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Gamescampus.com begins closed beta for Square Enix’s Concerto Gate

San Jose, CA (July 1, 2008) – Concerto Gate^TM, an item-based MMORPG produced by Square Enix Co., Ltd., is finally ready to launch in North America. Square Enix fans and MMORPG players alike have long waited to play this exciting title in America and will soon have a chance to participate in Concerto Gate’s closed beta test to be held from July 1 to 14. Users can go to Filefront.com to download the client software.

Concerto Gate, published at Gamescampus.com (run by OnNet USA), is the sequel to Cross Gate, an MMORPG launched in Japan back in 2001. In the game, players are summoned to the Kingdom of Fahren, a fantasy world of magic and sorcery, in hopes of becoming the legendary hero that has been foretold to save the world.

Concerto Gate boasts new and interesting features that every MMORPG player can look forward to, including the innovative “terra generating” system which allows players to change the environment’s topography. For example, players can shape mountains and destroy or grow forests over a several week period of time.

“I am thrilled and excited to introduce Concerto Gate to American players. Square Enix is, without doubt, one of the most famous developers in the world, and I believe the features of this game surely live up to their reputation. Concerto Gate is a terrific addition to Gamescampus.com, the leader in item-based games” says Kevin Kim, CEO of OnNet USA.

“It is our pleasure to introduce Concerto Gate to American audiences through Gamescampus.com. We hope now that even more players can experience our game’s revolutionary world and its exciting, new features such as ‘Terra Generating’,” says Mr. Noriaki Watanabe, producer of Concerto Gate at Square Enix Co., Ltd.

Berlin, 2008-07-01: In the Stone Age world of StoneAge 2 every player arranges his personal dwelling right from the start. With its many features the so-called “den” functions as base camp and newsroom for each resident simultaneously. It allows players not only to store their equipment and items, but to browse information and images from the progress of their online career in several different albums. They can record their own adventures and experiences with the album functions, write their own personal diary and transfer both directly to their own genuine weblog. A pet list within the houses of the free Free2Play MMORPG in manga style gives players a complete overview of the status of their own virtual animals.

Safehouse and archive in one
Unlike in the wilderness, players don’t need to fear for their beloved pets as long as they are in their den. Their virtual companions are secure from robbers and thieves here and can safely roam as they please. Two grim guards in front of every door make sure that nobody without permission enters the dwelling. But friends may pass by at any time for a visit and have a look at the albums. In addition to events within the game like level-ups, players can record their own comments and thoughts in these. Whoever does’nt like the initial equipment of their virtual home, can equip it with some neat furniture items like sandbags for the training of their pets. Even an enlargement of ones den is possible, if players need more space to invite and host their new friends. And if they no longer like the neighbourhood of their home village, they can easily move their household to another place. Even guilds can establish joint guild houses in StoneAge 2 to gather there to plan new challenges and adventures.

In the land before time – StoneAge 2
Primeval spirits, mythical beings and dinosaurs once roamed the lovingly animated world of StoneAge 2. But since the mysterious disappearance of the mighty dinosaurs, aggressive and evil creatures have taken over the world. Hunting, gathering and defending their soil now dominate the everyday life of the Manga characters. Players fan out from their individual housing to look for food and resources. Fortunately for them, the pets stand by their sides with their unique fighting and healing talents. Players will attentively take care of their virtual companions. With good upbringing and training some might even be used as mounts. Hobby Neanderthals can choose from almost 200 pets and even create their own unique creature as a loyal escort. Before StoneAge 2, the Japanese developing studio DigiPark had already successfully operated its predecessor in China, Korea and Japan with almost 10 millions of players. You can find further information and pictures on www.stoneage2.de.

Features of StoneAge 2

• Free online role-playing game
• Turn-based fights
• 12 different main characters
• Sophisticated and extensive pet system: almost 200 pets to choose from, which can communicate with their owners via e-mail
• Pets can be used as mounts
• Breeding of your own Pets
• Housing system with furnishing and possible relocation
• Guild system with guild events and guild housing
• PvP and tournament system (PVP duells)
• Battles against boss characters
• Weather system with impact on the world
• Item crafting: create your own equipment
• Egg laying function: Pets can father offspring
• Integrated item shop
• In-game chat and blog system

- The best selling PC game of May continues to hold the #1 spot in most markets – - More than 700.000 gamers have registered an Age of Conan account so far -

Durham, USA – June 30, 2008 – Eidos and Funcom are proud to announce that Age of Conan continues to dominate the PC sales charts in all markets where the game is available. Over the last few weeks it has remained the overall #1 PC game in most European markets, whilst also performing tremendously well on several all-format charts. In the US, Age of Conan impressively conquered the #1 PC spot for the first two weeks of available NPD data. Due to the amazing interest surrounding the game, more than 700.000 gamers have now signed up for an Age of Conan account. In the second month after release it is also clear that Age of Conan has taken the position as the undisputed #2 subscription MMO in the western world.

When Age of Conan stormed into retail stores as what we believe to be the most pre-ordered original PC game in history, it instantly became the best selling PC game of May. The pace at which Age of Conan sold made it one of the fastest selling PC games of all times, and Funcom and Eidos are therefore very satisfied to see the positive sales trend continue. As all countries report sales differently, it is not possible to get a complete overview of the exact box sales at the time of writing, but Age of Conan remains the top selling PC game in most all released markets. This includes being the #1 overall PC game in June in the Nordic countries, Oceania, Germany, France and Spain, as well a top three contender in all other markets where the game is out. No substantial sales data for June is yet available from the US market, but Age of Conan was the #1 PC game in the latest official NPD update.

“That Age of Conan remains #1 in retail stores several weeks after release is of incredible importance to us, and proves that the game has a large potential beyond the early adopters,” said Morten Larssen, VP of Sales & Marketing in Funcom. “With more than 700.000 accounts created so far we have a fantastic platform to build from, and we will continue our marketing spend to further drive numbers in the months to come. It also means that Funcom can dedicate significant development resources on evolving the game even further, naturally giving us a great hope for the future of Age of Conan.”

“We are incredibly pleased to see Age of Conan turning into an MMO phenomenon,” said Gaute Godager, Game Director on Age of Conan. “As an MMO company we know that a good start is just the beginning for a virtual world. All we care about now is to make Age of Conan into an even better game, and we have extensive plans to ensure that Age of Conan remains a top MMO alternative for many years to come.”

For more information about the game or to sign up for the community, please visit www.ageofconan.com

Wonderland Online: Assistant Water Spells Revealed

In Wonderland Online(http://wl.igg.com/), assistant water spells are quite important for players to level up, complete quests and win in group PVP. Players mastering the assistant water spell act like the doctor or nurse in a party. It’s recommended that these players concentrate on their CON and WIS points and choose bow to learn the spells at an early stage. After they have fully mastered all the assistant spells with Revival and Recover Normal included, they will complete their learning.

Assistant Water Spells Round-up

Cure Spell: Recover party player’s HP in a single round. When it reaches the highest level, it can be applied to players in six different parties.

Magic Recovery: Recover party player’s SP in a single round. When it reaches the highest level, it can be applied to players in three different parties

Freezing Spell: Freeze enemy target in two rounds. When it reaches the highest level, it can be used to freeze two enemy targets at the same time. But there will be a high rate of MISS, if enemy targets are of antagonistic attributes.

Recovery: Recover HP for players in the same party for 3 continuous rounds. When it reaches the highest level, it can be applied to players in two different parties.

Free From Mess: Dispels the mess in their party. It can be only applied to one target.

Sleep: Puts an enemy target to sleep in two rounds. When it reaches the highest level, it can be applied to four targets in an enemy party.

Revival: Revive a player in the same party and recover some of his HP. The revival rate corresponds to the level of this spell. If this spell is at high level, the HP level after being revived will be higher.

Recover Normal: Eliminates abnormal states.

Recommended Pet: Elin (Earth)

After Elin gets her Plasma Gun weapon (ATK+45) and Tim’s Lease (ATK＋50，MAXHP＋350, exclusively used by a Pet man), she will become very helpful for players mastering assistant water spells with less attack, because she has great attack power and rich HP.

Visit the official site for more info: http://wl.igg.com/news/newscontent.php?aid=595

Developer Callipygian Games to Utilize the Pixel Mine Portal and Micro-payment Transaction System

AUSTIN, TX – June 27th, 2008 - Pixel Mine, Inc. and Callipygian Games, LLC. announced today that Callipygian Games will utilize the Pixel Mine portal and Pixel Mine’s internal micro-payment transaction system for its debut title, Secondhand Lands. Secondhand Lands, an edgy fairy-tale MMOG, will be the fourth title on the Pixel Mine Portal.

Since the company’s inception in 2007, Pixel Mine has focused on providing original and innovative content. The Austin-based developer plans on adding three to four games to the portal each year, some of those coming from third party independent developers such as Callipygian Games, LLC.

Bobby Thurman, founder of Callipygian Games and lead developer on Secondhand Lands, confides, “We chose to work with Pixel Mine because they offered us the best value for our company and our players. As an independent developer it is very difficult to find a distribution deal that gives us a package with everything we need to manage accounts and handle payments. Also, we are excited to be working with another Austin company; this town is rich with talent and services tailored for game creation.”

“Having published independent titles ourselves, we know that the deck is stacked in favor of the publisher,” Pixel Mine President David Reese explains. “Our goal with the Pixel Mine Portal is to provide a distribution model, economy, and community management service which allows the independent developer to focus on their game but still retain ownership of the IP and receive the majority of the revenue for their hard work.”

CHICAGO, IL (June 27, 2008) Today the premier online collectible war game, The Continuum (www.thecontinuum.com <http://www.thecontinuum.com> ), was launched by Seven Lights, LLC. This original flash-based game blends the best elements of strategy gaming, collectible gaming, RPGs and digital goods into a distinctive game universe, where players’ actions affect a gripping narrative.

The Continuum’s gameplay is built around the game’s ever-expanding universe of dynamic digital characters from distinct game realities that do battle with each other in head-to-head online match-ups. Players of the game develop armies through battles, equipment discovery, and upgrades. Their characters and abilities are built through victory, trade, and purchase. For those players who sign up between June 25th and July 9th, 2008, they will get the exciting opportunity to purchase a special, one-time-only Launch Character Pack that will give them the advantage of additional characters to build their armies and powers.

The Characters of The Continuum each have their own unique attributes and abilities, and range in rarity from common to rare to legendary to one-of-a-kind. The characters are constantly developing through The Continuum’s RPG game elements, as the game allows players to use experience points for alterations, such as increasing and adding new characteristics and abilities. All customized in-game characters, not just the heroes, develop in a number of different ways to continually change the combat landscape and keep the game exciting and fresh every time it’s played. Plus, unlike other RPGs, players’ developed characters retain their built-up RPG statistics from game to game and version to version.

The game is free to start and download, and players will be given a number of starter characters. The Continuum, which can be played for ten minutes or for hours, features a level playing field, where players can have an even match regardless of how much they have invested in their characters either financially and/or with their time. Players will also be able to buy additional character packs or character subscriptions to add to their arsenal.

More than 25,000 gamers have pre-registered to play the beta version of The Continuum. This game is playable on all the major browsers and is not platform dependent. The browser-based format allows Seven Lights to constantly add new content (characters, events, abilities, etc…) in an almost real-time basis.

FireSky Forms Superteam with Armed Forces, MGM

Fierce alien warriors and commandos from Stargate Worlds will take over Comic-Con, the world’s premier pop culture event, July 24-27 in San Diego.

WHO: FireSky is teaming up with MGM Home Entertainment, and the U.S. armed forces to bring Stargate Worlds, the science fiction massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG), to life.

WHAT: Fans at Comic-Con will see game play footage from Stargate Worlds, the MMORPG where you discover thriving alien worlds, explore ancient civilizations … and tell them all the things they are doing wrong.

WHERE: The superpowers behind the game and the Stargate series will set up at booth #3535 and a base camp outside the San Diego Convention Center where fans can have their picture taken with a full-sized Stargate.

WHEN: July 23-27, 2008

WHY: Comic-Con is the premier pop culture event in the world.

Thursday, June 26–Miami, FL– Hypernia Hosting Corp®, the leader in online hosting services and solutions for the interactive entertainment industry, is pleased to announce their role as global online partner to U.K.-based game publisher GamesMasters.com LTD for the successful MMO game, Cabal Online.

Known for providing tier-1 bandwidth for CDN, gaming and media streaming, Hypernia was carefully selected by GamesMasters.com LTD as their official international online partner based on Hypernia’s lengthy and successful history in the online games space. Hypernia’s large volumes of equipment, bandwidth and facilities around the world enable game players to enjoy a robust multi-player experience.

GamesMasters.com publishes high quality games for the European online games market. GamesMasters.com is best known for their successful MMO title, Cabal Online, an RPG game product with 90,000 users, with a recent acceleration in subscribers to an additional 10,000 players per week. This rapid rate of increase in players, plus a high level of customer service, ensures that the game remains one of the best free-to-play games on the market.

GamesMasters.com took advantage of Hypernia’s on-demand utility hosting model which provided flexibility and cost savings, enabling the company to undergo significant service improvements in recent months. These included the addition of updated payment methods, the release of several large patches which has vastly increased the content of the game Cabal Online, a host of new features including new hunting grounds (the Chaos Arena), new rewards for Player vs Player action (players can now gain EXP from PvP) and several important bug fixes. As a direct result of their hosting partnership with Hypernia, these upgrades have produced positive results and Cabal Online is now one of the largest games in Europe.

Specifically, Hypernia provided multi-gigabit feeds as GamesMasters.com increased their player base. This functionality guaranteed an excellent Internet connection for players, no matter how many extra users were online simultaneously. To accommodate for game world growth, Hypernia also provided GamesMasters.com with new servers during different periods, while also providing an inexpensive CDN solution to keep the GamesMasters.com patches and downloads affordable for all the new users.

By allowing GamesMasters.com to host their own files, Hypernia helped keep users on the Cabal Online web site, instead of impacting the site’s “stickiness” by driving players to third parties for file down-loading. Hypernia also provided full 24-hour customer support, a crucial feature since more than fifty percent of the Cabal Online players are based in Europe.

James Vallord-Costa, CEO and co-founder of Hypernia, notes, “GamesMasters.com cut their costs for bandwidth considerably after joining us. With the ‘flex computing’ capability of our on-demand utility hosting model, they were able to add new expansions and games without the added risk. Most companies would not be able to experiment with a new expansion or game, but we made it easy for them.”

GamesMasters.com LTD company director Thorsten Schauer offers, “GamesMasters.com believes that game play should be easy and convenient for all MMORPG game players. With that in mind, Cabal Online was designed for new users and other MMORPG users who will be able to easily adapt to our game system. Cabal Online does not require long periods of game play. Hypernia’s role as our global hosting partner has been instrumental to our marketplace achievements with this game play plan for our customers.”

Keychain token generates unique codes used to help prevent unauthorised account access

PARIS, France - Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today introduced an optional extra layer of security for World of Warcraft®, its award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game. Designed to attach to a keychain, the lightweight and waterproof Blizzard® Authenticator is an electronic device that generates a six-digit security code at the press of a button. This code is unique, valid only once, and active for a limited time; it must be provided along with the account name and password when signing in to the World of Warcraft account linked to it.

This optional security measure will be available for a cost of €6.00 at the 2008 Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational, which takes place June 28-29 in Paris, France. In addition, the Blizzard Authenticator will be made available for purchase via Blizzard Entertainment’s European websites in the near future for a cost of €6.00 plus shipping.

“It’s important to us that World of Warcraft offers a safe and enjoyable game environment,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “One aspect of that is helping players avoid account compromise, so we’re pleased to make this additional layer of security available to them.”

To learn more about the Blizzard Authenticator, please visit http://eu.blizzard.com/security-token/.