Soul of the Ultimate Nation™ Online Service in China Starts on May 24
A Record 400,000 Simultaneous Users during Open Beta
SEOUL – May 23, 2007 – Global online entertainment company WEBZEN Inc. (www.webzen.com) announced today that the online service for Soul of the Ultimate Nation will be launched in China on May 24.
After a highly successful five-week open beta testing that began on April 18 through The9 Ltd, (www.the9.com), Soul of the Ultimate Nation will now be available as a full paid online service. Beginning on May 24, Chinese subscribers can use a micro payment: an array of payment cards – including The 9 recharge card, online card or bank card – to acquire game cash for items in the item shop.
This marks the second international service launch for Soul of the Ultimate Nation, which also began service in Taiwan on April 19. With a record 400,000 simultaneous open beta users in only three days in China, Webzen is more confident than ever that Soul of the Ultimate Nation will continue to gain popularity and provide international revenue diversification and profit growth for the company.
“Despite the growing competition in the Chinese online game market, a Korean game has achieved significant success,” said Nam Ju Kim, chief executive officer, Webzen, Inc. “This is certainly a great start for us. We’re especially pleased that the Webzen brand has gained the trust of Chinese gamers. They have high expectations for our games, and we won’t let them down with this launch.”
Webzen and The 9 plan to provide a variety of additional services after the launch.
Meanwhile, on May 18, citing Webzen’s achievements in spreading Korean games to the world, the Society of Korean Entertainment Industry awarded its first Hallyu Honor Award to Webzen in the game company category.
