PRESS RELEASES
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WEBZEN TO SHOWCASE DIVERSE WORLD-CLASS MMOG LINE-UP AT 2006 E3 EXPO
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April 26, 2006 – Global online entertainment company WEBZEN Inc. (NASDAQ: WZEN) announced today its lineup of PC and next generation massively multiplayer online games (MMOG) for showcase at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles from May 10-12, 2006.
WEBZEN will focus this year’s exhibition on a diverse showing of MMOGs that include the epic fantasy MMO role-playing game (MMORPG) Soul of the Ultimate Nation (SUN); MMO first person shooter Huxley; and the mass-appeal casual MMORPG Project Wiki. All titles leverage WEBZEN’s world class online game design and client/server technologies, pushing the boundaries of today’s MMOG offerings. Visitors to WEBZEN’s booth – #1300 in the South Hall – will have the opportunity to play hands-on versions of all three titles.
Soul of the Ultimate Nation is the much anticipated MMORPG that delivers more fun and more friends in less time. Players can form a party from thousands of gamers using SUN’s Battle Zone System and embark on a graphically stunning and ever-expanding online fantasy world that is ready for action when the players are. With a unique battle systems and a captivating cast of characters, Soul of the Ultimate Nation is an epic tale in a world of emperors, armies, magicians and monsters. Soul of the Ultimate Nation will be available for PC.
Huxley is a massively multiplayer online first person shooting game (MMOFPS) utilizing the UNREAL3 engine to create an unparalleled twitch action gaming experience with up to 5,000 players in the same world. Huxley takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where human beings have mutated and are divided into two opposing races, Sapiens and Alternative. At the center of the battle for survival is Lunarites, a promising new energy source highly coveted by both races. Forced to battle against one another for the continuance of each race, Sapiens and Alternatives will do whatever it takes to wipe out the opposition and gain control of the world and its resources. Huxley will be available for PC/CD-ROM and the Xbox 360.
Project Wiki is a casual, fairy tale based MMORPG with intense levels of cooperative interaction. The relationships and actions of each individual player directly influence the entire Project Wiki world and all of its elements. Project Wiki incorporates an adaptive system enabling the decisions players make in quests and missions to contribute to the individual personalities of characters, including what they wear and their facial expressions. Project Wiki will deliver a lively, creative and interactive online game play experience in a whimsical and charming environment for PC.
Executives from WEBZEN and WEBZEN America and members of the development teams will be on hand to take meetings May 10-12 at the company’s booth (#1300) located in the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center. WEBZEN welcomes press and prospective business partners to schedule meetings in advance or to visit the booth.
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April 26 2006
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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