December 15,2008
KingsIsle Entertainment to Launch
Enhanced Player vs. Player Spell Dueling Arena in Wizard101
Online entertainment company
KingsIsle Entertainment, Inc. today announced the pending launch of full
featured wizard vs. wizard card duels in the highly immersive 3D virtual world
Wizard101 www.wizard101.com.
The newly expanded Wizard Arena will enable players to participate in practice
or ranked spell-casting duels against each other. All other aspects of the
current worlds in Wizard101 are collaborative, and community members play spell
cards that come to animated life in order to battle zany creatures like Ninja
Pigs.
"If you prefer questing or
mini-games, great… you never have to duel another player," said Todd Coleman,
Director of Wizard101. "But families — and a lot of core gamers that are
playing Wizard101 too — are going to have a great time competing against other
players in the Wizard Arena."
KingsIsle will launch the enhanced
player versus player (PvP) Wizard Arena this week. Players will be able to
access the Wizard Arena from any of Wizard101’s worlds. Upon entering, one of
multiple Arena looks in the style of Wizard101 worlds such as Moo Shu,
Marleybone and Krokotopia will be generated. All dueling in the game is
turn-based so that victory is more about strategy and deck building, rather than
button mashing or internet connection speed. The new launch will give players
two ways to compete against each other using the characters they have developed
in other areas of Wizard101:
Practice Duels (non-ranked)
-
Two teams of up to four wizards
compete against each other -
Players can either quick join a
duel or set up their own team and chose opponents -
Free for all Wizard101 players
-
Players may elect to place wagers
of in-game gold on the outcome of their duel -
Any in-game gold winnings are
split evenly between team members
Sanctioned Duels (ranked)
-
A matchmaking service assigns
duels based on Arena ranking and character level of individual players -
Players are ranked based on duel
outcome -
Winners get Arena Tickets,
redeemable for loot, some of which is unique to the Wizard Arena -
At the end of each quarterly
Wizard Arena season, a top Duel Master will be crowned
Free for Wizard101 subscribers or
purchase by microtransaction for 80 Crowns (equivalent to 16 cents or less
depending on quantity of Crown purchase)
Wizard101 contains no blood, and
characters don’t die if they are defeated in a duel of spells-they simply go to
a safe area in the game to regain health. The game was recently awarded a 2008
Parent Tested Parent Approved Media Seal of Approval. The Entertainment Software
Ratings Board has given Wizard101 a rating of E10+. Anybody with a Windows based
PC can play the Free-to-Play areas of the game for as long as they like.
KingsIsle lets players choose subscription or microtransaction methods for
advanced content. Family plan subscriptions are $6.95 per month and general
subscriptions are $9.95. Micropayment zones give permanent access to particular
streets or areas within the game for as little as a $1.