"parlez-vous francais" in their game thanks to a partnership with Gameforge!
Here's the press release:
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KingsIsle Entertainment and Gameforge Partner to Bring Wizard101 to Europe
PLANO, TEXAS (August 25, 2010) - KingsIsle Entertainment, Inc. today
announced a licensing agreement with German online games publisher Gameforge
to bring its award-winning massively multiplayer game Wizard101 to Europe.
"This partnership is an important first step in our strategy to expand
beyond the domestic US market and bring Wizard101 to an international
audience," said Elie Akilian, chairman and CEO of KingsIsle Entertainment.
"It's a very exciting time at KingsIsle and we are eager to share the
magical world of Wizard101 with an entirely new community of players."
"Wizard101 has proven to be a high-quality MMO that appeals to a large
audience of all ages. We are very excited to partner with KingsIsle in
bringing this great game to the European market and expand its audience
globally," said Carsten van Husen, CEO of Gameforge 4D.
Earlier this summer, KingsIsle announced that more than 10-million Wizards
have registered to play Wizard101 since the game launched in September 2008.
KingsIsle is currently working closely with Gameforge to localize Wizard101
for the European market. The first European launch is planned for late 2010.
In Wizard101, kids and families enter the magical world of Wizard City as
student Wizards setting out to hone their Wizard skills, cast spells and
summon powerful creatures to fight evil forces. The characters and worlds of
Wizard101 are influenced by literature, history and pop culture, giving the
game a depth and quality appreciated by families and players of all ages.
Wizard101 can be downloaded at www.Wizard101.com. Players seeking access to
premium areas and items may purchase pre-paid cards in participating stores
or purchase a subscription or Crowns online. New worlds, activities, pets
and Wizard clothing are periodically added to the game, creating an
ever-changing world with new things to see and do.
About KingsIsle Entertainment, Inc.
KingsIsle Entertainment is a developer and publisher that specializes in
creating high-quality massively multiplayer online games which provide
entertainment for the entire family. Wizard101, KingsIsle's flagship
property, has received the Parent Tested Parent Approved Media Seal of
Approval in 2009 and has been recognized by the National Parenting
Publications Awards. Wizard101 was named the #1 Best Family/All Age Game by
Beckett Massive Gamer Magazine, and the #1 Best Family Game by MMORPG.com
for 2009. The company's experienced and creative team is raising the bar in
online entertainment by offering products with rich storylines, friendly
navigation, top-quality art and fully-voiced characters. KingsIsle is
headquartered in Plano, Texas, and has a development studio in Austin,
Texas. For more information, please visit www.kingsisle.com.
KingsIsle and Wizard101 are trademarks or registered trademarks of KingsIsle
Entertainment Inc.
About Gameforge
Gameforge is the largest independent global provider of online games.
Located in Karlsruhe, Germany, the company specializes in developing and
publishing client- and browser-based online games and boasts more than 200
million registered users worldwide. Gameforge currently offers 21 games
localized into more than 50 languages. These games can be found at
MMOGAME.com, the company's comprehensive community network. Gameforge and
its products have won numerous awards including the "German Developer Award"
and the "Deloitte Technology Fast Forward 50 Award" for fast-growing
technology companies. Gameforge was titled one of Germany's 100 best
employers by the Great Place to WorkR Institute Germany.
For more information on Gameforge visit www.gameforge.com
For more information on the games visit www.mmogame.com
~~~~~~~~~~
Congrats Kingsisle! I hope this brings a lot more success to you and
hopefully some awesome bungled translations that will crack those Europeans
up. ;-)
Happy Dueling!
It'll be awesome to play with xome Euro's (even though some already have discovered W101). I wonder how we will be able to talk to people in Spain and France and stuff if we don't speak French and Spanish xD Maybe an automatic online translation? If such thing exists?
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see if they will include voiceovers for characters in different languages.
ReplyDeleteThis could be a good thing or bad thing. Depends on if KI releases things up to Marleybone or MooShu, or releases the entire game at our level of Celestia. If it's only till that, then smart Euros will use special IP access hacks to get into the USA Version. Welcome to Wizard 101, hacks. And if they release it all, well then they'll finish the game in like 4-6 days, and then they'll probably get bored, and then business goes down from the period of waiting for the next moment of content. It's a 2 sided coin, with 3 possibilities.
ReplyDelete@SorionHex
ReplyDeleteLOL. I play this game for more than 2 years, so yea i'm a pretty old player. And i'm from Europe. Wizard101 is an online game so everybody, from every part of the globe, with internet access can play it. The partnership with Gameforge means that we will [probably] be able to buy the gift cards from markets.
And i don't think there will be other languages then English used int he game. I'm not from France or Spain and i still can communicate.
I already introduced someone from the UK to Wiz101 and she is now a subscriber. I have played with two people from Australia. Will they still be allowed to play with those of us on this side of the ocean or be forced into a new area? Hmm.
ReplyDeleteHmm interesting. Although, eventually if they reach worldwide, they're gonna need to buy new game servers, and get company buildings and stuff like that, in those parts of the world. I'm not sure if you experience lag Autumn, but I would imagine you would since you're like receiving a transmission from the USA or at least the loading takes a while.
ReplyDeleteI have been to the KI site and saw they are making a new game but it will take a VERY long time to com out so dont expect to see it soon. but the pic looks as if it's a pirate type game. an also, i think KI needs to get somethig to reduce lag with so many players on especially with the European people comininto the game. my comp. has gotten really slow while i had wiz101 on.
ReplyDelete