BEIJING, May 21 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- The9 Limited (Nasdaq: NCTY) ("The9"), a leading online game operator and developer in China, today announced the 3D Strategic turn-based Role Playing Game (“SRPG”) Atlantica will begin its open beta test in Mainland China on June 3, 2009. The “Fire Travel in Nine Cities” campaign to search for the “Kings” in nine cities will also be launched on June 6, 2009.
Atlantica is the first 3D SRPG of The9. Through the searching of the lost civilization Atlantica, a huge game world was built up based on different actual civilizations in the World. Different from other turn-based RPG, Atlantica creates a new playing model - one player can control nine characters, and it is possible to have a battle of 27 vs 27. This is a breakthrough of turn-based RPG with strategic element, which will bring robust gaming experience to players.
Since it was born, Atlantica has earned lots of prizes and top game rankings in Korea and North America. During the close beta test period, Atlantica has been widely received by Chinese game players. Ms. Xiaowei Chen, President of The9, said, “the launch of Atlantica demonstrates our strategies to diversify our game portfolio and provide dedicated services to Chinese game players by bringing the best online games to China. We have very high expectation to the success of Atlantica in China.”
In today’s press conference for the Atlantica open beta test at the CCTV Tower in Beijing, senior management including Ms Xiaowei Chen, Kim Tai Gon, the star producer of Ndoors, were all present. The business partners Gateway and Ocean Butterflies International also joined this ceremony. Artists BY2 from Ocean Butterflies International performed “Bravery” - the theme song of Atlantica. Pop-song star Lin Junjie was also present at the ceremony to enjoy this exciting moment. When Ms. Xiaowei Chen announced that the open beta test of Atlantica will begin on June 3, 2009, clouding effect showed up on the CCTV Tower, together with the dazzling lighting effect from the peak of the Tower, brought the whole ceremony to a high exciting point. This indicated the opening of Atlantica, as well as the opening of a new page of SRPG in China.
The9 also announced the “Fire Travel in Nine Cities” campaign will be launched on June 6, 2009. This campaign takes the story of Atlantica as background, which enables all players to search for the “Kings” all over China. In this interactive campaign which creates a cross-over of real world and virtual world, BY2 will be the “Angels of Kings Searching”. They will start from Haerbin - the new players’ village, and go through nine famous scenic cities in China: Qingdao, Xi’an, Chongqing, Wuhan, Xiamen, Guangzhou, Sanya and Hangzhou, according to the main route of Atlantica. After this tour, the nine “Kings” will be selected.
The Beijing team of The9 is in charge of Atlantica, which symbolizes a new page of The9 in the Chinese online game market in terms of both operation and product.
About The9 Limited
The9 Limited is a leading online game operator and developer in China. The9’s business is primarily focused on operating and developing high-quality games for the Chinese online game market. The9 directly or through affiliates operates licensed MMORPGs and advanced casual game including Blizzard Entertainment(R)’s World of Warcraft(R), Soul of The Ultimate Nation(TM), Granado Espada and EA SPORTS(TM) FIFA Online 2 in mainland China. It has also obtained exclusive licenses to operate other games in mainland China, including Atlantica, Audition 2, Hellgate: London, Ragnarok Online 2, Emil Chronicle Online, Huxley(TM) and Field of Honor. In addition, The9 is also developing various proprietary games, including Ming Jiang San Guo, Jiu Zhou Zhan Ji and other MMORPGs and advanced causal games.
For further information, please contact:
Ms. Phyllis Sai
IR Manager, Investor Relations
The9 Limited
Tel: +86-21-5172-9990
Email: IR@corp.the9.com
Website: http://www.corp.the9.com
