IT’S HELLGATE HALLOWEEN! EA AND NAMCO BANDAI GAMES UNLEASH HELLGATE: LONDON AT RETAILERS TODAY

Forget Trick-or-Treating Because the Hellgate is Officially Open

Redwood City, Calif. – October 31, 2007 – Remember the dead, but fight for the living! Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) and NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. today announced that Hellgate™: London, the first title from Flagship Studios and one of the most anticipated PC games of the year, is now available at retail outlets in North America and Europe1. Combining the depth and addictive gameplay of traditional role-playing games with the visceral action of first-person shooters, the long-awaited action RPG from the creators of the global blockbuster Diablo franchise is poised to keep gamers hacking-and-slashing for many Halloweens to come.

“Today marks a major milestone for Flagship Studios,” said Bill Roper, CEO of Flagship Studios. “The greatest thrill any developer can have is to see their game actually in a player’s hands. We’ve put our all into making Hellgate: London a great gaming experience, and now we’re able to share what has been a huge part of the past four years of our lives with our friends, family, and the world.”

“The core of the EA Partners program is utilizing our strengths as a publishing organization to help world-class independent development studios like Flagship bring their games to market globally,” said David DeMartini, Vice President and Global General Manager, EA Partners. “Hellgate: London is a great achievement and we are excited to have had the opportunity to work with Flagship and NAMCO BANDAI in delivering a breakthrough action RPG.”

It’s 2038 and London lies in ruins, overrun by hordes of terrifying demons. Players begin their mission to save the once-great city by creating a hero, choosing among six character classes featuring distinct gameplay styles. Hellgate: London offers gamers a deep storyline campaign with over 35 hours of gameplay that is infinitely re-playable because of the game’s dynamically generated levels and random items, enemies and events. Hellgate’s robust, flexible skill and spell system, highly customizable appearances, and a massive variety of equipment ensures each player’s experience will be unique.

While some may prefer to save humanity on their own offline, gamers will also be able to fight online*, joining up with other survivors in a secure, client-server environment and playing through the entire story-driven campaign for free. For those players who want to extend their Hellgate: London experience, Flagship is offering an optional subscription service for $9.99/month2 which will give players access to tremendous amounts of ongoing content in the form of quests, character classes, demons, items, etc.

Hellgate: London has been rated M for Mature (Violence, Blood and Gore, Mild Language) by the ESRB. Visit www.esrb.org for updated rating information. For more information about Hellgate: London, log onto the game’s official website at www.hellgatelondon.com.


* Internet connection required.

1 In store dates vary by country and retail location. All stores will be in stock by November 2nd.
2 Pricing for the optional subscription service is €9.99/month in Europe and £7.99/month in the United Kingdom.

Labels: EA, Hellgate London, Namco-Bandai

Labels: EA, Hellgate London, Namco-Bandai, PC

EA AND NAMCO BANDAI ANNOUNCE A TRIFECTA OF PRE-ORDER TREATS FOR HELLGATE: LONDON

Here’s Your Exclusive Chance to Open the Hellgate Before Halloween

Redwood City, Calif. – September 14, 2007 – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) and NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. today announced three special pre-order promotions for the highly anticipated action RPG Hellgate™: London in North America. Gamers who pre-order either the regular or Collector’s Edition of Hellgate: London will receive:

*A key to an exclusive Beta starting next week and ending October 7, 2007.
*One of four exclusive dye-kits1 that will give your hero’s gear a cool color theme right off the bat when Hellgate: London officially opens on Halloween.
*Eligibility to take advantage of the Hellgate: London Founders Offer, giving hardcore players a chance to purchase a lifetime subscription2 to Hellgate’s premium service for $149.99.

“We’re excited to get our most passionate players into the early Beta test, and to reward them with a special look once the game goes live on Halloween,” said Bill Roper, CEO of Flagship Studios. “The Founder’s offer is designed for those die-hard fans that will have had time to really get to know the game during the Beta phase and plan on spending a lot of time with us online.”

From the core team behind the global blockbuster action RPG Diablo®, Hellgate: London represents the next leap in the evolution of the genre, combining the depth and addictive gameplay of traditional RPGs with the visceral action of first-person shooters. Featuring a deep, story-driven campaign with over 40 hours of gameplay, Hellgate: London can be played alone offline or online through the entire campaign experience for free in a safe, client-server environment. For those players who want to extend their Hellgate: London experience, Flagship is offering an optional subscription service which will give players access to huge amounts of content on an ongoing basis in the form of quests, character classes, demons, items, etc.

Hellgate: London has been rated ‘M’ for Mature by the ESRB and has been rated ‘18+’ by PEGI. Visit www.esrb.org or www.pegionline.eu for more ratings information. For more information about the game, log onto http://info.ea.com or the game’s official website at www.hellgatelondon.com.

1 A Dye Kit is an in-game item that lets you color your online character's armor set to a particular theme, determined by the retailer you purchased your pre-order from. Your specific Dye Kit information can be found on your pre-order card that contains the code. This item is linked to your account when you enter your pre-order code. However, it is not available for use in the Beta, but only in the Live (retail) version of the game.

2 "Lifetime Subscription" refers to the lifetime of the online subscription component for Hellgate: London, not the user's lifetime. Lifetime Subscription memberships are limited to the first 125,000 pre-order purchasers of Hellgate: London from participating retailers who upgrade prior to November 30, 2007. Prior to purchasing a Lifetime Subscription, the purchasers of the Hellgate: London must complete their purchase of the Hellgate: London software and create a Hellgate: London online subscription account. The user acknowledges and agrees that: (a) the Hellgate: London online component, including, but not limited to the online subscription component may be cancelled at any time, without any refunds or other compensation to the user; (b) the Lifetime Subscription does not automatically grant access to expansions of Hellgate: London which are sold as individual products, as such products must be purchased separately; (c) the user must accept and abide by the End User License Agreement for Hellgate: London and the Terms of Service, Code of Conduct and Privacy Policy for the Hellgate: London online component, as each are modified from time to time, at all times prior to the purchase of a Lifetime Subscription; and (d) in addition to the foregoing, Ping0, LLC retains the right to cancel a Lifetime Subscription as set forth in the Terms of Service to the Hellgate: London online component.

Labels: EA, Hellgate London, Namco-Bandai

EA AND NAMCO BANDAI GAMES ANNOUNCE OCTOBER 31st

RELEASE DATE FOR HELLGATE: LONDON

The Next Benchmark in Action Role Playing Games will Start Lighting Up PCs this Halloween

Redwood City, Calif. – August 6, 2007 – Get ready to hack, slash, and shoot your way through a demon-infested London this Halloween! Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) and NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. today announced that Hellgate™: London, the premier title from Flagship Studios, will start hitting retail stores in North America on October 31, 2007 and in Europe on November 2, 2007 for the PC. Hellgate: London represents the next leap in the evolution of the action RPG genre, combining the depth and addictive gameplay of traditional RPGs with the visceral action of first-person shooters.

“We wanted to hit the sweet-spot for release in terms of the development schedule and delivering the highest-quality game to our players,” said Bill Roper, CEO of Flagship Studios. “Halloween was the perfect fit as it ensures that Hellgate: London will have an appropriate amount of beta testing, while also being an incredibly fun time to unleash the game.”

One of the most anticipated PC games and RPGs of the year, Hellgate: London offers infinite re-playability with dynamically generated levels, items, enemies and events. The player creates a heroic character, completes quests, and battles through an innumerable amount of demons to advance through a deep, rich story-driven campaign. A robust, flexible skill and spell system, highly customizable appearances, and a massive variety of randomly generated equipment allow each player to create his or her own unique hero.

While some may prefer to slay demons solo, players will also be able to take the fight online*, teaming up with friends to save London in a secure, client-server environment and playing through the entire story-driven campaign for free. For those players who want to extend their Hellgate: London experience, Flagship is offering an optional subscription service which will give players access to huge amounts of content on an ongoing basis in the form of quests, character classes, demons, items, etc. More details about Hellgate: London’s online options are coming soon.

Labels: EA, Hellgate London, Namco-Bandai, PC