Guild Wars Franchise Available Via Digital Download

IGN issued a press release this morning announcing that all three titles in NCsoft and ArenaNet's Guild Wars series are now available for purchase through Direct2Drive.
GUILD WARS FRANCHISE NOW AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD ON IGN ENTERTAINMENT'S DIRECT2DRIVE

Deal with NCsoft and ArenaNet Marks the First Time the Popular Franchise will be Available in North America for Digital Distribution via a Third-Party

BRISBANE, Calif. September 25, 2007 Direct2Drive, IGN Entertainment's digital retail store, today announced that the popular MMO series, Guild Wars®, is now available for digital download via Direct2Drive (http://www.direct2drive.com) for North America. Published by NCsoft® and developed by ArenaNet®, the Guild Wars series consists of Guild Wars Prophecies™, Guild Wars Factions™, and Guild Wars Nightfall™, and all will be available immediately on Direct2Drive.

Guild Wars is an online roleplaying game that rewards player skill and innovative gameplay over hours spent online. In the fantasy world of Guild Wars, players can engage in cooperative group combat, single player adventures, or large head-to-head guild battles. Guild Wars is a game that constantly evolves, using streaming technology to provide players with the latest updates while online.

(The Guild Wars franchise is one of the most popular in the world, selling millions of units. We're very pleased to expand on our successful relationship with NCsoft by offering the Guild Wars titles online for immediate download and play from Direct2Drive,) said Jamie Berger, SVP Consumer Products & Technology for IGN Entertainment.

Since launching in October 2004, Direct2Drive has allowed gamers to conveniently purchase and download the latest premium games from the world's top publishers.


About Direct2Drive
Direct2Drive (D2D) is IGN Entertainment's digital download store (http://www.direct2drive.com). Launched in October 2004, D2D allows consumers to conveniently purchase and download the latest premium video games, feature films, popular TV shows and anime titles directly from the Web to their desktops. D2D's AAA roster of leading game publishers includes Atari, Activision, Blizzard Entertainment, Eidos, Electronic Arts, Namco, NCsoft, SEGA, Sony Online Entertainment, 2K Games, Ubisoft and Vivendi Universal Games. In addition, Twentieth Century Fox, Lionsgate and Starz Media are making blockbuster movies TV shows top anime titles available to users directly via the D2D platform.

About IGN Entertainment
IGN Entertainment, a unit of Fox Interactive Media, Inc., is a leading Internet media and services provider focused on the videogame and entertainment enthusiast markets. Collectively, IGN's properties reached more than 30 million unique users worldwide in the month of July 2007, according to Internet audience measurement firm comScore Media Metrix. IGN's network of videogame-related properties (IGN.com, GameSpy, FilePlanet, TeamXbox, Direct2Drive and others), is the Web's number one videogame information destination and attracts one of the largest concentrated audiences of young males on the Internet. IGN also owns and operates the popular movie-related website, Rotten Tomatoes and one of the leading male lifestyle Websites, AskMen.com. In addition, IGN provides technology for online game play in videogames. IGN is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices throughout the U.S. and in Montreal.

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 Northâ„¢, are global online roleplaying games that allow gamers to play with anyone, anytime, and anywhere in the world. More information about ArenaNet can be found at www.arena.net.

About NCsoft Corporation
NCsoft North America is headquartered in Austin, Texas and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Korea-based NCsoft Corporation. NCsoft, with its own development and publishing offices in Texas and California, also works with other NCsoft subsidiaries and third party developers throughout North America to develop and publish innovative online entertainment software products. The company has successfully launched multiple online titles in the last three years and continues to support its franchises, which include Lineage®/Lineage II, City of Heroes®/City of Villains®, Guild Wars/Guild Wars Factions™/Guild Wars Nightfall™/Guild Wars: Eye of the North, and Dungeon Runners™. More information about NCsoft can be found at www.plaync.com.