Nightfall Debuted To Mass Acclaim and Record-Breaking Numbers in Global Event Last Weekend
Nearly 500,000 Fans Played More Than Four Million Hours in Landmark Gaming Event
Brighton, England (5th October, 2006) – As the 27th October release date draws near for one of the year’s most-anticipated games, nearly half a million players around the world got their first taste of Guild Wars Nightfall™ in last weekend’s World Preview Event. Announced today by ArenaNet®, developer of the award-winning franchise Guild Wars®, game players spent an average of 8.5 hours each over the course of the weekend traversing the new Guild Wars Nightfall continent of Elona, sampling the game’s new features, mechanics and missions, and shattering the previous attendance record of three million hours.
“We knew we had struck a chord with our players as the Guild Wars Nightfall World Preview Event got underway,” says Mike O’Brien, co-founder of ArenaNet. “Probably receiving the most attention has been the introduction of Heroes, a feature which allows players to take their own customisable heroes with them into battle – Heroes which follow player direction in skill and item usage, and gain experience with the player throughout the game. Heroes is a wildly popular component to this game that we have spent a significant amount of time developing, and we are thrilled that 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 role playing 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, and the Guild Wars Nightfall Standard Edition and Guild Wars Nightfall Collector’s Edition will be released worldwide on 27th October, 2006.
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 Factions™, 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 Europe
NCsoft Europe (NC-E) is headquartered in Brighton, England and is part of Korea-based NCsoft Corporation, the world’s leading developer and publisher of online games. NCsoft has already successfully established itself in North America, Japan, Taiwan, China and Thailand. NC-E began operations on 1st September 2004 and serves as a central hub for all NCsoft sales, marketing and distribution operations in Europe, via its European distribution network. NC-E currently services Auto Assault®, Lineage® II, City of Heroes®, City of Villains™, Guild Wars® and Guild Wars Factions™ in Europe. More information about NCsoft Europe can be found at http://www.plaync.com
