NEW YORK, October 17, 2006 - Atari, Inc (Nasdaq: ATAR) and Obsidian Entertainment today announced that the highly-anticipated Neverwinter Nights 2 has gone gold and is on schedule to ship to stores nationwide on October 31 in North America and on November 3 in Europe. Neverwinter Nights 2, the sequel to BioWare Corp.'s best-selling and genre-defining role-playing game, is set in the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Forgotten Realms universe created by Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS), and will transport players back to the embattled city of Neverwinter.
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is under license from the Hasbro Properties Group, the intellectual property development arm of Hasbro. Neverwinter Nights 2 will be released for the Windows platform.
Developed by Obsidian Entertainment, Neverwinter Nights 2 features a new, extensive single-player game with deep character development and a powerful new toolset that provides players with unprecedented ability to create their own universes, quests and storylines
"Neverwinter Nights 2 has been an incredible game to produce, as we have aimed from the beginning to develop an immersive gaming experience that will satisfy both the RPG and modding communities," said Feargus Urquhart, Obsidian Entertainment's
CEO. "Now that Neverwinter Nights 2 has gone gold, we are proud to say we are
delivering a game that should exceed fans' expectations."
The Neverwinter Nights franchise has sold more than two million copies worldwide, is translated into 10 languages, sold in more than 40 countries and features one of the largest and most active fan communities in all of gaming. To date, fans of the franchise, which includes Neverwinter Nights, Neverwinter Nights:
Shadows of Undrentide and Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark, have created nearly 4,000 modifications to the original game using the original, award-winning Aurora Toolset. A more robust toolset will be included with the release of Neverwinter Nights 2.
More information about Neverwinter Nights 2 can be found at www.nwn2.com, which includes user forums, project news, development updates and more.
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About Obsidian Entertainment
Obsidian Entertainment, Inc. is a premier software development company passionately dedicated to creating high quality, next generation role-playing games for PC and console systems. More information about Obsidian Entertainment can be found online at www.obsidianent.com.
About THE HASBRO PROPERTIES GROUP
The Hasbro Properties Group (HPG), the intellectual property development arm of Hasbro, Inc., (NYSE:HAS), translates one of the industry's richest portfolios of brands into a world of fun and excitement for children and adults globally.
Through a host of publishing, digital media, lifestyle and entertainment platforms, HPG is able to surround fans worldwide with consumer products that expand Hasbro's core brands, such as TRANSFORMERS, LITTLEST PET SHOP, MY LITTLE PONY, MONOPOLY, G.I. JOE, TONKA and PLAYSKOOL.
About Atari
New York-based Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) develops interactive games for all platforms and is one of the largest third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The Company's 1,000+ titles include hard-core, genre-defining franchises such as The Matrix (Enter The Matrix and The Matrix: Path of Neo) and Test Drive; and mass-market and children's franchises such as Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues and Dora the Explorer, and Dragon Ball Z. Atari, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (Euronext - ISIN: FR-0000052573), the largest interactive games publisher in Europe. For more information, visit www.atari.com.
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Safe Harbor Statement
With the exception of the historical information contained in this release, the matters described herein contain certain "forward-looking statements" that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements in this release are not promises or guarantees and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and are naturally subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. We caution you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. Actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the statements herein. Some of the factors which could cause our results to differ materially include the following:
the loss of key customers, such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target, GameStop and EB Games; delays in product development and related product release schedules; inability to secure capital; adapting to the rapidly changing industry technology, including new console technology; maintaining relationships with leading independent video game software developers; maintaining or acquiring licenses to intellectual property; fluctuations in the Company's quarterly net revenues and results of operations based on the seasonality of our industry; the termination or modification of our agreements with hardware manufacturers; and other factors described in our SEC filings.
The Company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the Company's expectations.
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, FORGOTTEN REALMS, Neverwinter Nights, Shadows of Undrentide
and Hordes of the Underdark and related logos are trademarks of Wizards of the
Coast Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions, and are used with
permission. Hasbro and its logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of
Hasbro, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other jurisdictions, and are used with permission.
Atari and the Atari logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Atari, Inc.
in the U.S. and/or other jurisdictions, and are used with permission. Obsidian
Entertainment and the Obsidian Entertainment logo are trademarks of Obsidian
Entertainment, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other jurisdictions.
2006, Atari, Inc. All rights reserved. ATARI, the ATARI logo, and classic Atari
game titles and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Atari Interactive,
Inc. or its affiliates. All other trademarks are the property of their respective
owners.
