The world's most popular super-powered hero MMORPG is subject to a host of new threats today as the latest series of guest-authored Mission Architect arcs is rolled out to eager City of Heroes fans. These highly customized scenarios have been crafted by some of the most influential writers and game designers in the industry and continue to uphold the high-quality of work that fans have come to expect from Mission Architect and the guest author program.
The three latest Guest Author missions are available now and can be found by searching for mission titles through the Mission Architect search functionality. Since its introduction in April 2009, the Mission Architect tool has pioneered the way players enjoy new game content - by creating it themselves and sharing their creations with others. With the ability to tell their own story and have others experience it, players have generated more than 62,000 new arcs.
Author: Austin Grossman, a game designer and writer whose handiwork spans from System Shock and Deus Ex to his novel Soon I Will Be Invincible.
Title: Return of the Crime Cabal
Description: Three new villains have appeared to threaten Paragon City. Darkhelm, Spideractive, and the Carbon Countess are a diabolical alliance of science, magic, and technology. Together they are the Crime Cabal! But who are they? Where do they come from? To defeat them, you must learn their story.
Author: Mercedes Lackey, author of more than 75 books including the Heralds of Valdemar series.
Title: Mystery on the Boardwalk
Description: Unbelievable Man is stuck on the phone with his needy girlfriend, so the Heroic ATemps Temp Agency has sent you over to handle this. It's only a little haunting, how hard can it be?
Author: Troy Hickman, two-time Eisner Award nominee for his comic book Common Grounds.
Title: A Little Night Music
Description: Citadel needs your assistance. The Fifth Column have resurrected the dreaded WWII villain Hacktmusik, and he in turn has kidnapped Jimmy Preston. Citadel needs you to enter the dreamworld and save his young friend... and hopefully the world. You say you're not afraid? You will be...
For more information about the City of Heroes Mission Architect, please visit http://www.cityofheroes.com/game_info/mission_architect/overview.html
About NCsoft
NCsoft, headquartered in Seoul, Korea, is the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games, including the critically acclaimed Aion®, Lineage®, Guild Wars®, City of Heroes® and Exteel® franchises. NCsoft West is a division of NCsoft that holds operating responsibilities for North America, Europe, South America, and Australia/New Zealand. More information can be found at http://us.ncsoft.com
NCsoft, the interlocking NC logo, PlayNC, Lineage, Guild Wars, City of Heroes, Aion, and all associated logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of NCsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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BRIGHTON, United Kingdom - 25. September, 2009 - NCsoft®, the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), today released, Aion®, its highly anticipated massively multiplayer online role-playing game in retailers across Europe. The entertainment phenomenon that has taken Asia by storm and has wowed hundreds of thousands of beta testers in Europe and North America has finally arrived.
In Aion, gamers explore a celestial world of breath-taking beauty and epic adventure. Players create either winged Elyos or Asmodian avatars, sworn enemy races that discover a common foe: the twisted and depraved Balaur. Aion is among the biggest MMO games in the East and has wowed millions of gamers with its breathtaking graphics, innovative gameplay and engrossing story.
"We're extremely excited to finally deliver the game to Western audiences and believe they will enjoy Aion as much as Eastern players have," said Jaeho Lee, CEO NCsoft West. "The effort we put into Westernising Aion is unprecedented in our industry. Players will experience a completely rewritten storyline spanning more than two-million words, along with a variety of enhancements specifically for Western audiences."
Consumer excitement for Aion has been steadily building in the recent months leading up to the game's launch. Aion's preorder sales have exceeded expectations, and the game has remained ranked among the top games on both Steam and Direct to Drive throughout the preorder period. Having sold nearly 450,000 copies before launch, Aion has established the benchmark as the biggest MMO release of the year. Aion is available at key retailers across Europe, please visit the official 'Where to Buy' page for a complete list at www.aiononline.com/retail/.
Unlike any MMO before it, Aion is a uniquely crafted online experience where flight offers much more than just a way to explore the landscape - it is a strategic and integral part of combat, quests, and exploration. Players will dive into battle and plunge through thousands of unique, story-driven quests, all while trying to save a world literally shattered in half from centuries of brutal conflict. Using one of the most flexible and in-depth character customisation systems ever featured in an MMO, players will be able to create genuinely distinct characters and explore a visually stunning world of ethereal beauty brimming with otherworldly inhabitants, mysterious enemies, and ancient secrets.
About NCsoft
NCsoft, headquartered in Seoul, Korea, is the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games, including the critically acclaimed City of Heroes®, Guild Wars® and Lineage® franchises. NCsoft West is a division of NCsoft which holds operating responsibilities for North America, Europe, South America and Australia/New Zealand. More information can be found at http://eu.ncsoft.com.
SEATTLE, Washington - September 22, 2009 - The entertainment phenomenon that has taken Asia by storm and has wowed hundreds of thousands of beta testers in North America and Europe has finally arrived. NCsoft®, the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), today released, Aion™, its highly anticipated massively multiplayer online (MMO) game in retailers across North America.
In Aion, gamers explore a celestial world of breath-taking beauty and epic adventure. Players create either winged Elyos or Asmodian avatars, sworn enemy races that discover a common foe: the twisted and depraved Balaur. Aion is among the biggest MMO games in the East and has wowed millions of gamers with its breathtaking graphics, innovative gameplay and engrossing story.
"We're extremely excited to finally deliver the game to Western audiences and believe they will enjoy Aion as much as Eastern players have," said Jaeho Lee, CEO NCsoft West. "The effort we put into Westernizing Aion is unprecedented in our industry. Players will experience a completely rewritten storyline spanning more than two-million words, along with a variety of enhancements specifically for Western audiences."
Consumer excitement for Aion has been steadily building in the recent months leading up to the game's launch. Aion's preorder sales have exceeded expectations, and the game has remained ranked among the top games on both Steam and Direct to Drive throughout the preorder period. Having sold nearly 450,000 copies before launch, Aion has established the benchmark as the biggest MMO release of the year. Aion is available at retailers such as NCsoft.com, Amazon, Best Buy, EB Games Canada, Fry's Electronics, GameStop, Steam, Target and Wal-Mart.
Unlike any MMO before it, Aion is a uniquely crafted online experience where flight offers much more than just a way to explore the landscape - it is a strategic and integral part of combat, quests, and exploration. Players will dive into battle and plunge through thousands of unique, story-driven quests, all while trying to save a world literally shattered in half from centuries of brutal conflict. Using one of the most flexible and in-depth character customization systems ever featured in an MMO, players will be able to create genuinely distinct characters and explore a visually stunning world of ethereal beauty brimming with otherworldly inhabitants, mysterious enemies, and ancient secrets.
About NCsoft
NCsoft, headquartered in Seoul, Korea, is the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games, including the critically acclaimed Lineage®, Guild Wars®, and City of Heroes® franchises. NCsoft West is a division of NCsoft that holds operating responsibilities for North America, Europe, South America, and Australia/New Zealand. More information can be found at http://us.ncsoft.com.
NCsoft, the interlocking NC logo, PlayNC, Lineage, Guild Wars, City of Heroes, Aion, and all associated logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of NCsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
SEATTLE, Washington - September 16, 2009 - NCsoft®, the premier publisher and developer of online computer games, and Paragon Studios™, home of the longest-running comic book inspired massively multiplayer online (MMO) game, City of Heroes®, today announced the launch of Issue 16: Power Spectrum.
]]> The cornerstone of Issue 16: Power Spectrum is Powers Customization, the most player-requested feature since the game's launch. Powers Customization and other features launched in its five-year history, including the revolutionary Mission Architect user-generated content system, make City of Heroes the most flexible and customizable MMO available today.Powers Customization enables players to customize the look of the powers their in-game hero and villain avatars use by allowing them to specify the color and hues of the powers' special effects. In addition, Issue 16: Power Spectrum reveals major refinements to the game's lauded character creator to allow players unprecedented levels of personal customization options in an easy to navigate interface. Other features in this update include more difficulty options, allowing players to tailor their combat experience for each play session; more powersets available to more archetypes and enhancements to the game's Side-Kicking system, dubbed "Super Side-kicking," which enables new players to fight alongside veteran players and hold their own.
"We are thrilled to be able to deliver yet another major player-requested feature with Power Spectrum," said Matt Miller, Senior Lead Designer for the City of Heroes franchise. "We aim to build the most customizable gameplay experience in any MMO for our players. Adding Powers Customization to our genre-defining character creator, as well as user-generated content through Mission Architect, shows we are willing and able to give our players what they want."
Issue 16: Power Spectrum is free to current City of Heroes subscribers and available now. For more information about City of Heroes, go to http://www.cityofheroes.com.
About NCsoft
NCsoft, headquartered in Seoul, Korea, is the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games, including the critically acclaimed City of Heroes®, Guild Wars® and Lineage® franchises. NCsoft West is a division of NCsoft which holds operating responsibilities for North America, Europe, South America and Australia/New Zealand. More information can be found at http://us.ncsoft.com.
About Paragon Studios
Paragon Studios is a wholly owned development studio of NCsoft West and is dedicated to the growth of the City of Heroes franchise. Located in Mountain View, California, the team at Paragon Studios brings the world of comic books alive in a massively multiplayer 3D online universe. For more about Paragon Studios, visit http://paragonstudios.com.
SEATTLE, Washington-June 30, 2009-NCsoft®, the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), today launched Issue 15: Anniversary, the next exciting chapter of City of Heroes®, the premier comic-book inspired MMO. Commemorating the game's recent five-year anniversary celebration, Issue 15: Anniversary brings City of Heroes its 15th major free content update introducing players to all-new content, missions, features and customization tools that continue to place City of Heroes at the forefront of the evolving MMO genre.
Issue 15: Anniversary allows City of Heroes to come to life with more in-depth gameplay experiences and storytelling options as it marks the revival of The 5th Column, the most popular villain group, through 10 new action-packed missions. Players will participate in a Hero Task Force or a Villain Strike Force, in order to uncover the mystery behind this long dormant foe. Along with the new missions, players can now customize their characters with more than 20 extra character faces, Vines and Ulterior themed costume sets and several new costume change emotes - visual animations that come to life when characters transition between costumes within the game.
Additionally, Issue 15: Anniversary introduces players to new mission creation enhancements, testing tools and navigation services as part of the recently launched Mission Architect system. These features allow players to more easily create and polish their own unique custom content before sharing it with the public, and help streamline the process of searching through user-generated missions. Since the release of City of Heroes' Mission Architect system, two months ago, users have developed and published more than 200,000 stories for the community to enjoy.
Join millions of super powered heroes and villains and become your own unique super powered hero to save the world, or an infamous villain seeking to destroy it. City of Heroes is rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB. For more information about City of Heroes and specifics on Issue 15: Anniversary go to http://www.cityofheroes.com.
About NCsoft
NCsoft, headquartered in Seoul, Korea, is the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games, including the critically acclaimed City of Heroes®, Guild Wars® and Lineage® franchises. NCsoft West is a division of NCsoft which holds operating responsibilities for North America, Europe, South America and Australia/New Zealand. More information can be found at http://us.ncsoft.com.
About Paragon Studios
Paragon Studios is a wholly owned development studio of NCsoft West and is dedicated to the growth of the City of Heroes franchise. Located in Mountain View, California, the team at Paragon Studios brings the world of comic books alive in a massively multiplayer 3D online universe. For more about Paragon Studios, visit http://paragonstudios.com. For more information about City of Heroes, go to http://www.cityofheroes.com.
NCsoft, the interlocking NC logo, Lineage, Guild Wars, City of Heroes, and all associated logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of NCsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
As a special promotion in North America, Aion preorder participants will have a chance to win an Alienware Area-51® m15x gaming notebook (US$2,324), and other great prizes such as HIS Hightech ATI Radeon™ HD video cards (US$164.99 and US$79.99) and one of ten yearly subscriptions to Aion. In order to qualify to win, players must preorder and participate in the beta events. For complete terms and conditions go to http://www.aiononline.com/preorder.
To take advantage of the special preorder promotion and secure their copy of Aion, players may visit one of several participating retailers, including GameStop, Amazon and Best Buy. For complete Aion preorder program details, visit http://www.aiononline.com/preorder.
For more information about Aion go to http://www.aiononline.com. For more news about NCsoft, go to http://us.ncsoft.com/en/news/.
About NCsoft
NCsoft, headquartered in Seoul, Korea, is the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games, including the critically acclaimed Lineage®, Guild Wars®, and City of Heroes® franchises. NCsoft West is a division of NCsoft that holds operating responsibilities for North America, Europe, South America, and Australia/New Zealand. More information can be found at http://us.ncsoft.com.
NCsoft, the interlocking NC logo, Lineage, Guild Wars, City of Heroes, Aion, and all associated logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of NCsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Additional in-game items include two exclusive character animations, called emotes, as well as a special dye color to customize player avatars' equipment. Opening the box uncovers two dual-sided posters depicting maps of Elysea and Asmodae, the home regions of the two player races. The Aion Limited Collector's Edition box also contains the official Aion soundtrack by composer Yang Bang-Ean (known as Ryo Kunihiko in Japan), the Aion game client on two DVDs, a quick reference card, and a game manual.
Aion's standard version first production run is packaged in a premium SteelBook™ metal case, which includes the game DVDs, a user manual, and a quick reference card.
In Aion, players experience the thrill of flight as a strategic and integral part of gameplay that touches combat, quests, and exploration. In addition to unprecedented character customization and unmatched visuals, Aion invites players to soak up its breath-taking world through exploration of more than 1,500 quests, intense visceral combat, and a deep crafting system. For the first time in an MMO, Aion introduces a new game system that pits players against each other and their environment simultaneously in an otherworld zone called the Abyss.
The Aion Limited Collector's Edition will sell at an anticipated price of US$69.99, while the Aion standard edition will sell at an anticipated price of US$49.99. Both retail packages include 30 days of game time. After 30 days, a monthly subscription fee of US$14.99 for the game service will apply. Other pricing options will also be available. Pre-order purchases, available at retail stores June 9, can be applied to the Aion Limited Collector's Edition or the standard edition of Aion. Details about pre-order benefits and subscription pricing options for Aion will be announced at a later date.
For more information about Aion go to http://www.aiononline.com. For more news about NCsoft, go to http://us.ncsoft.com/en/news/ or http://us.ncsoft.com/en/news/press-releases.
About NCsoft
NCsoft, headquartered in Seoul, Korea, is the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games, including the critically acclaimed Lineage®, Guild Wars®, and City of Heroes® franchises. NCsoft West is a division of NCsoft that holds operating responsibilities for North America, Europe, South America, and Australia/New Zealand. More information can be found at http://us.ncsoft.com.
NCsoft, the interlocking NC logo, PlayNC, Lineage, Guild Wars, City of Heroes, Aion, and all associated logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of NCsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
SEATTLE, Washington - May 12, 2009 - NCsoft®, the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), and Paragon Studios™, the developer of City of Heroes®, today announced the development of City of Heroes Going Rogue™, the first major expansion for the City of Heroes franchise since the launch of City of Villains® in 2005. As the name implies, Going Rogue will blur the line between heroes and villains in the first and longest-running super-powered comic book MMO game.
City of Heroes Going Rogue will introduce a new alignment system that helps players explore the shades of gray that lie between good and evil. For the first time, hero characters can become villains and vice versa, enabling hero archetypes to cross over to the Rogue Isles™ and villain archetypes to experience Paragon City™. Clearly marked missions, in addition to behaviors and decisions made by the player, will move a hero's or villain's moral compass, which could eventually change the hero's or villain's alignment. Going Rogue will also introduce two primary new fictional characters representative of this alignment shift in the game's lore: Maelstrom, a pistol-wielding hero gone rogue, and Desdemona, a demon-summoning villain who has been redeemed.
"City of Heroes has brought a fresh new perspective to the MMO stage with its foray into the super-powered hero comic book genre, and we are excited to present gamers with even more innovative content in Going Rogue," said Brian Clayton, general manager and executive producer at Paragon Studios. "For years, players could choose between playing as a hero or a villain. Now we will present a third, malleable path where players can be affected by the results of their actions, enabling them to further develop, unveil new perspectives, and overcome new challenges."
NCsoft will share more details on Going Rogue in the coming months. The game is currently in development by NCsoft's Paragon Studios, the City of Heroes development team that most recently launched the ground-breaking Mission Architect system. The launch of Mission Architect sets a significant milestone for City of Heroes as the first MMO to allow players to create user-generated content. City of Heroes has and continues to set new standards among its MMO peers and player community with its engaging and approachable comic book-inspired universe theme and consistent delivery of concepts that break the standard MMO mold.
For more information about City of Heroes, go to http://www.cityofheroes.com. For more information about Paragon Studios, go to http://paragonstudios.com. For more news about NCsoft, go to http://us.ncsoft.com/en/news or http://us.ncsoft.com/en/news/press-releases.
About NCsoft
NCsoft, headquartered in Seoul, Korea, is the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games, including the critically acclaimed Lineage®, Guild Wars® and City of Heroes® franchises. NCsoft West is a division of NCsoft that holds operating responsibilities for North America, Europe, South America, and Australia/New Zealand. Read more information at http://us.ncsoft.com.
About Paragon Studios
Paragon Studios is a wholly owned development studio of NCsoft West and is dedicated to the growth of the City of Heroes franchise. Located in Mountain View, California, the team at Paragon Studios brings the world of comic books alive in a massively multiplayer 3D online universe. For more about Paragon Studios, visit http://paragonstudios.com. For more information about City of Heroes, go to http://www.cityofheroes.com.
NCsoft, the interlocking NC logo, PlayNC, Lineage, Guild Wars, City of Heroes, City of Heroes Going Rogue, City of Villains, Paragon City, Rogue Isles, Statesman, Tyrant, and all associated logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of NCsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
By region, first quarter sales came to KRW 89.2 billion in Korea ($USD 72.0 million/€EUR 53.0 million), KRW 10.8 billion in North America ($USD 8.7 million/€EUR 6.4 million) KRW 4 billion in Europe ($USD 3.2 million/€EUR 2.3 million), KRW 18.1 billion in Japan ($USD 14.6 million/€EUR 10.7 million), KRW 3.9 billion in Taiwan ($USD 3.1 million/€EUR 2.3 million), and KRW 7.4 billion ($USD 5.9 million/€EUR 4.3 million) from royalties. The successful launch of Aion influenced sales growth in Korea and expected sales of the Lineage series increased the significance of Japan. On the other hand, a decrease in Guild Wars sales due to no retail expansion package releases this quarter led to a drop of sales in the North American and European regions.
By game titles, sales of Lineage, Lineage II, Aion, City of Heroes®, and Guild Wars® increased 23%, 33%, 34%, 5% and 3% quarter to quarter to KRW 29.4 billion, KRW 41.1 billion, KRW 42.6 billion, 6.8 billion and KRW 4.3 billion respectively.
NCsoft's CFO Jaeho Lee said, "Aion has solidified its position as a new growth force without encroaching sales of the Lineage series. Starting with its service in China in Q2, we are ready for a successful launch of this triple-A franchise in Japan, Taiwan, North America and Europe within the second half of the year."
NCsoft is expected to carry out large-scale updates for Lineage and Lineage II worldwide in the coming months. In Eastern territories NCsoft expects to begin beta tests for Punch Monster, Dragonica, Steel Dog and Metal Black within the year.
About NCsoft
NCsoft, headquartered in Seoul, Korea, is the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games, including the critically acclaimed City of Heroes®, Guild Wars® and Lineage® franchises. NCsoft West is a division of NCsoft that holds operating responsibilities for North America, Europe, South America and Australia/New Zealand. More information can be found at http://us.ncsoft.com/.
NCsoft, ArenaNet, Lineage, City of Heroes, Guild Wars, Aion and all associated logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of NCsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
The Gracia Final expansion also brings in Territory Battles, where any player, even those not belonging to a clan, can participate in epic-scale conflict and reap rewards from the local Territory Manager. Territory Battles provide a "capture the flag"-style PvP experience that rewards dominating clans with castle-related skills and additional revenue. In addition, the Gracia Final expansion introduces three-versus-three PvP arena battles at the Olympiad for the first time, and enables clans to earn additional abilities and membership.
"We are thrilled to celebrate five years of Lineage II live service with such a large content expansion," said Sam Han, North American producer for NCsoft West. "This represents the largest content expansion for Lineage II to date, and we plan to keep them coming. We appreciate our loyal players, who have provided us with memorable experiences over the past five years. I encourage gamers ready for a change to join us in the new, accessible, rich world of Lineage II."
In addition to the expansive new content Gracia Final provides, Lineage II players can celebrate the fifth anniversary with an in-game event that runs now through May 5th. During this event, creatures in the lands of Aden and Gracia drop special items engraved with certain letters and numbers. Players get rewards for acquiring the letters to spell "Gracia," "Lineage II," and "5 Years." More details can be found at http://www.lineage2.com/archive/2009/04/5th_anniversary.html.
Lineage II is known as the gaming market's premier PvP online roleplaying game, with a customer reach of more than 19 million worldwide. The game is rated T for Teen by the Entertainment Software Rating Board.
To find out more about Lineage II, please visit the website at: www.lineage2.com.
About NCsoft
NCsoft, headquartered in Seoul, Korea, is the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games, including the critically acclaimed City of Heroes®, Guild Wars®, and Lineage® franchises. NCsoft West is a division of NCsoft which holds operating responsibilities for North America, Europe, South America, and Australia/New Zealand. More information can be found at http://us.ncsoft.com.
NCsoft, the interlocking NC logo, PlayNC, Lineage, The Chaotic Throne, Gracia, Guild Wars, City of Heroes, and all associated logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of NCsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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SEATTLE, Washington - April 24, 2009 - NCsoft®, the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), and ArenaNet®, a wholly owned subsidiary of NCsoft and the acclaimed developer of Guild Wars®, today announced that on the cusp of its fourth anniversary, the Guild Wars franchise has exceeded six million units sold. Guild Wars is the award-winning and genre-defining series that is one of the most popular and successful online role-playing games in the industry.
"We are humbled by how gamers have responded to Guild Wars over the past four years, and we are proud that the game and its community have helped to continually shape, define, and expand the genre," said ArenaNet studio head Mike O'Brien. "Our subscription-free business model has proven to be a big hit with gamers, bringing an enormous and diverse online community to the game."
Guild Wars is one of the most successful PC gaming franchises of all time. Since its release in 2005, it has received numerous awards for its innovative design, world-class art direction and robust content streaming engine. ArenaNet continues to support the game's thriving community with regular in-game events, updates, and community activities.
The Guild Wars universe contains three campaigns and an expansion pack: Guild Wars, Guild Wars Factions®, Guild Wars Nightfall®, and Guild Wars: Eye of the North®. Last fall, NCsoft released Guild Wars Trilogy that combines all three campaigns with additional bonus items.
For more news on the Guild Wars franchise, go to http://us.ncsoft.com/en/news/ or http://us.ncsoft.com/en/news/press-releases. For more information on the game, visit the Guild Wars website at http://www.guildwars.com. The award-winning Guild Wars franchise, including the recently released Guild Wars Trilogy, can be purchased from retailers or downloaded from the NCsoft Store at https://secure.ncsoft.com/cgi-bin/Store.pl.
About NCsoft
NCsoft, headquartered in Seoul, Korea, is the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games, including the critically acclaimed City of Heroes®, Guild Wars®, and Lineage® franchises. NCsoft West is a division of NCsoft which holds operating responsibilities for North America, Europe, South America, and Australia/New Zealand. More information can be found at http://us.ncsoft.com.
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, Guild Wars Factions, Guild Wars Nightfall, and Guild Wars: Eye of the North, are global online role-playing games that allow gamers to play with anyone, anytime, and anywhere in the world. More information about ArenaNet can be found at http://www.arena.net.
NCsoft, the interlocking NC logo, PlayNC, Guild Wars, Guild Wars Factions, Guild Wars Nightfall, Guild Wars: Eye of the North, Guild Wars 2, ArenaNet, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Lineage, and all associated logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of NCsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
]]>"NCsoft's leading-edge MMOs are an incredible addition to the Steam library of games," said Jason Holtman, director of business development at Valve. "NCsoft is a clear leader in the MMO industry, and we believe our player community will be very excited to have access to the diverse catalog NCsoft has to offer our members."
"We are thrilled to offer our franchises to the legions of gamers in the Steam community," said David Reid, president of publishing for NCsoft West. "Steam's community is filled with passionate players intent on having the latest updates on their favorite games. Extending our distribution reach with Steam will allow more gamers the freedom and flexibility to stay updated and engaged with our games and online communities."
For the next few weeks, Steam will have special offers for several NCsoft products. For more information on specific NCsoft products and promotions available, please visit www.steamgames.com regularly. To learn more about NCsoft, please visit the NCsoft Web site at http://us.ncsoft.com/.
About NCsoft
NCsoft, headquartered in Seoul, Korea, is the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games, including the critically acclaimed City of Heroes®, Guild Wars® and Lineage® franchises. NCsoft West is a division of NCsoft, which holds operating responsibilities for North America, Europe, South America and Australia/New Zealand. More information can be found at http://us.ncsoft.com/.
NCsoft, ArenaNet, Lineage, City of Heroes, Guild Wars, Aion, The Tower of Eternity and all associated logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of NCsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
SEATTLE, Washington - April 14, 2009 - NCsoft®, the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) today is proud to announce the official unveiling of Paragon Studios™. Based in Mountain View, CA, Paragon Studios, formerly known as NCsoft NorCal, will continue its ongoing commitment to further develop and innovate the critically acclaimed City of Heroes® franchise and other MMO games. As the studios' inaugural release, Paragon Studios and NCsoft today also announced City of Heroes: Architect Edition, its first "hybrid" retail pack for both PC and Macintosh that includes all content updates, including the recently released Issue 14: Architect. The Architect Edition, available in North America, will allow users - for the first time ever in MMO history - to fully customize and share missions, characters, and story arcs, giving players an unparalleled level of flexibility to craft and share unique experiences.
As the leader in critically acclaimed and highly successful MMO games, NCsoft, together with the accomplished development team of City of Heroes, formed the Northern California-based studio in Fall 2007 to focus on improving and furthering the series. Since then, the studio has greatly expanded the game's content and offerings, including its support of the game from an initial staff of 20, to a staff of over 50 people.
The recently launched City of Heroes Mission Architect system offers a truly customizable gaming experience unlike any other in any MMO. Players can create their own original missions using thousands of existing assets from the game, and personalize their stories by building unique characters and enemy groups using City of Heroes' highly regarded Character Creator system. The innovative system offers flexibility in dynamic story telling by allowing players to write custom dialogue for their missions, and publish up to three story arcs per account. Each user-created story containing up to five missions and up to twenty-five individual objectives will be searchable via drop-down lists and key word search in the Mission Architect system.
The Mission Architect system allows players to share and search the content they upload, and play and rate each other's story arcs as well. The highest rated and most played missions will be prominently displayed as "Hall of Fame" missions, earning the creators in-game rewards for creating excellent content. Additionally, the best of these submitted story arcs will be hand chosen by the City of Heroes development team and deemed as "Developer's Choice" missions. Receiving either of these prestigious designations will reward the author with an additional slot to create even more quality custom stories.
"Investments in building upon truly unique experiences are critical for the ever-expanding MMO audience," said Matt Miller, lead designer of Paragon Studios. "Since the City of Heroes development team joined NCsoft in 2007, we have been able to unleash new concepts and push the boundaries for our users. Our development model strives to consistently challenge our development teams in new ways of thinking, and has already proven successful, most notably featured in the Mission Architect system in Issue 14: Architect."
City of Heroes: Architect Edition is rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB. For more information about Paragon Studios, please go to: http://www.paragon-studios.net. For more information about City of Heroes: Architect Edition go to http://www.cityofheroes.com.
For more news about NCsoft, go to http://us.ncsoft.com/en/news/ or http://us.ncsoft.com/en/news/press-releases.
About Paragon Studios
Paragon Studios is a wholly owned development studio of NCsoft West, and is dedicated to the growth of the City of Heroes franchise. Located in Mountain View, California, the team at Paragon Studios brings the world of comic books alive in a massively multiplayer 3D online universe. For more about Paragon Studios, visit http://www.paragon-studios.net. For more information about City of Heroes, go to http://www.cityofheroes.com.
About NCsoft
NCsoft, headquartered in Seoul, Korea, is the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games, including the critically acclaimed Lineage®, Guild Wars® and City of Heroes® franchises. NCsoft West is a division of NCsoft which holds operating responsibilities for North America, Europe, South America and Australia/New Zealand. More information can be found at http://us.ncsoft.com.
NCsoft, the interlocking NC logo, PlayNC, Lineage, Guild Wars, City of Heroes, Paragon City, Rogue Isles and all associated logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of NCsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
SEATTLE, April 9, 2009-NCsoft®, the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) today announced the launch of the highly anticipated Mission Architect system in its comic-book inspired MMO, City of Heroes®. Free to current PC and Macintosh subscribers, the release of Issue 14: Architect marks the first time in MMO history that players have been given the power to create and share their own custom missions and story arcs, thus generating an unprecedented and virtually limitless amount of user-generated content for the City of Heroes community.
In addition to allowing players to create their own missions using thousands of existing assets from the game, players may also use the Mission Architect system to personalize their stories by building their own characters and enemy groups using City of Heroes' highly regarded Character Creator system. Players will be able to publish up to three story arcs per account which will be displayed to all players across all servers in the Mission Architect system. Each user-created story can have up to five missions containing up to twenty-five individual objectives. Players will even be able to write custom dialogue for their missions, offering true flexibility in dynamic story telling.
"We are very excited for City of Heroes to be the first-ever MMO to offer this revolutionary new system to our players," said Brian Clayton, general manager and executive producer of the franchise. "Within two weeks of opening the beta version of Mission Architect to our community, players published an astounding 5,000 custom stories, representing up to 25,000 user-created missions. Such a steady in-flux of fresh content offers the capacity for endless adventures to City of Heroes subscribers."
Not only will players be able to share and search the content they upload to the game, but the Mission Architect system allows players to play and rate each other's story arcs as well. The highest rated missions will be prominently displayed earning those players in-game rewards for creating excellent content. Additionally, the best of these submitted story arcs will be hand-chosen by the City of Heroesdevelopment team and deemed as "Dev Choice" missions. Receiving either of these prestigious designations will reward the author with an additional slot to create even more quality custom stories.
City of Heroes is rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB. For more information about City of Heroes go to http://www.cityofheroes.com
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About NCsoft
NCsoft, headquartered in Seoul, Korea, is the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games, including the critically acclaimed City of Heroes®, Guild Wars® and Lineage® franchises. NCsoft West is a division of NCsoft which holds operating responsibilities for North America, Europe, South America and Australia/New Zealand. More information can be found at http://us.ncsoft.com
NCsoft, the interlocking NC logo, PlayNC, Lineage, Guild Wars, City of Heroes, and all associated logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of NCsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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