July 22, 2004

By: Lucas Lennard
Website: http://www.1st-in-games.com

Gamers will be able to play online from home or from the show floor

ArenaNet, founded by the developers who helped create StarCraft, Warcraft, Diablo and Battle.net, and NCsoft, the worlds top developer and publisher of online computer games, are pleased to invite gamers worldwide to join the Guild Wars E3 show floor experience.

From May 12 through 14, while Guild Wars is being demonstrated on the E3 show floor, players from around the world will be able to join in the fun and play the game in real-time over the Internet.

This is a unique opportunity for gamers to play a sneak preview of Guild Wars months before it is released. Guild Wars is currently in the alpha development stage and typically gamers must wait until a game enters closed beta testing before a select number of people are allowed to play it. E3 for Everyone will also be the first time for many gamers to experience an E3 event, as this premier U.S. trade show is not open to the general public.

While many games provide a controlled demonstration of gameplay on the E3 show floor, it is very rare for the public to have access to this game play experience in an open forum.

This one-time-only Guild Wars E3 experience will include solo player quests, cooperative missions that introduce the Guild Wars story, a competitive arena for multiplayer combat, and a competitive worldwide tournament that will run continuously, offering multiple levels and a variety of game types.

Distribution of the Guild Wars E3 client will begin in late April via magazine CD. At the beginning of May the client will be available via online download. Industry partnerships assisting with distribution of the E3 client include the gaming press, online gaming sites, and online retailers.

The games official website, www.guildwars.com, will offer additional download access. Once the client is available, ArenaNet encourages gamers to share the 64k zipped gaming client with their friends via e-mail.

We feel very strongly that E3 is an exciting event for all gamers as the industry puts its very best games on display. We are very proud to go one step further and to open our E3 experience not just for those fortunate enough to attend the show, but to gamers world wide, stated Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet.

Because Guild Wars is a social game, we also wanted to enable gamers to play with their friends. We thought the best way to make this happen was simply to allow gamers to invite each other by emailing the client.

About The Author:

Lucas Lennard is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.1st-in-games.com.  Great games for the entire family for hours of fun or competition. We feature all your favorites.