June 20, 2007

Magic: The Gathering Celebrates Five Years of Online Gameplay

Gaming icon Wizards of the Coast looks back at five phenomenal years of Magic Online®

WHAT: In June of 2002, Renton-based Wizards of the Coast digitized the world’s most successful trading card game, Magic: The Gathering®, and brought it online. Five years later, Magic Online has grown to include more than 300,000 registered accounts and enthrall players around the world, hosting more than two million matches monthly. Magic Online also hosts daily online tournaments featuring prizes like limited edition avatars, invitations to “real” world Magic™ events and digital booster packs.

Magic Online broke ground as one of the first games to successfully bring collectable card games online and continues to lead the way in developing new ways to enhance the experience for its players. The Magic Online client is free, does not require a monthly subscription fee, and its unique purchase model allows consumers to scale their investment by only paying for content they use.

Wizards of the Coast’s pioneering step of bringing Magic: The Gathering online allowed players to connect with friends and rivals from around the globe. The game was designed to adapt the paper version to fit player’s evolving lifestyles—allowing them to experience the full depth of Magic from any computer with an online connection. With Magic Online, no longer are you required to plan play around work or local tournament schedules to find worthy opponents, as players can now do it on their own time with other Magic players from around the world 24/7—all without ever leaving the comforts of home.

Fans can also look forward to Magic Online III. With a new graphic redesign and user interface, this version features enhancements which increase graphic interaction, community chat, streamline game play, access to 24/7 live customer support and an in-game store front enabling the purchasing of new cards and content without leaving the game environment. It’s these technologies coupled with unique game play and first of its kind business model that separates Magic Online III from other online games.

What gaming press have said about Magic Online:

• “What I like most about Magic Online is that it gives players who wouldn't otherwise be playing Magic the opportunity to get back into the game. Even if you live in a town of twenty people, even if you only have time for Magic at 3 am, Magic Online is always there. If it weren't the program, I wouldn't be nearly as involved in the community today.” – William Spaniel, TCGPlayer

• “I admit that when the game first came out, I was skeptical that anyone would actually pay money for cards that only existed on some server somewhere. I was clearly wrong – people apparently will pay for a virtual object, and pay quite handsomely, too.” – Allen Raush, GameSpy

About Magic: The Gathering Introduced in 1993, MAGIC: THE GATHERING® continues its legacy as the premier and original trading card game with more than eight million players worldwide in over seventy countries around the globe giving away more than $3.5 million in prize money every year.

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