Sony’s New Label to Publish Asheron’s Call Titles

The full press release:

SONY ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES NEW DISTRIBUTION LABEL, RELEASES NEW ASHERON’S CALL TITLES

Station Publishing Brings Turbine’s MMORPG Games Back to Retail Channel

SAN DIEGO, CA January 18, 2005 Sony Online Entertainment Inc. (SOE), a worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online (MMO) gaming, today announced the formation of Station Publishing, a new distribution label within the company. Station Publishing will focus on distributing interactive entertainment products licensed from external content providers for the PC and game console market. The first titles due from Station Publishing will be Turbine Entertainment Software’s Asheron’s Call®: Throne of Destinyâ„¢ and Asheron’s Call® 2: Legionsâ„¢.

“Station Publishing is dedicated to growing the overall Sony Online Entertainment product catalog with titles produced outside of our own studios,” said John Smedley, president, Sony Online Entertainment. “This new label gives Sony Online Entertainment the ability to work with talented developers and publishers and to give them access to the high caliber retail and marketing resources that we have developed over the past six years. Turbine’s Asheron’s Call games are the perfect titles to be the first on this new label. The AC franchise has attracted hundreds of thousands of players to the online medium over the years, and SOE is very happy to be distributing these high quality products.”

“Having Sony Online Entertainment distributing the titles produced and published by Turbine gives us direct access to the strongest retailers in North America,” said Jason Bell, executive vice president, Turbine Entertainment Software. “We’re excited to see our games get onto store shelves and into the hands of our passionate and loyal players.”

Throne of Destiny is the third installment in the original 3D massively multiplayer online role playing game series Asheron’s Call, first launched to critical acclaim in November 1999. In the new expansion pack, players will enjoy a graphics upgrade, a new playable race, the Viamontians, and a challenge to experienced gamers with a new high-level play system that rewards players with skill credits.

Legions is the first follow-up to the graphically ground-breaking MMORPG Asheron’s Call 2: Fallen Kings. Legions will provide players with an ambitious new storyline complete with an extensive array of new content for hours and hours of additional online adventuring. The expansion provides players with a new playable race, the mystical Empyreans, a massive new continent shrouded in mystery and an innovative new hero system.

Asheron’s Call: Throne of Destiny and Asheron’s Call 2: Legions are scheduled to hit retail shelves in the first half of 2005.

About Turbine Entertainment Software

Turbine Entertainment Software Corp. (Turbine) is a premier provider of online subscription entertainment. With studios in Westwood, Mass. and Santa Monica, the company is the largest privately held online games studio in North America. Turbine’s proprietary technology, the Turbine Engine®, generates some of the most sophisticated 3D graphics in persistent world games, producing such memorable projects as Asheron’s Call®, Asheron’s Call: Dark Majesty® and Asheron’s Call 2: Fallen Kings®. Turbine is currently producing The Lord of the Ringsâ„¢: Middle-Earthâ„¢ Online, Dungeons & Dragons® Online, Asheron’s Call: Throne of Destinyâ„¢ and Asheron’s Call 2: Legionsâ„¢. For more information, visit the company’s web site at www.turbinegames.com.

About Sony Online Entertainment

Sony Online Entertainment Inc. (SOE), a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Digital Inc., is a recognized worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online games, with a subscriber base of over 800,000 active accounts around the globe. SOE creates, develops and provides compelling entertainment for the personal computer, online, game console and wireless markets. Known for its blockbuster franchises, EverQuest® and PlanetSide®, as well as for developing Star Wars Galaxies™: An Empire Divided™, SOE continues to redefine the business of online gaming and the creation of active player communities while introducing new genres on various entertainment platforms. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, with an additional development studio in Austin, TX, SOE has an array of cutting-edge online games in development.