PRESS RELEASES
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Webzen 'Soul of the Ultimate Nation (SUN)' Voted ‘Most Anticipated Online Game’ at China’s ‘Best Online Game Selection
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- Named ‘奇迹世界’ in China, is receiving high expectation from Chinese gamers
(2006-04-25) Webzen Inc. (CEO, Man Ju Kim, www.webzen.com) Webzen’s blockbuster MMORPG Soul of the Ultimate Nation (SUN) has been selected as the most anticipated online game at the 2nd Annual ‘Best Online Game Selection’ in China.
“Best Online Game Selection” is an event sponsored by ‘互动游戏(Hodong Yoo-Hui)’ and ‘Sina Utalk(http://www.utalk.com.cn)’, and is in cooperation with China’s largest game distribution company Junnet and daily newspaper ‘北京晨報(http://www.morningpost.com.com)’. In this event, the best game was selected from 4 criteria such as product, design, marketing, etc., and from 15 categories.
Hosting its second event this year, 10 leading medias and 30 game related companies participated on a large scale. Also, newly founding the ‘Most Anticipated Game’ category, votes from general gamers were gathered from February 14th to March 25th through the community portal site ‘SINA UC (http://www.51uc.com).
(Event website: http://event.51uc.com/ut/060218060331kxcb/zjyx.html)
As a result, putting aside games such as Turbine’s ‘Dungeons & Dragons Online’ (US), Koei’s ‘Dae Hang-e Shi Dae’, (Japan), NP Cube’s ‘Dark and Light’, (France), Webzen’s ‘SUN’ was selected as ‘Most Anticipated Game’. After have being voted as most anticipated game on the influential game webzine www.17173.com, the expectation from the local gamers was once again proved. ‘SUN’ was licensed to one of the largest Chinese game publishers, The9 at a stunning amount of US $13 million last February.
Webzen’s CEO, Nam Ju Kim stated, “I am very pleased that ‘SUN’ has been recognized among various other foreign games”, and added “China is ‘SUN’s first overseas launching market and also one of our global bases in which we have our subsidiary, so we will continuously devote our efforts to successfully penetrate in that market.”
In the meantime, ‘SUN’ will be serviced through the Chinese game publisher ‘THE9’ as 奇迹世界.
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April 25 2006
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Soul of the Ultimate Nation, Reborn on May 15
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- Addition of a spacious field and Mission Competing System, 2 weeks delay in OB schedule
(2006-04-21) ‘Soul of the Ultimate Nation (SUN)’, the most anticipated game for 2006, will be reborn as a next generation game with the introduction of a powerful Mission Competing System.
Webzen Inc. (CEO Nam Ju Kim, www.webzen.com) announced that the open beta test which was originally planned to commence on May 2, will be pushed back 2 weeks to May 15, with the full-scale introduction of the Mission Competing System.
Accordingly, the 2nd pre-open beta testing date will be adjusted to commence on May 8 to May 12.
Webzen CEO Nam Ju Kim stated, “After the success of MU, as a leading company in this industry, we want to continue to lead the next generation games through SUN. Even taking into consideration all the risks associated with the service delay, we believe that through these new contents, we will be able to satisfy all the SUN users with high anticipation
In the SUN open beta test, not only a spacious field map will be added, but also a new concept of a detailed quest system will be introduced. Also, newly integrating the mission and competition elements as the main composition, the game will provide a ‘survival mode’, which the users will have to compete which other in order to survive, and the ‘time attack’ mode, where the users will hunt as many monsters as possible during a limited time. The users will also be able to enjoy the vivid PvP element, and the ‘ranking system’ which will be provided regularly within the game.
The AC (Area Conquest) System, where the user can receive various benefits depending on the amount of contribution by the user in its corresponding area, is another factor the users will enjoy during the open beta.
Webzen is in the process of testing the open beta version of SUN, and is preparing the marketing promotion strategy for the grand open on May 15.
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April 21 2006
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WEBZEN NAMES CINDY ARMSTRONG CEO OF WEBZEN AMERICA
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- Former Sony Online Entertainment Executive Brings More Than 15 Years of Industry Experience to Leading Global Online Game Company
LOS ANGELES and SEOUL – April 12, 2006 - WEBZEN America, Inc., the wholly owned subsidiary of Korea-based online entertainment company, WEBZEN, Inc. (NASDAQ: WZEN), announced today it has hired Cindy Armstrong as the chief executive officer of the company’s North American operations. A seasoned executive with extensive experience in online entertainment, Ms. Armstrong will spearhead WEBZEN America’s strategy to bring world-class online games to the Western market.
“Ms. Armstrong has the perfect pedigree to lead WEBZEN America and firmly establish the company in this critical territory,” said NamJu Kim, chief executive office of WEBZEN, Inc. “Her industry knowledge, business development expertise and international expansion experience make her tremendously qualified to help WEBZEN meet its goal of becoming a leading online game company in all major markets worldwide.”
“Joining WEBZEN America as the company is on the verge of becoming a powerhouse online games company in this market is an exciting and incredible opportunity,” said Ms. Armstrong. “The suite of online games WEBZEN has slated for the U.S. is truly unmatched by any other publisher and I look forward to helping the company deliver on its potential to exceed the expectations of North American online gamers.”
Ms. Armstrong brings more than 15 years of online entertainment experience to WEBZEN America. Previously she was Vice President of Business Development for Sony Online Entertainment where she was responsible for all facets of the company's business development efforts, focusing on: emerging markets, international expansion, product acquisition and OEM opportunities.
Before SOE, Ms. Armstrong held key positions at a variety of other top electronic entertainment companies, including Nintendo of America, Boss Game & Film Studios, NES International, Inc. (Paris, France) and Activision UK Ltd. Cindy has been involved with several successful product launches, including the Nintendo 64 and Super NES.
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April 13 2006
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WEBZEN & Red 5 Studios sign exclusive worldwide publishing
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WEBZEN SIGNS EXCLUSIVE WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING DEAL
WITH FORMER WORLD OF WARCRAFT® DEVELOPERS RED 5 STUDIOS
SEOUL – Feb. 28, 2006 – Global online entertainment company WEBZEN, Inc. (NASDAQ: WZEN) today announced that it has signed an exclusive worldwide agreement with U.S.-based Red 5 Studios, Inc. to publish a new MMOG property.
The contract was executed today at WEBZEN’s headquarters in Seoul.
Creating tremendous industry buzz and anticipation since the company’s inception in September 2005, Red 5 Studios was formed by key members behind Blizzard Entertainment®’s World of WarCraft®, including the game’s Team Lead Mark Kern and Art Director William Petras and Online Director for Asia, Taewon Yoon.
“WEBZEN and Red 5 Studios share the same vision and passion to create next generation online games that can successfully suit the tastes and demands of gamers worldwide,” said Nam Ju Kim, CEO, WEBZEN, Inc. “We are confident that projects such as these will help WEBZEN reach its goal of becoming a top global online games publisher.”
The core members at Red 5 studios have proven their development prowess in launching successful online game properties such as Diablo II, Starcraft series and Warcraft III on a global scale. As such, WEBZEN is being heralded for obtaining the company’s promising new game property, which is primed to deliver worldwide market appeal. For WEBZEN, the publishing deal is an important component to its mid-and long-term objective of building a world-class games portfolio.
“WEBZEN offers the optimal environment for developing games, with its world-class technology and overall expertise in online game entertainment,” said Mark Kern, President and CEO, Red 5 Studios. “WEBZEN is becoming a huge force in the global online games marketplace. Their commitment and determination partnered with our unique game concept is a winning combination for a blockbuster title.”
The new game from Red 5 Studios is in its initial stages of development, and more details on the title will be released at a later date.
This publishing contract marks WEBZEN’s second global publishing deal, after acquiring in 2005 the worldwide license for All Points Bulletin (APB), David Jones’ online game, for both PC and XBOX360 platforms.
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February 28 2006
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Soul of the Ultimate Nation, April 25 Comeback
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Soul of the Ultimate Nation, April 25 Comeback
- April 25th, 2nd Pre-open beta final server check
- Strengthening of the battle zone system, addition of field map
February 24, 2006 (SEOUL. KOREA) – Webzen Inc. (WZEN) today
Announced that the 2nd Pre Open beta test for its MMORPG Soul of the Ultimate Nation (SUN) will start on April 25th followed by the open beta.
Soul of the Ultimate Nation’s 2nd pre-open beta will take place for 5 days from April 25th to 29th with the same version as the open beta, and the data from the 1st pre-open beta will be preserved as it was. Subsequently, through initialization, the full-scale open beta is scheduled to start on May 2nd.
Webzen Inc. stated that the opinions received from users during the testing process will be implemented, and the users will be able to see a more perfected game during the open beta session. Soul of the Ultimate Nation will be demonstrated in front of all the worldwide gamers during the E3 Game Expo in the US on May 10th, and will show its true character at its best, both in name and reality.
“The opinions received from the testers will be applied into the game, and we will compete with the best contents and quality in the market.” said Nam Ju Kim, Chief Executive Officer of Webzen Inc.
During the open beta session, Soul of the Ultimate Nation’s best feature of the mission and hunting within the battle zone system will be strengthened, and the users will be able to experience the differentiated action-oriented element of the game.
In addition, taking into consideration the diversity of the users, while keeping the strong points of the game, the field map will be introduced so that the users who are familiar with the existing field style MMORPG cans also enjoy the game.
During the close beta tester gathering of the Soul of the Ultimate Nation, a over 300,000 volunteers signed up for the accounts making the competition a record breaking 303 to 1. With the number of current subscribers at over 1 million, many are curious to see what sort of new record will be seen during the open beta in May.
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February 24 2006
