Swack-Iron
First Post
From Bioware's site :
NEVERWINTER NIGHTS GOES GOLD
BioWare’s Dungeons & Dragons Masterpiece Is Complete
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada – June 11, 2002 – Infogrames, Inc. (Nasdaq: IFGM), a leading global publisher of interactive entertainment software, today announced that the long awaited and highly anticipated epic, Neverwinter Nights™, has completed development and will ship to retail stores under the Company’s Atari label before the end of June. The most complete software adaptation of the classic pen-and-paper Dungeons & Dragons® role-playing game ever, Neverwinter Nights is the latest game from BioWare Corp., creators of the 4 million selling Baldur’s Gate series.
"Finally, PC gamers the world over can breathe – their dream computer game is complete and only days away from their PCs," said Jean-Philippe Agati, senior vice president and general manager of Infogrames’ Los Angeles studio. "Neverwinter Nights has lived up to all of its promises – engaging and exciting single player campaign, a groundbreaking multiplayer component, never-before-seen user editing abilities and, for the first time ever, a true translation of the D&D® ‘Dungeon Master’ to electronic entertainment."
Neverwinter Nights redefines the electronic role-playing game genre using the fully-3D BioWare Aurora Engine and the Third Edition of the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) core rulebook, published by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. The game contains an amazing 60-100 hour single player campaign that is also playable in multiplayer mode. More than just a game, Neverwinter Nights breaks new ground as the first complete role-playing system for the computer platform, allowing its players to step into the shoes of the Dungeon Master to tell their own stories and create their own adventures in the spirit of the exciting pen and paper original.
"We’re very proud of the hard work every member of our development team has put into Neverwinter Nights over the last five years," said Greg Zeschuk, Joint CEO of BioWare Corp. and Co-Executive Producer of Neverwinter Nights. "When we started developing Neverwinter Nights, we realized that technology would reach the point where we could actually have a 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons computer game that brought the best social elements of traditional kitchen-table pen-and-paper role-playing to people all over the world through their computer and the Internet. We’re very fortunate to be able to do this."
"Neverwinter Nights was designed to be everything anybody could ever want in a D&D™ role-playing game," said Ray Muzyka, Joint CEO of BioWare Corp and Co-Executive Producer of Neverwinter Nights. "The development team – a group of exceptionally creative, smart people - has done an amazing job: Neverwinter Nights has an incredibly engaging 60-100 hour official campaign, playable in either single-player or in multiplayer mode. Everything in the campaign has been built with the same BioWare Aurora Neverwinter Toolset that is also bundled with the game. We’ve enabled gamers to join their friends online and play through adventure modules created by fans and Neverwinter Nights community members, together with a dungeon master if they so choose! The game looks amazing – the BioWare Aurora Engine is capable of some amazing graphical effects. Overall, we just can’t wait to see what the Neverwinter Nights community comes up with when they’ve got the game and its powerful tools in their hands!"
The PC version of Neverwinter Nights will ship to retailers before the end of June. Linux gamers can anticipate the online release of the Neverwinter Nights server at launch and the client program shortly afterward. Linux gamers will still need the Windows version of the game to register at the Neverwinter Nights community site (http://neverwinternights.com) and to import essential game resources into their Linux server and game.
About BioWare Corp.
BioWare Corp. is an electronic entertainment company that develops computer and console games. Our published projects include: Shattered Steel™, the genre-defining Baldur's Gate™ role playing game series, MDK™2 for Dreamcast and PC, and MDK™2: Armageddon for PlayStation®2. Recently, BioWare released the award winning Baldur's Gate™ II: Throne of Bhaal, a massive expansion pack to Baldur's Gate™ II Shadows of Amn. BioWare's developers are currently hard at work on two titles to be released this year; Neverwinter Nights™ - a Dungeons and Dragons® fantasy role playing game for single player and multiplayer (to be published by Infogrames), and Star Wars® Knights of the Old Republic (to be published by LucasArts). As well, development is under way on a new, unannounced, third project. BioWare information can be found online at www.bioware.com.
About Wizards of the Coast.
Wizards of the Coast Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc. (NYSE:HAS), is the worldwide market share leader in the trading card game and tabletop roleplaying game categories. A leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products, as well as the owner and operator of one of the nation's largest specialty game retail chains, the company holds an exclusive patent on the play mechanic of trading card games (TCGs) and produces the world's best-selling Pokémon® and Magic: The Gathering® TCGs.
Headquartered near Seattle, Washington, Wizards of the Coast has international offices in Antwerp, Paris, Milan, London, Beijing and Sydney.
For more information on Wizards of the Coast, visit the company's website and electronic retail store at www.wizards.com.
Wizards of the Coast, Magic: The Gathering, and Dungeons & Dragons are registered trademarks of Wizards of the Coast Inc. Neverwinter Nights is a trademark of Wizards of the Coast Inc. ©2002 Wizards.
Pokémon is a registered trademark of Nintendo.
About Infogrames
New York-based Infogrames, Inc. (Nasdaq: IFGM) is one of the largest third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The Company develops video games for all consoles (Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft), PCs, and Macintosh systems. Infogrames’ catalogue of more than 1,000 titles includes award-winning franchises such as Civilization™ , Backyard Sports™ , Deer Hunter® , Driver™ , RollerCoaster Tycoon® , Test Drive® , and Unreal® , and key licenses including Survivor™ , Warner Bros. Looney Tunes™ , Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues™ , Dragon Ball Z® , Mission Impossible® , Harley-Davidson® , Major League Baseball® , and the National Football League® , among many others. The Company’s Humongous Entertainment and MacSoft labels are leaders in children’s and Macintosh entertainment software, respectively.
Infogrames, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (IESA) (Euronext 5257), a global publisher and distributor of video games for all platforms, as well as interactive digital television, and mobile smart devices (WAP, HDML). In 2001, IESA acquired Infogrames Interactive, Inc. (formerly Hasbro Interactive), including its line of software based on well-known licenses such as MONOPOLY, Jeopardy® , TONKA, and Atari® , which are published and distributed in the U.S. by Infogrames, Inc. For more information, visit the Company’s Web site at www.infogrames.com.
NEVERWINTER NIGHTS GOES GOLD
BioWare’s Dungeons & Dragons Masterpiece Is Complete
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada – June 11, 2002 – Infogrames, Inc. (Nasdaq: IFGM), a leading global publisher of interactive entertainment software, today announced that the long awaited and highly anticipated epic, Neverwinter Nights™, has completed development and will ship to retail stores under the Company’s Atari label before the end of June. The most complete software adaptation of the classic pen-and-paper Dungeons & Dragons® role-playing game ever, Neverwinter Nights is the latest game from BioWare Corp., creators of the 4 million selling Baldur’s Gate series.
"Finally, PC gamers the world over can breathe – their dream computer game is complete and only days away from their PCs," said Jean-Philippe Agati, senior vice president and general manager of Infogrames’ Los Angeles studio. "Neverwinter Nights has lived up to all of its promises – engaging and exciting single player campaign, a groundbreaking multiplayer component, never-before-seen user editing abilities and, for the first time ever, a true translation of the D&D® ‘Dungeon Master’ to electronic entertainment."
Neverwinter Nights redefines the electronic role-playing game genre using the fully-3D BioWare Aurora Engine and the Third Edition of the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) core rulebook, published by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. The game contains an amazing 60-100 hour single player campaign that is also playable in multiplayer mode. More than just a game, Neverwinter Nights breaks new ground as the first complete role-playing system for the computer platform, allowing its players to step into the shoes of the Dungeon Master to tell their own stories and create their own adventures in the spirit of the exciting pen and paper original.
"We’re very proud of the hard work every member of our development team has put into Neverwinter Nights over the last five years," said Greg Zeschuk, Joint CEO of BioWare Corp. and Co-Executive Producer of Neverwinter Nights. "When we started developing Neverwinter Nights, we realized that technology would reach the point where we could actually have a 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons computer game that brought the best social elements of traditional kitchen-table pen-and-paper role-playing to people all over the world through their computer and the Internet. We’re very fortunate to be able to do this."
"Neverwinter Nights was designed to be everything anybody could ever want in a D&D™ role-playing game," said Ray Muzyka, Joint CEO of BioWare Corp and Co-Executive Producer of Neverwinter Nights. "The development team – a group of exceptionally creative, smart people - has done an amazing job: Neverwinter Nights has an incredibly engaging 60-100 hour official campaign, playable in either single-player or in multiplayer mode. Everything in the campaign has been built with the same BioWare Aurora Neverwinter Toolset that is also bundled with the game. We’ve enabled gamers to join their friends online and play through adventure modules created by fans and Neverwinter Nights community members, together with a dungeon master if they so choose! The game looks amazing – the BioWare Aurora Engine is capable of some amazing graphical effects. Overall, we just can’t wait to see what the Neverwinter Nights community comes up with when they’ve got the game and its powerful tools in their hands!"
The PC version of Neverwinter Nights will ship to retailers before the end of June. Linux gamers can anticipate the online release of the Neverwinter Nights server at launch and the client program shortly afterward. Linux gamers will still need the Windows version of the game to register at the Neverwinter Nights community site (http://neverwinternights.com) and to import essential game resources into their Linux server and game.
About BioWare Corp.
BioWare Corp. is an electronic entertainment company that develops computer and console games. Our published projects include: Shattered Steel™, the genre-defining Baldur's Gate™ role playing game series, MDK™2 for Dreamcast and PC, and MDK™2: Armageddon for PlayStation®2. Recently, BioWare released the award winning Baldur's Gate™ II: Throne of Bhaal, a massive expansion pack to Baldur's Gate™ II Shadows of Amn. BioWare's developers are currently hard at work on two titles to be released this year; Neverwinter Nights™ - a Dungeons and Dragons® fantasy role playing game for single player and multiplayer (to be published by Infogrames), and Star Wars® Knights of the Old Republic (to be published by LucasArts). As well, development is under way on a new, unannounced, third project. BioWare information can be found online at www.bioware.com.
About Wizards of the Coast.
Wizards of the Coast Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc. (NYSE:HAS), is the worldwide market share leader in the trading card game and tabletop roleplaying game categories. A leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products, as well as the owner and operator of one of the nation's largest specialty game retail chains, the company holds an exclusive patent on the play mechanic of trading card games (TCGs) and produces the world's best-selling Pokémon® and Magic: The Gathering® TCGs.
Headquartered near Seattle, Washington, Wizards of the Coast has international offices in Antwerp, Paris, Milan, London, Beijing and Sydney.
For more information on Wizards of the Coast, visit the company's website and electronic retail store at www.wizards.com.
Wizards of the Coast, Magic: The Gathering, and Dungeons & Dragons are registered trademarks of Wizards of the Coast Inc. Neverwinter Nights is a trademark of Wizards of the Coast Inc. ©2002 Wizards.
Pokémon is a registered trademark of Nintendo.
About Infogrames
New York-based Infogrames, Inc. (Nasdaq: IFGM) is one of the largest third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The Company develops video games for all consoles (Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft), PCs, and Macintosh systems. Infogrames’ catalogue of more than 1,000 titles includes award-winning franchises such as Civilization™ , Backyard Sports™ , Deer Hunter® , Driver™ , RollerCoaster Tycoon® , Test Drive® , and Unreal® , and key licenses including Survivor™ , Warner Bros. Looney Tunes™ , Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues™ , Dragon Ball Z® , Mission Impossible® , Harley-Davidson® , Major League Baseball® , and the National Football League® , among many others. The Company’s Humongous Entertainment and MacSoft labels are leaders in children’s and Macintosh entertainment software, respectively.
Infogrames, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (IESA) (Euronext 5257), a global publisher and distributor of video games for all platforms, as well as interactive digital television, and mobile smart devices (WAP, HDML). In 2001, IESA acquired Infogrames Interactive, Inc. (formerly Hasbro Interactive), including its line of software based on well-known licenses such as MONOPOLY, Jeopardy® , TONKA, and Atari® , which are published and distributed in the U.S. by Infogrames, Inc. For more information, visit the Company’s Web site at www.infogrames.com.
