World of Warcraft Beta Account Giveaway

Here’s the full press release:

NVIDIA and Blizzard Entertainment Team Up for World of Warcraft

1,000 Beta Accounts for Eagerly Awaited MMORPG Are Up for Grabs Starting Today at www.nzone.com

SANTA CLARA, CA SEPTEMBER 13, 2004 NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA), a worldwide leader in graphics and digital media processors, today announced a collaboration with Blizzard Entertainment® for World of Warcraft®, the highly anticipated massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) set to release this holiday season.

NVIDIA and Blizzard are working together to ready the game for play on NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPUs), the preferred graphics hardware platform for World of Warcraft. The Companies will also engage in strategic co-marketing activities as part of NVIDIA’s (The Way It’s Meant to Be Played) program. To celebrate the collaboration, NVIDIA and Blizzard will randomly distribute 1,000 closed beta accounts to eager gamers hoping to be among the first to experience the game. Sign-ups will be held for one week only, starting today at www.nzone.com.

(Blizzard is one of the world’s most respected game developers, and we’re thrilled to be working with them,) said Bill Rehbock, general manager of content development at NVIDIA. (The blend of Blizzard’s creative talent and NVIDIA graphics processors makes World of Warcraft a sight to behold.)

Building on the success of the Warcraft® series, Blizzard hopes to expand the MMORPG genre by creating a deep, immersive, user-friendly experience that will appeal to both veteran gamers and casual players alike. With World of Warcraft, Blizzard is set to deliver a new type of gaming experience that will grow over time with awe-inspiring visuals enabled by NVIDIA’s latest-generation graphics technology.

(NVIDIA GPUs enrich the gaming experience with faster frame-rates and enhanced visuals,) stated Paul Sams, senior vice president of business operations at Blizzard Entertainment. (With a track record of performance, compatibility and reliability, it’s easy to recommend NVIDIA GPUs for those about to begin their journey into the World of Warcraft.)

As part of NVIDIA’s The Way It’s Meant to Be Played program, World of Warcraft will undergo extensive compatibility testing to ensure a (no hassles) install-and-play experience for gamers equipped with NVIDIA GPUs. Blizzard has optimized the game for NVIDIA hardware and is working with NVIDIA to ensure the game plays well across a broad lineup of GPUs, from the brand new GeForceâ„¢ 6800 series to the GeForce 2. (The investment we’re making with Blizzard in compatibility will pay out in spades as soon as the legions of gamers go from install to play quickly and effortlessly,) added Rehbock.

For additional information about NVIDIA’s The Way It’s Meant to Be Played program, please visit http://www.nzone.com. For more information about World of Warcraft, log onto http://www.blizzard.com/wow.

About Blizzard Entertainment®
Best known for blockbuster hits including the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® series, Blizzard Entertainment (www.blizzard.com), a division of Vivendi Universal Games, is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating many of the industry’s most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard’s track record includes eight #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards*. The company’s free Internet gaming service Battle.net® reigns as the largest in the world, with millions of active users.

About NVIDIA
NVIDIA Corporation is a worldwide leader in graphics and digital media processors. The Company’s products enhance the end-user experience on consumer and professional computing devices. NVIDIA GPUs (graphics processing units), MCPs (media and communications processors), and WMPs (wireless media processors) have broad market reach and are incorporated into a variety of platforms, including consumer and enterprise PCs, notebooks, workstations, PDAs, mobile phones, and video game consoles. NVIDIA is headquartered in Santa Clara, California and employs more than 2,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the Company’s Web site at www.nvidia.com.