Wizard101 Is Now Live

KingIsle has announced that Wizard101, a tweens pseudo-Harry Potteresque game, has now gone live. Read up on the news and grab a link to the game after the jump.

Plano, Texas - Sept 02, 2008 - Tweens are grabbing their best spell-casting gear and rushing off to school... wizard school, that is. Online entertainment company KingsIsle Entertainment, Inc. has officially opened the doors of its highly anticipated Wizard101 (www.wizard101.com) virtual world, a magical 3D environment where aspiring wizards gather to adventure with friends and save their world from creatures like a pumpkin-headed Harvest Lord and a zombie named Wormguts.

Michael Lafferty of GameZone commented, "The game is thoroughly delightful, exuding a youthful sense of fun and excitement... KingsIsle is on track to have a certified hit title."

Joe Blancato of GiantRealm said, "A kid-targeted [Massively Multiplayer Online Game] that's charming the beard off anyone who plays it, regardless of age."

Designed for pre-teens and attracting a wider audience of families and traditional gamers, Wizard101 features magical adventure and card style gameplay. Players enroll in the Ravenwood School of Magical Arts and begin a course of spell study. Immediately upon arrival at wizard school they are tapped by the Headmaster to help save the school from a renegade teacher who has disappeared but who seems to be behind some mysterious happenings.

Wizard101 features include:

" Extensive magical 3D worlds, each with its own creative theme such as a feudal countryside run by Samoorai cows, or an ancient Egyptian-inspired land where the treasured relics are being carted off by dogs from another world.
" More than 101 collectible spells that come to cinematic life as players learn to summon creatures such as Ninja Pigs and a Leprechaun that slides in on a rainbow and showers opponents with gold.
" Seven different schools of Magic, each with its own unique style and gameplay experience.
" The ability to adopt magical pets, like a flying dragon or a mischievous imp.
" A wide variety of outfits and accessories for customizable Wizard avatars.
" Puzzles and mini-games that challenge players and provide a place to rest and rejuvenate after duels.

Wizard101's collaborative play style supports an environment where players benefit from working together in adventure quests and lower level characters can play alongside higher level ones. A three-tiered chat system and pre-defined character name generator create a safe community for younger players. The game contains no blood, and characters don't die if they are defeated in a duel of spells-they simply go to a safe area on campus to regain health. An Arena provides a spot for more traditional gamers to show off their player versus player spell-casting skills. Wizard101 is free-to-play, with advanced play content available by subscription at the rate of $9.95 per month. Discounts are available for six-month and one-year subscriptions. For a limited time a 12 month subscription can be purchased for $60. Gift subscriptions are expected to be available online soon. To play, PC users may simply go to www.wizard101.com and download the game installer. A rating by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board is pending.

To download press assets for Wizard 101, go to http://www.mmpr.com/MMPRFTP/FTP%20Folders/KingsIsle/

In fairness, Wizard101 will cut its own path through the tweens MMO market. Stay tuned for a review soon to come!

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What, pray tell, is a tween?

From Wikipedia:

Tween is an American neologism and marketing term that means roughly the same thing as preteen. It is a portmanteau word of between and teen. The age range of tweens in generally considered to be eight to twelve years of age. Marketers describe the driving psychographic motivation of this group as desperately wanting to be a teen, but not about to stop being a kid.[citation needed] The term was first used in J.R.R. Tolkien's 1954 novel The Lord of the Rings to refer to Hobbits in their twenties.

Ohhh so you mean to say this game is perfect for the WoW masses? I see, I see.
;)