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Hothead Game’s First Episodic Adventure Immediately Smashes Record For Longest Game Title on Direct2Drive

BRISBANE, Calif. – June 4, 2008 – Direct2Drive, IGN Entertainment’s digital retail store, today announced that Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One is now available for digital download on Direct2Drive (http://www.direct2drive.com). Along with this first installment, Direct2Drive will offer the entire episodic series for digital download in conjunction with the titles’ release dates from independent developer and publisher Hothead Games.

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness is an RPG-Adventure game set in the deranged 1920s universe of New Arcadia, delivered to gamers via accessible episodic releases. Players join Gabe and Tycho, the crime-solving team of the Startling Developments Detective Agency, to combat savage enemies and solve mysteries hidden deep in the sinister heart of New Arcadia. Episode One introduces players to this new world created by Penny Arcade’s Mike “Gabe” Krahulik and Jerry “Tycho” Holkins, brought to life by the Hothead team.

“Due to the miracle of digital distribution, Direct2Drive is able to offer the world’s leading videogame titles, regardless of egregious title length,” said Sutton Trout, VP of digital content for IGN Entertainment. “Gabe, Tycho, and the Penny Arcade comics are wildly popular with our passionate gaming audience, and the On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness episodic series of games are a natural fit with digital distribution on Direct2Drive.”

“At Hothead, we believe gamers should be able to freely choose their platform when playing our games and we are working hard to ensure that happens. Although I am sad to report we had to recently cut the Amiga version,” said Vlad Ceraldi, President of Hothead Games, “we are very excited to add Direct2Drive to the growing list of methods for gamers to join us on the Precipice and experience the first game in an exciting new series.”

Since the site’s launch in October 2004, more than one million games have been downloaded on Direct2Drive, and the site enables gamers to conveniently purchase and download the latest premium games and expansion packs from the world’s top publishers. Consumers can download Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One today at http://www.direct2drive.com

LONDON – May 30, 2008 – Waygate Publishing Limited, a London-based company specialising in the operation of Eastern European online games for the Western market, today launched its latest content update for Legend: Legacy of the Dragons. The MMORPG, which can be found at www.warofdragons.com, continues to grow in popularity and the new update promises exciting new battlefield action.

The Palaces of King Magish
The main part of the update concerns the addition of a new ‘instance’ where players do battle with the biggest, baddest monsters and have the opportunity to gain rare armour drops. The introduction of Magish and his minions significantly evolves the story of the fantastical world of Faeo in which Legend is set, further developing and rewriting the level 3 instance, the Derelict House for less experienced players. The Palaces are designed for more experienced players of level 6 and above.

Hunters of the Undead
The story of Magish brings with it a new NPC and a new reputation. Shiko the Paladin, a wanderer, is the hero who heads the Hunters of the Undead, dedicated to destroying the evil which is seeping into Faeo. He has arrived on the continents of Ogriy and Khair to begin the task of tackling King Magish and his retinue and will happily help any warrior who is brave enough to enter the Palaces of King Magish to fulfil their duty to protect the residents of Faeo.

All new
The new instance and reputation bring with them a host of new monsters for players to contend with and a whole range of items for them to get to grips with as they tackle their latest tasks. In addition to the instance and reputation, there is also a variety of new quests unrelated to the Hunters, each bringing their own blend of intrigue and battle.

Forthcoming
The next content update will include the eagerly-awaited mercenary clans and reputations, already massively popular in the Russian-language original version of the game.

For more information, visit www.warofdragons.com

Time Warner Inc. and GGV Capital Join Existing Partners in Fueling Online Game Leader’s Growth

WESTWOOD, MA - June 4, 2008 - Turbine, Inc. today announced that it has raised $40 million in equity financing. Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) and GGV Capital, a leader in expansion-stage venture capital investments in the U.S. and China, led the investment along with existing investors, Highland Capital Partners, Polaris Venture Partners, Tudor Ventures and Columbia Capital. The investment will be used to further accelerate Turbine’s growth as a global leader in online entertainment.

“This is truly an exciting time for Turbine. The addition of Time Warner, one of the world’s largest media companies, and GGV Capital, one of the financial community’s most sophisticated investors, adds a level of access, perspective and experience to Turbine that is singularly unique in the global online entertainment space,” said Jim Crowley, president and CEO of Turbine, Inc. “Turbine has an extraordinary team, incredible technology and a growing portfolio of games based on some of the most popular brands ever created. With this funding we are uniquely positioned to change the future of online entertainment as we bring new titles to market, expand the platforms we support and introduce new technologies to sustain self-evolving game worlds.”

An online entertainment veteran, Turbine is recognized globally for its industry-leading technology platform, groundbreaking game graphics and its exceptional ability to create and operate multiple massive, persistent online worlds that power hundreds of thousands of interactive social gaming experiences. The company currently operates three award-winning franchises around the globe and is one of the largest privately-held online gaming studios in North America.

“Our investment in Turbine is an important addition to Time Warner’s entertainment initiatives,” said Rachel Lam, Senior Vice President and Group Managing Director of Time Warner Investments. “Online interactive entertainment is a huge growth market and we are very excited about Turbine, its unique capabilities and the obvious opportunities that exist with our own broad portfolio of IP.”

“The demand for massively multiplayer online worlds is exploding both geographically and in terms of platforms served,” said Hany Nada, managing partner, GGV Capital. “Turbine is a proven leader in massively interactive online entertainment and the incredible technology that supports it. We look forward to marrying our strengths both here and in Asia with Turbine’s unique capabilities.”

In April 2007, Turbine launched The Lord of the Rings Online™: Shadows of Angmar™, the first and only MMORPG based on the books of J.R.R. Tolkien, and has quickly established itself as an emerging leader. The Lord of the Rings Online was named PC Game of the Year 2007 at the 25th Annual Golden Joystick awards and The New York Times proclaimed it “a major achievement of interactive storytelling, the first game truly worthy of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ franchise and a must-play for just about anyone with an interest in Tolkien or the future of online entertainment.” Turbine also created and operates Dungeons & Dragons Online™, which was named Best Multiplayer Game of 2006 by the British Academy of Television & Arts, and Asheron’s Call®, which was named one of the Top 50 Games of All Time by GameSpy and is one of the longest running massively multiplayer online games in the industry.

London, UK, 4th of June - Hideo Kojima, the internationally acclaimed games designer, was in London this week to receive his Guinness World Record certificates, as listed in the Guinness World Record: Gamer’s Edition 2008. His achievements are for Metal Gear, the first video game to fully utilize stealth as part of the gameplay and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of liberty, the biggest selling stealth game on Play Station 2.

Earlier adventure games had used elements of stealth, such as hiding and disguises, but Kojima’s creation Metal Gear was the first game to concentrate solely on these elements, effectively creating the “stealth game” sub-genre.

Keith Pullin, Editor of the Guinness World Records: Gamer’s Edition 2008 book, was on hand to present the certificates and said ‘I would like to welcome Mr. Kojima to our family of gaming record breakers and we hope he breaks many more!’.
For more spectacular gaming records see Guinness World Records: Gamer’s Edition 2008, the first Guinness World Records book devoted solely to the world of gaming, is on shelves now and bursting with new records, high score statistics and fascinating facts.

Burda:ic adds another game to the multiplayer games portal

Munich, June 3rd 2008

As announced by Burda:ic today, the subsidiary company of Hubert Burda Media has signed an Europe-wide license agreement for the game „S4 League“ with Neowiz Games, one of the leading publishers in the Korean game industry. This game will be another highlight, expanding the range of games offered on „alaplaya“, Burda:ic’s European portal for free-to-play multiplayer online games. During the Games Convention 2008 “S4 League” will be introduced to the general public.

”S4 League” is a sporty, manga-styled action game, offering fantastic graphics and an outmost stylish design. The game is excelling due to the innovative special skills offered for the players, letting them experience a whole new dimension of gaming fun. Ingo Griebl, Burda:ic Managing Director: “We are glad we were able to obtain yet another blockbuster for alaplaya for the whole of Europe. We are positive about the quality of the game, as well as of our partner Neowiz Games.”

The multiplayer games portal alaplaya, which was launched in July 2007 is offering a variety of internationally thriving games: “Audition”, “Fantasy Tennis” and the racing game “Come on Baby”. The number of registered users has reached 300,000 already and is continuing to grow dynamically. “With the 3rd person action shooter S4 League we are serving yet another genre and will break the mark of half a million users on alaplaya by the end of 2008”, said Achim Kaspers, General Manager of Burda:ic.

Kwanho Choi, CEO of Neowiz Games said, ‘Publishing deal of S4 League with Burda will be an important milestone for Neowiz Games as we are growing as a global company.’ And he added ‘We will put in our best support for S4 League to be a successful game in European market’

The portal is serving six different languages, the games are running throughout Europe, including Russia and Turkey under www.alaplaya.eu.

—FROM CAPCOM—-

Hi guys,

We just wanted to let you Devil May Cry fans know that the PC demo for Devil May Cry 4 is available for download at GameSpot.com and other downloadable content websites today.

This demo features two missions and Benchmark Test Mode for hardcore Devil May Cry gamers and PC enthusiasts to check out. Including, Executioner Mission, which tasks the player to tackle a boss battle right out of the gate, Exterminator Mission, which is a 10 minute level challenge, and Benchmark Test Mode, which allows you to test how well DMC 4 performs on your PC rig.

For those uninitiated, the PC version of Devil May Cry 4 will feature a host of new features exclusive to this version, including Turbo Mode, which turns up the speed for insane action, and Dark Knight Mode, which will harness the processing speed of your PC to deliver unbelievable numbers of on-screen enemies to combat. Additionally, Devil May Cry 4 also supports 120 frames per second (up from 30 frames per second in the console version), both Direct X 9 and Direct X 10 modes, and will be fully compliant with the Games For Windows program.