[NCsoft] releases the first expansion to award-winning, subscription-free Guild Wars franchise, builds bridge to Guild Wars 2.

Bellevue, WA. Aug. 31, 2007-NCsoft® and [ArenaNet]® have launched Guild Wars: Eye of the North™, the first expansion to the Guild Wars® franchise of subscription-free, online role-playing games. Guild Wars players who purchase the expansion can access Eye of the North content through the multi-million-selling Guild Wars campaigns-Guild Wars, Guild Wars: Factions™, or Guild Wars: Nightfall™. The expansion also includes an innovative feature that allows players to take achievements they have earned over the years with them into the forthcoming Guild Wars 2™.

Guild Wars: Eye of the North, continues the subscription-free business model pioneered by [ArenaNet]. The expansion is now available at www.[GuildWars].ph, as well as from retailers nationwide, for an expected suggested retail price of PhP2,200.

Eye of the North advances the story told in the original Guild Wars campaign, and is set in the unexplored area of the continent of Tyria. One of the highlights of the expansion is the Hall of Monuments, which allows players to preserve armour sets, pets, Heroes, and titles earned while playing Guild Wars, Factions, Nightfall, and Eye of the North, and take those accomplishments with them into Guild Wars 2.

The expansion also contains a host of new features that will appeal directly to veteran Guild Wars players, including 18 multi-level dungeons, 150 new skills across all 10 Guild Wars professions, 10 new Heroes to aid them in their adventures, 40 new armour sets, and more items, weapons, and titles.

“We think fans will find a lot to love in Guild Wars: Eye of the North,” said Mike O’Brien, co-founder of ArenaNet. “Not only do we go back to the original Guild Wars lands and stories to wrap up plots and themes fans have clamoured to learn more about, but we’ve also built a bridge to the future through the Hall of Monuments. This will give loyal players a way to preserve what they’ve accomplished in Guild Wars over the past two years, and reclaim the legacy of their favourite characters in Guild Wars 2.”

The Guild Wars franchise recently surpassed four million units sold and is one of the most popular and critically acclaimed online role-playing game series of all time. Guild Wars 2 is expected to go into public beta in the second half of 2008.

For more information, visit the Guild Wars website at www.[GuildWars].ph or www.[GuildWars].com.

About AsianMedia

Established in 1999, Asian Media Development Group, previously known as AMDG, built up a nationwide sales and distribution network for licensed PC games, which penetrated more than 90% of internet cafes in the Philippines. Expanding into the online gaming market in 2007, the company adopted a vibrant new logo and re-emerged as AsianMedia to reflect its commitment to providing the best online gaming experience for regional gamers. To learn more, visit www.[AsianMedia].ph.

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 North, are global online role-playing 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.

CALLA LILY’s hit single “Pasan” from their gold album “Destination XYZ” has been designated the official soundtrack of the online game, Lineage II™.

In fact, animated sequences from the Triple-A MMORPG¹ can be seen in the music video for “Pasan”.

Lineage II™, created by Korean gaming giant NCsoft is distributed in the Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia by Asian Media Development Group (AsianMedia®).

[AsianMedia] Chief Operating Officer, Ronald Allan Aquino revealed that DVD game installers of Lineage II will include the “Pasan” music video.

Likewise, specially marked copies of “Destination XYZ”, released by Sony BMG Entertainment Philippines and available in record stores nationwide will also carry the Lineage II game installer.

“More than providing theme music you can listen to while playing Lineage II, Calla Lily and ‘Pasan’ capture a key strategy for playing the game, which is working as a team to get to where you want to go and not leaving anyone behind,” said Aquino.

Lineage II features intriguing and highly sophisticated political, economic, and social systems that add another dimension to the game’s power struggles which are not found in other.

Overwhelming support for “Pasan” video

Since it first aired on MYX on June 1, the “Pasan” music video has enjoyed tremendous support from Calla Lily’s legion of fans, better known as “Callalistas”. Within days of its premier, the video quickly shot to the #1 spot on MYX and spawned numerous postings on YouTube.

Some video posts of “Pasan” on YouTube, captured from television sets by fans, have already gotten over 20,000 hits within a week of the video’s premiere.

Darwin Hernandez, from Calla Lily’s management, Soupstar Entertainment said, “The response for ‘Pasan’ has been awesome and I’m sure the guys really appreciate it.”

MYX viewers can continue to show their support for Calla Lily and “Pasan” by sending “MYXVOTEPASAN” to 2366 through SMS.

Making the Video

Calla Lily, with Kean Cipriano on vocals, Alden Acosta on lead guitar, “Tatsi” Jamnague on rhythm guitar, Lemuel Belaro on drums, and Aaron Ricafrente on bass guitar, endured a gruelling 2-day shooting schedule for “Pasan”.

In the video, directed by Pancho Esguerra and produced by Chris Cahilig Consultancy with Straightshooters Media Inc., the band must make their way to a “Battle of the Bands” type competition. On their way to the gig, they encounter a number of obstacles ranging from a vicious guard dog to rival bands who try to keep them from performing onstage.

Through dedication, perseverance and teamwork, the guys break past the barriers and make it to the competition venue just in time to rock the house with a high-flying performance of “Pasan”.

The music video features spectacular computer generated images (CGI) which were seamlessly integrated into the live action sequences to mirror the band’s struggle to reach their destination.

Calla Lily performed all of their own stunts, soaring through several scenes harnessed to wire rigs for their amazing leaps and aerial maneuvers.

Lead singer Kean Cipriano said, “we all had a lot of fun working on this video and we’re really glad to be a part of Lineage II”.

“Pasan” which means “to shoulder or carry on one’s back” is loosely based on the poem “Footprints in the sand”, according to drummer Lemuel Belaro who wrote the song’s lyrics.

The fast-paced, action-packed video was shot in Quezon City at the St. James School, which was transformed overnight to create the various scenes in the video. The music video also features the participation of “Callalistas” who gamely stayed until the early hours of the morning to take part in the concert sequences.

Online video stream of the video can be found at: http://www.veoh.com/videos/v766122Dtgn73E4

Download links

Zip version
Malaysia: http://lineage2.com.my/rsc/videos/L2-SEA-Official_Music_Video-Pasan.zip
Philippines: http://lineage2.ph/rsc/videos/L2-SEA-Official_Music_Video-Pasan.zip
Singapore: http://lineage2.com.sg/rsc/videos/L2-SEA-Official_Music_Video-Pasan.zip

About AsianMedia

Established in 1999, Asian Media Development Group, previously known as AMDG, built up a nationwide sales and distribution network for licensed PC games, which penetrated more than 90% of internet cafes in the Philippines. Expanding into the online gaming market in 2007, the company adopted a vibrant new logo and re-emerged as [AsianMedia] to reflect its commitment to providing the best online gaming experience for regional gamers. To learn more, visit www.[AsianMedia].ph/icafelounge.

ASIAN Media Development Group’s (AsianMedia) move towards online games is welcome news for the Filipino gaming community which is hungry for quality online games. AsianMedia’s partnership with Korean gaming giant, NCsoft to distribute Lineage II in Southeast Asia opens doors for Filipino gamers to experience bigger and better games at their own terms.

As AsianMedia Chief Operating Officer, Ronald Allan Aquino comments, “Our extensive market research into local gaming behavior confirms that Pinoy gamers are ready, willing and eager to experience a higher caliber of gaming content.”

Lineage II, the medieval fantasy MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) has drawn millions of loyal fans worldwide to its combination of fantasy combat. Its unique social/ political/economic power struggles developed through the community and by the in-game actions of individual gamers are anticipated to appeal especially to Filipinos.

“Lineage II is an excellent game to spearhead our efforts towards continuously providing cutting-edge online games,” says Aquino. “Each new chronicle in Lineage II is truly massive in scope and offers new twists that will keep gamers immersed in the game.”

Marketing to a Philippine Gaming Community

n a move to make the game accessible to more Filipino gamers, access to Lineage II’s Philippine servers will be available on a prepaid card system which will allow gamers to determine the amount of time they play Lineage II.

“For now, we’re focusing on the Pay-to-Play (P2P) business model as opposed to the Free-to-Play (F2P) model because P2P games tend to attract more gamers who are prepared to commit to the game and thereby develop a sense of loyalty to the brand,” says Aquino.

Although most online gaming in the Philippines is concentrated within Metro Manila, AsianMedia will market Lineage II throughout the Philippines by tapping its existing distribution network for popular PC games like Counterstrike and GuildWars among internet gaming cafes spread throughout the country.

“Lineage II has a unique community building component and it would not be farfetched to imagine competition among clans from different provinces as well as different countries like Malaysia and Singapore who will also be playing Lineage II from the same server,” he continues.

“In terms of content, we also believe that Philippine gamers are willing to pay for superior quality game content, something which Lineage II is already known for throughout the world,” adds Aquino.

With regular updates or expansions to the game, unceasing game content development, and frequent in-game promotional events to keep gamers on their collective toes, Lineage II is particularly suited for gamers who demand value for their money.

Lineage II also features greatly improved third-person 3D graphics thanks to the Unreal Engine developed by Epic Games.

“It is without a doubt, the most breathtakingly stunning and immersive Triple-A fantasy MMORPG in the market,” adds Aquino.

AsianMedia’s research into Philippine online gaming behavior revealed that a growing segment of the gaming community is in their early to mid-20s and more likely to play online games that feature realistic characters. They also expressed a desire for games with spectacular graphics and more challenging content: qualities which Lineage II delivers in spades.

“Although we’re keeping our options open towards other types of online games in the future, we’re confident that Philippine gamers will come to the world of Lineage II, decide to stay and experience the game of their life,” concludes Aquino.