Shanda Interactive to Bring D&D Online to China
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SHANDA, TURBINE TO BRING DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ONLINE TO CHINA
China's Largest Online Games Operator to Distribute Turbine's Highly Anticipated 3D Role Playing Game
SHANGHAI, China -- April 21, 2005 -- Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited (Nasdaq: SNDA), the largest operator of online games in China, announced today that it will be entering into a license agreement with Turbine, Inc., a leading publisher of online subscription entertainment, pursuant to which Shanda will bring Dungeons & Dragons® Online to China. Under the agreement, Shanda will hold the exclusive rights in China to operate this first and only 3D massively multiplayer online role playing game, or MMORPG, based on the world-renowned Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast Dungeons & Dragons® franchise. The highly anticipated game is expected to launch in China in the second half of 2005.
"Shanda's leadership position and outstanding reputation with China's online gaming community makes them the ideal partner for introducing Dungeons & Dragons Online to China," said Jeffrey Anderson, president and CEO, Turbine, Inc. "This agreement reaffirms Turbine's commitment to bring the D&D Online experience to every gamer in China and throughout the world."
China represents one of the world's largest and fastest-growing markets for online games, with International Data Corporation, a market research company, estimating a market valued at $1.3 billion by 2009. Shanda helped pioneer this market and today occupies the leading position as measured by both revenue and total game playing users. In 2004, Shanda had approximately 2.0 million peak concurrent users playing its online games.
"As the pioneer of traditional role-playing games, Dungeons & Dragons Online is a terrific addition to our leading portfolio of both internally developed and licensed online game offerings," said Tianqiao Chen, chief executive officer of Shanda. "Turbine has done a tremendous job adapting this signature title to the virtual world, and we look forward to bringing a rich game experience to China's gamers via our national distribution platform."
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about the companies and the industry. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this announcement are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements regarding the launch date for Dungeons & Dragons Online in China, the growth of the online game market in China and the content of the Dungeons & Dragons Online game. These forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties. Although the companies believe that their expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they cannot assure you that their expectations will turn out to be correct. Important risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to be materially different from expectations include but not limited to delays in completion of the original or localized version of the Dungeons & Dragons Online game, obtaining Atari's and Hasbro's approval of the agreement between Turbine and Shanda, and the risks set forth in Shanda's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission, including Shanda's registration statement on Form F-1.
About Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited
Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited (Nasdaq: SNDA) is a leading interactive entertainment media company in China. Shanda offers a portfolio of diversified entertainment content including some of the most popular massively multi-player and casual online games in China, along with online chess and board games, network PC games and a variety of cartoons and literature works. Shanda's interactive entertainment platform attracts a large and loyal user base, an increasing amount of which access Shanda's content from home. Each user can interact with thousands of others while enjoying the interactive entertainment content that Shanda provides. Interaction enriches your life. For more information about Shanda, please visit http://www.snda.com
About Turbine, Inc.
Turbine, Inc. is a premier producer, publisher and operator of online subscription entertainment and is headquartered in Westwood, Massachusetts. With studios on both coasts of the United States, the company is the largest privately held online games company in North America. Turbine's catalogue includes some of the most famous online entertainment brands, including Asheron's Call®, Dungeons & Dragons® Online and The Lord of the Rings OnlineTM: Middle-EarthTM Online. For more information on Turbine and its services, please visit www.turbine.com.
About Atari, Inc.
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 United States. 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.
About Hasbro, Inc.
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. For more information, visit www.hasbro.com.
About Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS), is a worldwide leader in the trading card game and tabletop role playing game categories, and a leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products. The company holds an exclusive patent on trading card games and their method of play (TCGs) and produces one of the world's best-selling TCGs, Magic: The Gathering®, as well as the celebrated Dungeons & Dragons® role playing game. Publisher of adventure games, family card and board games, and electronic media products, Wizards of the Coast is also one of the world's premier book publishers of fantasy series fiction whose novels have made numerous appearances on The New York Times best-seller list and have sold millions of copies worldwide. For more information, visit the Wizards of the Coast website at www.wizards.com.
