SHANGHAI, Sept. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase, Inc. today announced that World of Warcraft®: Mists of Pandaria™, the fourth expansion set for the world's most popular subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game, will launch in mainland China on October 2, 2012. For the first time ever, Chinese players will be able to join the rest of the global World of Warcraft community within the same one-week global launch period.
Also a first for the game's community in China, Chinese players will have the opportunity to own the premiere Chinese "Ultimate Edition" of Mists of Pandaria, available at a price of 486 CNY. This exclusive set includes an appealing package of bonus items:
- World of Warcraft in-game mount: Take to the skies of Azeroth astride the mystical Imperial Quilen flying mount;
- World of Warcraft in-game pet: Journey across Pandaria with the Lucky Quilen Cub at your side;
- World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria PC-game DVD;
- The Art of Mists of Pandaria book: Explore this 208-page hardcover tome featuring never-before-seen artwork from the expansion, from early concepts to final 3D renderings;
- Chen Stormstout mouse pad: Equip your desk with this special-edition mouse pad featuring the legendary pandaren brewmaster;
- StarCraft® II Battle.net® portraits: Bring the Horde and Alliance rivalry to the far reaches of the Koprulu sector with exclusive Infested Orc and Night Elf Templar Battle.net portraits;
- Behind-the-Scenes DVD: Learn about the creation of Pandaria with this two-disc set featuring over an hour of commentary, insider interviews, and developer roundtables; and,
- Soundtrack CD: Experience 20 orchestral pieces from Mists of Pandaria.
The "Ultimate Edition" is now available for preorder through the Blizzard Entertainment online store (http://bmall.163.com/) and other popular sites, including 360buy.com, amazon.cn, and dangdang.com. Preordered copies of the Mists of Pandaria "Ultimate Edition" will begin shipping on September 28; players will be able to access the content when the expansion goes live on October 2.
"We're excited to bring Mists of Pandaria to China on October 2, making this expansion a truly global launch," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "Mists of Pandaria contains the biggest variety of new content we've ever created for a World of Warcraft expansion, with features that will appeal to new players, veterans, and everyone in between. We hope players enjoy exploring everything Pandaria has to offer."
"Releasing a new World of Warcraft expansion within the same global launch week represents a historic moment for Chinese players," said William Ding, CEO of NetEase, Inc. "We are proud to do our part in bringing Mists of Pandaria to gamers around the world. With abundant Chinese and other Eastern culture elements in the game, I am confident it will be widely embraced by the passionate Chinese player community."
Mists of Pandaria offers a wide variety of content for new and returning World of Warcraft players. Features include a new playable race (the pandaren) with its own starting zone and quests, a new character class (the monk), and expansive new continent for players to explore as they adventure to the new level cap of 90. The expansion also includes a host of new gameplay elements designed to give players even more ways to enjoy the game, including scenarios -- a new way to play cooperatively with friends; challenge modes, which offer high-prestige rewards for mastering Mists of Pandaria's 5-player dungeons; and an all-new pet battle system.
To learn more about World of Warcraft and Mists of Pandaria, please visit the official website at http://www.warcraftchina.com.
About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft® and the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry's most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment's track record includes fourteen #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company's online-gaming service, Battle.net®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players.
About NetEase, Inc.
NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTES) is a leading China-based Internet technology company that pioneered the development of applications, services and other technologies for the Internet in China. NetEase's online communities and personalized premium services have established a large and stable user base for the NetEase websites, which are operated by its affiliates. In particular, NetEase provides online game services to Internet users through its in-house development or licensing of massively multi-player online role-playing games, including Fantasy Westward Journey, Westward Journey Online II and III, Tianxia III, Heroes of Tang Dynasty, Datang and Ghost, as well as the licensed Blizzard Entertainment games World of Warcraft and StarCraft II.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Blizzard Entertainment's and NetEase's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase generally use words such as "outlook," "will," "could," "would," "might," "remains," "to be," "plans," "believes," "may," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "estimate," "future," "plan," "positioned," "potential," "project," "remain," "scheduled," "set to," "subject to," "upcoming" and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Blizzard Entertainment's and/or NetEase's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include, but are not limited to, sales levels of Blizzard Entertainment's titles generally, the popularity of World of Warcraft among Chinese players and the effect of future expansion sets on the game, shifts in consumer spending trends, the impact of the current macroeconomic environment, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, the risk that Shanghai EaseNet will not be able to operate StarCraft II, World of Warcraft or other games licensed by it from Blizzard Entertainment for a period of time or permanently due to possible governmental actions, the risk that Shanghai EaseNet or NetEase will be subject to penalties or operating restrictions imposed by governmental authorities in the PRC resulting from the operations of their online games, including suspension of their Internet service or other penalties, the risk that changes in Chinese government regulation of the online game market may limit future growth of Blizzard's or NetEase's revenue in China or cause revenue to decline; industry competition and competition from other forms of entertainment, rapid changes in technology, industry standards and consumer preferences, including interest in specific genres such as real-time strategy, action–role-playing and massively multiplayer online games, protection of proprietary rights, litigation against Blizzard Entertainment and/or NetEase, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, licensees, licensors, vendors and third-party developers, including the ability to attract, retain and develop key personnel and developers who can create high quality "hit" titles, counterparty risks relating to customers, licensees, licensors and manufacturers, domestic and international economic, financial and political conditions and policies, foreign exchange rates and tax rates, and the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities, and the other factors identified in the risk factors section of Activision Blizzard's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and of NetEase's most recent annual report on Form 20-F and other filings and submissions with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Blizzard Entertainment, Activision Blizzard and NetEase, as the case may be, as of the date of this release, and none of such parties assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Blizzard Entertainment, Activision Blizzard or NetEase and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond their respective control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.
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