Subscriber Information, 4th Anniversary, DDO Store and More!

Hi everyone!  Some very big news from Turbine, including the latest information being released on the current DDO population. Quite a significant announcement.  Although it's important to take all of this kind of stuff with a little grain of salt (the figures tend to be as much promotional as informational), it's quite obvious even without looking at these figures that DDO has been an outstanding success!  Especially since the release of Eberron Unlimited, it's been a real game-changer and largely an example of how to do things right.

Without further ado, here's a
LINK to the press release from Turbine and here's the release:


 
Best Free-to-Play MMO Marks Four Years of Operation with Sharp Growth

WESTWOOD, MA – February 26, 2010 –Turbine, Inc. announced today that Dungeons & Dragons Online®: Eberron Unlimited™ (DDO Unlimited), the world’s best free-to-play massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) has already attracted over one million new players since its September 2009 launch.  The massive influx of new players has been across all of the various consumer plans available.  DDO Unlimited’s paid subscriber base has more than doubled, while at the same time players are transacting in the new DDO store at three times the industry average, growing the franchise’s revenue over 500% since its launch in September. 

DDO Unlimited is a free-to-play MMORPG which delivers heart-pounding gameplay featuring the industry’s best combat system, a massive world with state-of-the-art graphics and gameplay, and a rich set of features that until now could only be found in premium subscription-based MMOs. DDO Unlimited offers an innovative new pricing model that allows players to download and play for free, purchasing adventure packs, items, and account services a la carte from the new DDO Store, or to subscribe to get unlimited access to all of the game’s content. Players can download and play DDO Unlimited for free by visiting www.ddo.com.

“The
response from players to DDO Unlimited has been nothing short of phenomenal,” said Jim Crowley, president and CEO of Turbine, Inc.  “We’ve known all along how great this game is and by implementing an innovative new model that put the players in charge of how they pay and play DDO Unlimited, we’ve successfully expanded our reach and injected new energy into the game.  Without a doubt, DDO Unlimited is a hit!”

“The launch of DDO Unlimited has been a huge success and has really taken the game to a new level,” said Fernando Paiz, Executive Producer of DDO Unlimited.  “As we celebrate our 4th birthday, the game has never been better and we’re just getting started with more adventure packs, more store items, and other innovative features coming in the major updates we have planned throughout 2010.”

DDO Unlimited is based on the world-renowned DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® franchise of  Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc.® (NYSE: HAS),  under license to Atari, SA. DDO has been enthusiastically received by many gaming critics, including The New York Times, PC Gamer, Game Informer and many more. For the latest information, please visit www.ddo.com.

About
Turbine
Turbine, Inc. is the premier creator and operator of massive, persistent online worlds that foster powerful social gaming communities.  Turbine is the largest privately-held online gaming studio in North America and has created some of the world’s most popular and award-winning online games, including The Lord of the Rings Online™, Dungeons & Dragons Online®: Eberron Unlimited™, and Asheron's Call®.  For more information on Turbine, its products and services please visit www.turbine.com.

About
ATARI, SA
Atari group is a global creator, producer and publisher of interactive entertainment for interactive game platforms that include PC, online, consoles from Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony and advanced smart phones (i.e. iPhone).  Divisions of Atari, SA include Cryptic Studios, Eden Studios, Atari Interactive, Inc. and Atari, Inc. 

Atari benefits from its global brand and an extensive catalogue of popular games based on classic owned game franchises (Asteroids®, Centipede®, Missile Command®, Lunar Lander®, original owned franchises (Test Drive®, Backyard Sports™, Deer Hunter®, MMO games from Cryptic Studios (Star Trek Online, Champions Online) and third party franchises (Ghostbusters®, Project Runway™, Dungeons and Dragons®.

For more information please visit www.atari.com  

©
2010 Atari Europe SASU. All rights reserved.
Atari word mark and logo are trademarks owned by Atari Interactive, Inc.

About Hasbro
Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) is a worldwide leader in children's and family leisure time entertainment products and services, including the design, manufacture and marketing of games and toys ranging from traditional to high-tech. Both internationally and in the U.S., its PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, TIGER and WIZARDS OF THE COAST brands and products provide the highest quality and most recognizable play experiences in the world.

About Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS), is the worldwide leader in entertaining the lifestyle gamer. The company holds an exclusive patent on trading card games (TCGs) and their method of play and produces the premier trading card game, Magic: The Gathering®, among many other trading card games and family card and board games. Wizards is also a leading publisher of role-playing games, such as Dungeons & Dragons, and publisher of fantasy series fiction with numerous New York Times best-sellers. For more information, visit the Wizards of the Coast website at www.wizards.com.

#  #  #

Dungeons & Dragons Online, Eberron Unlimited, Stormreach, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering and Wizards of the Coast and related logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the U.S. 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 owned by Atari Interactive, Inc. Turbine and the Turbine logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Turbine, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other jurisdictions. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Note that Turbine is not saying that there are currently one million or more subscribers, but at least one million people have checked the game out since DDO:U's release.  Fantastic!  That's very impressive numbers, backed up by very excellent business figures for the company.  This can be nothing but good for DDO and it's future!  On behalf of everyone at DDOcast I'd like to wish Turbine and it's hard-working DDO folks congratulations on this wonderful game's 4th Anniversary!

XP Weekend!

Yup, another xp weekend is upon us.  The official word from Tolero:

Bonus XP Weekend!

Starting this Friday, February 26th, and running through Sunday February 28th, all DDO Players will gain a 20% XP bonus in quests! This bonus stacks with Experience Elixirs (don't forget about Super Stacks in the DDO Store)! Happy Birthday DDO!
This is good!  I will be getting some leveling done for sure.

Repair Shop is here!

Turbine has officially released it's repair shop item into the DDO Store.  I must say, the pricing is much lower than I expected!  95 points isn't bad at all.  Here's the description from the DDO Store:

alt ALL NEW! Summoned Repair Shop (Forgemaster's Anvil)
The Anvil of the Forgemaster summons an Efreeti Blacksmith into your quest who will expertly repair any items you have for a price.  After three minutes, he will leave the area and can only be resummoned by another anvil. Cannot be used in Raids. 1 use.
Level Usable: All
Classes Usable: All

Store Location: Gear & Equipment > Questing Tools
Price: 95 Points

You can find a bunch of other temporary and newish items in the DDO Store catalog HERE.

Eberron Chronicle:

This week's Eberron Chronicle is a nice one celebrating the 4th anniversary as well.  Here's a
LINK to it.

Don't forget the DDOcast Build Guild is getting together on Sunday starting at Noon Eastern!  Sunday is officially the 4th anniversary of the game, should be an excellent time to get together.  The past four years have been excellent, thank you Turbine and everyone for making it all so much fun.

Jerry

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