neverwinter Nights Platinum Edition will come complete with both best-selling, official expansion packs Neverwinter Nights™: Shadows of Undrentide and Neverwinter Nights™: Hordes of the Underdark. New features in Shadows of Undrentide include, an extensive single-player campaign, new skills, including Tumble and Appraise; new feats, such as Divine Might, Great Cleave and Bullheaded; new weapons, such as Holy Water Flasks and Choking Powder; five new prestige classes, including the Blackguard, Shadowdancer, and Assassin; new monsters from the D&D® universe, including the Pit Fiend, Cockatrice, Sphinx and Manticore; and more than 50 additional spells.

The second official expansion pack, Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark also includes a new single-player campaign, designed for high-level characters and set amidst the famous city of Waterdeep and the foreboding Underdark. Hordes of the Underdark significantly expands upon the Neverwinter Nights universe, most notably with the addition of Epic Level gameplay. Based upon the D&D game supplement Epic Level Handbookâ„¢, Epic Levels will be available for characters who have reached level 20, allowing them to advance as far as level 40. Hordes of the Underdark also introduces several new prestige classes, including the Shifter, a druidic class specializing in shape shifting; dozens of new feats, such as Epic Reputation, Craft Weapon and Armor Skin; a multitude of new weapons and spells, many designed solely for epic level characters; challenging new creatures pulled straight out of the Underdark, including Mind Flayers, Beholders and Driders; several new character voice sets for even greater character customization; and 17 new epic soundtracks from composer Jeremy Soule.

In addition, both expansion packs equip module makers with additional content for the Neverwinter Nights Aurora Toolset, the groundbreaking software included with the full game that allows players to create their own universes, quests and storylines. The Neverwinter Nights Platinum Edition will also give players a chance to experience some of the most popular and exciting fan-generated modules created using the Neverwinter Nights Aurora Toolset. Modules are complete stand-alone adventures that allow players to take part in entirely new stories and adventures within their favorite Dungeons & Dragons worlds.

Neverwinter Nights Platinum Edition will be available at retail stores nationwide this October for an estimated retail price of $39.95. Additional information about the Neverwinter Nights Platinum Edition can be found online at www.bioware.com.

About BioWare
BioWare Corp. is an electronic entertainment company that develops computer and console games. BioWare’s developers are currently hard at work on Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republicâ„¢ (to be published by LucasArts) for the PC. Development continues on the Neverwinter Nightsâ„¢ expansion pack (to be published by Atari) – Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdarkâ„¢, planned for a fall 2003 release. Three currently untitled projects, one an Xbox title (to be published by Microsoft), the second a PC title (no publisher yet announced), and a third title with no details yet announced, all featuring original BioWare intellectual properties, are also in development. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, released July 18, 2003 for the Xbox is currently enjoying critical praise and great commercial success with its opening weekend launch ending with Microsoft recently proclaiming the title as the fastest-selling Xbox game in history. Previously published projects include: the award winning Neverwinter Nights,â„¢ the genre-defining Baldur’s Gateâ„¢ role playing game series for the PC, MDKâ„¢2 for Dreamcast and PC, MDKâ„¢2: Armageddon for PlayStation®2 and Shattered Steelâ„¢. BioWare information can be found online at www.bioware.com.

About Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS), is a worldwide leader in the trading card game and tabletop roleplaying game categories, and a leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products. The company holds an exclusive patent on trading card games and their method of play (TCGs) and produces one of the world’s best-selling TCGs, Magic: The Gathering®, as well as the celebrated Dungeons & Dragons® roleplaying game. Publisher of adventure games, family card and board games, and electronic media products, Wizards of the Coast is also one of the world’s premier book publishers of fantasy series fiction whose novels have made numerous appearances on The New York Times best-seller list and have sold millions of copies worldwide. For more information, visit the Wizards of the Coast website at wizards.com.

About Hasbro, Inc.
Hasbro (NYSE:HAS) is a worldwide leader in children’s and family leisure time entertainment products and services, including the design, manufacture and marketing of games and toys ranging from traditional to high-tech. Both internationally and in the U.S., its PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, TIGER, and WIZARDS OF THE COAST brands and products provide the highest quality and most recognizable play experiences in the world.

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 games such as Driverâ„¢, Enter the Matrixâ„¢, Neverwinter Nightsâ„¢, Stuntmanâ„¢, Test Drive®, Unreal® Tournament 2004, and Unreal® Championship; and mass-market and children’s games such as Backyard Sportsâ„¢, Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Cluesâ„¢ and Dora the Explorerâ„¢, Civilization®, Dragon Ball Z® and RollerCoaster Tycoon®. Atari, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (Euronext 5257), the largest interactive games publisher in Europe. For more information, visit www.atari.com.

Dungeons and Dragons, D&D, Forgotten Realms, Neverwinter Nights, Shadows of the Undrentide, Hordes of the Underdark and Magic: the Gathering are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., in the U.S.A. and other countries. (c) 2003 Wizards. All rights reserved.