New update, Gracia – Part 1, completely changes the way Lineage II is played

NCsoft®, the world’s leading publisher and developer of online computer games, today announced major changes in its massively multiplayer online (MMO) game, Lineage®II. In an update from The Chaotic Throne™ series called Gracia™ – Part 1, players will find advancing in the game to be dramatically faster. This, plus a host of other changes to enhance the player experience, makes this update much more accessible to newer players than before.

The increase in leveling speed is due in part to a new Vitality system, which rewards the player with an experience bonus for time either spent away from the game or in safe zones. New characters will start out with maximum Vitality, so they can begin improving their character’s advancement within minutes.  An increase in rewards for accomplishing quests, battling boss creatures, as well as greater accessibility of items also enable players to increase their character’s level more quickly.

“Gracia represents a huge change to Lineage II,” said Tim Tan, NCsoft’s North American producer. “The increase in leveling speed allows players to create new characters and advance nearly twice as fast as before. This will allow players to experience the meat of Lineage II quickly, giving them the ability to visit new and exciting areas and cool high-level content much quicker than before. While this game is still a hardcore game, these changes with Gracia – Part 1 make the game much more accessible to new players. I hope gamers will take another look at what Lineage II has to offer.”
Continuing the storyline and changes brought with the earlier expansions, this first of three updates involving the land of Gracia, introduces a new terror with the strange dream-like inter-dimensional world of Kamaloka. Adventurers of varying levels can easily travel to Kamaloka and face a series of incredibly potent creatures that are tailored to the experience of the players. The expansion also offers a selection of new and improved skills, many new items, and improvements to the Cruma Tower, as well as other hunting zones.

Lineage II is known as the gaming market’s premier player-versus-player (PvP) online role-playing game, with a customer reach of more than 19 million players worldwide.

The Lineage II 4th Anniversary Edition pack is now available at retail. For more information about the retail box contents and where to purchase go to: www.lineage2.com/4thanniv.html. To find out more about the game, please visit the Lineage II web site at: www.lineage2.com.

OGPlanet, an innovative provider of multiplayer online games is giving players in Albatross18, its fantasy role-playing golf game, a chance to win great prizes just by playing.
Starting Aug. 7, OGPlanet will keep track of all the Albatross18 holes played through Thursday, Sept. 4. Players will receive special in-game items based on the amount of holes they play, and players who reach or surpass 2,000 holes by Sept. 4 will be entered to win a 20-inch computer monitor.
The prizes will be awarded as follows:

200 Holes - 10 Power Milk Boxes
600 Holes - 6 Stat Rings
1,000 Holes - 10 Duostar Nerve Stabilizers and 10 Duostar Lucky Pangyas
1,400 Holes - 1 stack of Mr. eCards
2,000 Holes - Chance to win a 20-inch computer monitor

About Albatross18
Albatross18 incorporates fantasy role-playing game elements to bring an entirely new spin to the timeless game of golf. This massively multiplayer online game is set in the magical kingdom of Pangya, and features colorful costumes, unique clubs, memorable characters and a multitude of special shots and courses. For more information, visit www.ogplanet.com

Beta Testers Find Virtual World Brings the Family Together For Shared Playtime

PLANO, TEXAS- Aug 06, 2008 - Online entertainment company KingsIsle Entertainment, Inc announced the successful completion of closed beta testing for virtual world Wizard101. The final beta testing phase has now been opened to the general public at www.wizard101.com. Wizard101, which emphasizes magical adventure and card-collecting in an online 3D world of Wizards, is expected to officially launch within the next month.

“We more than doubled our anticipated beta audience for Wizard101,” said KingsIsle CEO Elie Akilian. “It turns out that the solid game mechanics and whimsical fantasy environment appeal even beyond the tween audience. We’ve had a great response from testers that included everyone from grandmas who play with a grandchild sitting in their lap to twenty-something traditional gamers.”
Wizard101’s collaborative play style supports an environment where players benefit from working together in adventure quests. A tiered chat system and pre-defined character name generator create a safe community for younger players while an Arena provides a spot for more traditional gamers to show off their player versus player spell-casting skills. As they adventure, players can upgrade their costume and magical accessories, adopt bizarre pets, solve puzzles and play mini-games. At launch, Wizard101 will be free to play, with advanced play content available by subscription.

KingsIsle had Wizard101 under development for three years before the beta period, which means testers experienced a very fully fleshed out game with detailed graphics, fantastic worlds and fully-functional game play. There has been an increasing online buzz about Wizard101. Testers, including those below from esteemed virtual community The Syndicate® have been saying things like:
“Wizard101 is a great game for the whole family, especially for kids. I watch my 6 year old AND my 14 year old laughing with each other instead of irritating one another, as brothers tend to do. I play right along side of my kids.” “Having been a gamer for 30 years now, playing with my kids has to be the most fun I have ever had … They enjoy the ability to get many different spells and see all the amazing animations, and both are always wanting to start new wizards to try the others. I think the variety of schools and the spells that goes with them makes Wizard101 stand out over [other online games].”

Anyone with a PC who would like to join the final beta testing phase can now sign up at www.wizard101.com and instantly download and install the initial software to join the large cast of good, bad, and frequently silly in-game characters and other players. Beta testers play the game for free and provide feedback to the game’s creators leading up to the official launch.

For additional details go to www.wizard101.com.

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SAN DIEGO, CA – June 2, 2008 – The EverQuest ^® franchise, the groundbreaking, award-winning fantasy series that redefined massively multiplayer online (MMO) video games for a generation of gamers around the globe, is bringing a near decade of success back to millions of fans with a new Living Legacy program from Sony Online Entertainment LLC, which will feature in-game events, promotions, game updates and more.

Living Legacy, announced today, is a brand-new initiative aimed at the millions of players who have experienced the vast, engaging online worlds of EverQuest ^® (EQ) and EverQuest^® II (EQII) since the original EQ game was launched in 1999. The celebration starts today and continues through the end of September. As part of the promotion, both EQ and EQII subscribers with inactive accounts who left in good standing will be able to log back in to the games and play for free until the end of July.

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AUSTIN, Texas, May 29, 2008— NCsoft^® Corporation (KSE: 036570.KS), the world’s leading developer and publisher of online computer games, announces the promotion of Lisa Bell-Cabrera to the position of vice president of sales for the company’s North American business.

Bell-Cabrera is a long-time veteran of the games industry and has been working as national sales manager at NCsoft since 2005. In her new position, she’ll be overseeing strategic sales initiatives across multiple sales channels in North and South America.

Prior to her time at NCsoft, Bell-Cabrera served as vice president of sales at Atari, director of sales at GT Interactive and director of market development at Go Daddy.

“This is my dream job,” said Bell-Cabrera. “The online gaming industry is moving at an incredible pace these days and keeping up with how our customers make their purchase decisions requires a willingness to try new things. That’s what NCsoft is all about. There couldn’t be a better opportunity in this business.”

“I couldn’t be more pleased with Lisa’s performance here at NCsoft,” said Chris Chung, president of NCsoft North America. “She has a great track record in strengthening our relationships with our retail partners. Also, I’m confident in her ability to lead the effort to grow digital distribution, international sales and affiliate label business within our organization. With her experience in the gaming industry and her long-standing relationships with key partners, this is a perfect match for NCsoft.”

Ravenwood School of Magical Arts Opens for Enrollment this Summer
Virtual World Designed Especially for Teens and Tweens

Online entertainment company KingsIsle Entertainment, Inc. today announced plans for Wizard101, an elaborate 3D virtual world in which magic and sorcery come to life as players embark on a quest that involves a massive cast of good, evil and frequently silly characters. Designed to fill the void between online play sites for the very young and Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) games with mature adult interaction, Wizard101 (www.wizard101.com) puts players in the fantasy role of a Wizard apprentice at the Ravenwood School of Magical Arts.

“While the fantasy adventure storyline and collectible card elements of Wizard101 have broad appeal, as a parent I take the responsibility of creating a positive online environment for younger players very seriously,” said KingsIsle CEO Elie Akilian. “Wizard101 is a destination for tweens and teens that’s creative and witty, but still safe. We’ve set the bar high for this game.”

J. Todd Coleman, an MMO veteran and the creative mind behind Wizard101, is heading up development of the game, which has been in the works for three years. In the game, players will adventure through magical 3D environments as they learn, collect and cast spells summoning fantastic cinematic creatures. Players can also collect bizarre pets and magical artifacts, solve puzzles, make friends, play mini games, and more.

Features include:
· Extensive magical 3D world where players team up with friends and carry out quests to save Wizard City from the forces of Evil.
· Collectible card-style duels that come to cinematic life as players cast spells alongside fellow and rival students.
· More than 101 collectible spells summon zany creatures such as Humongofrog, Evil Snowman and Stormzilla.
· Seven different schools of magic, each with its own unique style and storyline.
· Many witty scenarios and characters based on history, mythology and pop culture.
· The ability to adopt magical pets, like a tiny dragon or flying pig.
· Puzzles and mini-games that challenge the player to earn crystals and enchanted items.
· New outfits and accessories to earn for your customizable Wizard character.

Wizard101 will launch in the third quarter of 2008 and is not yet rated. For additional details go to www.wizard101.com.

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NCsoft has released Chunk 3, a content update for Dungeon Runners, a free-to-play and download game where players’ rampage through satire drenched dungeons destroying monsters and collecting loot. Chunk 3 includes beefed up membership benefits, a variety of new skills, quests, player versus player (PvP) system improvements and quality of life enhancements.

Chunk 3 makes being a Dungeon Runners Member much more beneficial compared to non-Members. Currently, the Membership level costs $4.99 per month and includes advertisement-free play, an exclusive server, extensive potion stacking, larger bank storage and access to the most powerful items, weapons and armor. With the release of Chunk 3, Membership level players are granted a fifteen percent experience (XP) boost over free players, and they will gain fifteen percent more gold. Additionally, Members will receive discounts when using “Kings Coin” to purchase items, receive more mythic and rare items drops compared to non-Members, and receive additional bank pages at level 50 and level 100.

“It is important that the membership level players get great value from their financial commitment to Dungeon Runners, regardless of the fact that anyone can be a monthly Member for the cost of a latte,” said Stephen Nichols NCsoft’s producer and lead programmer for Dungeon Runners. “Dungeon Runners continues to great game to play for free because of its robust content features you would find in most full-priced MMOGs, and with this Chunk, we have greater content coming out including quite a few highly requested PvP improvements and a set of fun and funny skills. This Chunk is also is paving the way to the cool features coming up this summer with the release of the Dungeon Runners retail pack which will include the enigmatic Bling Gnome.”

The Bling Gnome is sidekick that will summon a gnomish gangster creature who can pick up all your gold for quick storage, and can even convert nearby loot into gold. However, the Bling Gnome will only be available for those that purchase the Dungeon Runners retail pack, which will be on store shelves later this year.

Dungeon Runners’ PvP battles will now be more profitable for winners (and losers) with winners receiving three Kings Coin and losers receiving one. Additionally, the PvP brawls will be tracked and recorded on an XML data feed where players can view their battle stats in bracketed leader boards based on rating as well as win-count. Also, Chunk 3 improves PvP matchmaking and balance to make sure battles are fair and easy to start.

Chunk 3 also adds five new skills for players to master including “Barf-O-Rama” which upgrades poison ranged skills. Each time an enemy takes poison damage from a player’s poison ranged skills “Barf-O-Rama” improves the chance that enemies will become ill and start barfing. Once an enemy starts to barf, other nearby enemies may get disgusted and start barfing too. Each barfing enemy will take poison damage over time and may also get knocked back due to their heaving. We’ve also added some item-specific skills, like “Dark Conniption”, which requires a shield, and “Shiver Shot”, which requires a ranged weapon.

The new content expansion also adds quests to the Shadow’s Embrace and Balzack’s Burrow dungeons as well as an improved social window, a “Noob” Channel and a variety of balance improvements, weapons, armor and loot. Chunk 3 also features revisions to tutorial and new player area quests. Some of the new weapons and armor sets have upgraded particle effects. Finally, every time a quest is completed a “15% More Cowbell” modifier is granted, which increases the experience earned by killing monsters by fifteen percent for five minutes.

To download Dungeon Runners for free or find out more information on Chunk 3, go to: www.dungeonrunners.com

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Massive Battles to Take Place on Dedicated Nation War Serve Each Day

El Segundo, Calif.- May 15, 2008 - Beginning Thursday, May 15, players in OGPlanet’s massively multiplayer online role-playing game CABAL ONLINE will be able to engage in warfare on a colossal scale with the launch of the Nation War server.

The Nation War server will be dedicated to the epic battle between the two nations represented in CABAL; Capella and Procyon. Each day, at 6 p.m. Pacific time, 100 warriors from each nation will struggle to overtake outposts controlled by massively powerful guardians, kill off the invaders from the other nation, and ultimately take control of the opposing nation’s capitol to control the battlefield.

“We’re continuously developing new ways to engage and challenge CABAL players,” said Don Choi, COO of OGPlanet. “This massive battle between opposing nations will take player vs. player combat to a whole new level.”

In order to enter the Nation War server, players must have leveled their characters to at least level 95, and must pay 1,000,000 Alz (CABAL’s in-game currency). After a 30-minute preparation period, during which players can organize themselves, stock up on their needed items and plan strategies, the battle begins.

During Nation War, players’ characters automatically receive greatly increased health, and are dressed in their respective national uniforms for easy identification on the battlefield. Each team begins the game with a set number of points, and as outposts are conquered and occupied, points are accumulated. These points can then be used to activate Force Towers, and Legacy Weapons which can be wielded by players during the battle will appear.

The Nation War will end when one nation overtakes the other nation’s base and destroys all its enemies. If neither nation accomplishes this goal, points earned by killing enemy players or by occupying enemy bases and neutral outposts will decide the winner.

Once the Nation War has ended, each participant will receive Alz and items proportionate to their contributions to the war. On Saturdays, as well as designated special occasions, Mission Nation War will take place. Every member of the victorious nation, not just those who actually participated in the fight, will receive rewards after these special battles.

About CABAL ONLINE

In CABAL ONLINE, players are called upon to protect the people of Nevareth from an evil entity known as CABAL. Centuries ago, the evil CABAL all but destroyed Nevareth, but the land was saved and rebuilt by seven great masters wielding the ancient abilities of Force Power. Nearly a thousand years later, CABAL has returned, and it is up to players to master the intricacies of the Force Power and use them to save Nevareth.

Set in a diverse environment that includes ice temples, forgotten ruins, desert hideaways, mutant forests and volcanic citadels, CABAL engages players with dynamic quests that tie-in beautifully to the game’s storyline and more than 300 dungeons to explore.

CABAL includes both Player vs. Environment and Player vs. Player gameplay, with some servers designated specifically for PvP combat. An option that allows players to manually attack, rather than auto-attacking targets, provides additional control and accuracy, which is especially noticeable in PvP combat. In a unique approach to moderating PvP combat, players who continuously kill, or “gank,” lower-level players will be transported to an in-game jail, where they will wander a seemingly endless maze until their sentence is complete.

CABAL ONLINE can be downloaded at http://cabal.ogplanet.com/.