Sony Online Entertainment Launches EverQuest®: Dragons of Norrath™

Sony Online Entertainment Inc. (SOE), a worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online gaming, today announced that EverQuest®: Dragons of Norrath™, the next expansion for the incredibly popular PC Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG), EverQuest®. EverQuest: Dragons of Norrath is now available at retail and via digital download from Sony Online Entertainment for U.S. $29.99.

"EverQuest continues to expand and thrive, and the addition of EverQuest: Dragons of Norrath builds upon the legacy of EverQuest," said Michael Lustenberger, vice president of marketing, Sony Online Entertainment. "In preparation for one of the most epic adventures yet, EverQuest: Dragons of Norrath offers players challenging new content, a beautiful new world enhanced by the power of the new graphics engine, and a brand-new storyline that returns players to the nostalgic beginnings of one of the greatest games ever."

EverQuest: Dragons of Norrath returns EverQuest to its original foundation with appearances from a familiar cast of characters who find themselves at the forefront of events transpiring across the world. With enhanced graphics, bold storylines, updated creatures, and all-new guild management tools, EverQuest: Dragons of Norrath is the next great expansion pack for the fantasy adventure that is EverQuest. Explore the world with the new interactive map, use your potion belt to access your inventory quickly, and quickly swap from Sword and Shield to Great Sword using the bandolier. Plus, with the all new guild management tools you can easily get your guild ready to encounter anything that comes your way! EverQuest: Dragons of Norrath is bursting with new adventures and features for players of all levels.

About EverQuest: Dragons of Norrath

A series of events has transpired across the world of Norrath and the familiar faces of Firiona Vie and her nemesis Lanys T'Vyl return to find themselves at the forefront of these events. Unbeknownst to them, a dark influence has seeped into the world of Norrath causing new tensions to arise and conflicts to intensify as the dawn of a new age emerges. The Age of War is upon the people of Norrath and heroes return in this ultimate, unending battle between good and evil. EverQuest: Dragons of Norrath includes the following features:

  Feature Set:
   *  New Zones, Creatures and Content -- From The Broodlands to the
      Thundercrest Isles, adventure in graphically enhanced zones with all
      new themes.  Brave challenging new quests, discover new treasures, and
      battle new NPC's, including drakes, goblins and fierce dragons.
   *  New Interactive World Map -- A full color interactive map of the world
      allows players to point-and-click from a world view down to a zone
      view of the traditional line maps.
   *  Player Barter System -- Allows players to set up their own method of
      giving platinum or items in exchange for other items.
   *  Potion Belt -- Allows for quick use of inventory items.
   *  Bandolier Equip -- Lets characters have two sets of pre-arranged
      weapons for each hand.
   *  New Spells, Tradeskills, and Recipes.

  All-New Guild Hall Management Tools:
   *  Guild Halls -- An instanced guild hall for guild members to meet and
      prepare for playing.
   *  Guild Bank -- Bank slot for storage of items accessible by all
      designated members of a guild.
   *  Guild Stone -- Allows guild members to easily port to the Instanced
      Guild Hall.
   *  Mana/health Regen Pool -- Allows players to easily regenerate their
      mana and health in preparation for battle while in the guild hall.
   *  Mass Corpse Summoning Altar -- Allows guild members to summon guild
      corpses en masse to the altar room.
   *  Guild Portal -- Allows guild members to purchase the ability to have a
      persistent port to pre-determined areas around the world.
   *  Guild Tradeskill Objects -- Various tradeskill tools are located in
      the guild hall for easy access by guild members.
   *  Guild 'Looking for Members' Tool -- Allows guilds to recruit by
      placing persistent "ads" on bulletin boards, search for player
      characters who match guild criteria and send in-game emails to those
      members.
   *  Players 'Looking for Guild' Tool -- Allows players to find guilds
      recruiting members.
   *  Buff timers -- While in guild hall, all of your buff timers are
      suspended.

The new expansion is downloadable via the EverQuest Station Store for U.S. $29.99 (plus tax where applicable). Additionally, retailers are offering a boxed version that carries a suggested retail price of $29.99, which includes a collector's edition cloth map and in-game health, mana and endurance potions to aid in your battles. For more information on EverQuest: Dragons of Norrath, please visit: http://www.dragonsofnorrath.com/.

About Sony Online Entertainment

Sony Online Entertainment Inc. (SOE), a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Digital Inc., is a recognized worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online games, with a subscriber base of over 800,000 active accounts around the globe. SOE creates, develops and provides compelling entertainment for the personal computer, online, game console and wireless markets. Known for its blockbuster franchises, EverQuest®, EverQuest®II, Champions of Norrath™ and PlanetSide®, as well as for developing Star Wars Galaxies™: An Empire Divided™, SOE continues to redefine the business of online gaming and the creation of active player communities while introducing new genres on various entertainment platforms. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, with additional development studios in Austin, TX, and Seattle, WA, SOE has an array of cutting-edge online games in development.

EverQuest is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. SOE, the SOE logo and PlanetSide are registered trademarks of Sony Online Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

SOURCE: Sony Online Entertainment Inc.

CONTACT: Tamara Sanderson, +1-858-577-3362, tsanderson@soe.sony.com, or
Chris Kramer, +1-858-577-3481, ckramer@soe.sony.com, both of Sony Online
Entertainment

Web site: http://www.dragonsofnorrath.com/