GuildWars.com news/Archives/200504

The following lists the April 2005 news from the official GuildWars.com site.

April 28th, 2005

 * Guild Wars is Live!

We are pleased to announce that Guild Wars has opened in North America and Europe. In the five years of development, we have seen the advent of a new company, the forging of a new international bond, and the launch of one of the most popular preorder programs of all time. Tonight, we invite you to come and experience Guild Wars for yourself. The revolution is here.

April 27th, 2005

 * Guild Wars Signing Event

Some of the Guild Wars team members will be signing copies of Guild Wars at the Fry's Electronics at Renton, Washington, tomorrow evening from 4:00 to 8:00 pm. Meet reps from all the teams: art, programming, design, writing, QA and community. If you're in the neighborhood, stop on by and say "howdy".


 * Early Access Begins

At the stroke of Midnight this morning, the preorder Early Access period began. Players flooded in to Tyria, and began their pre-launch game adventure. Retail access begins at 12:01 PDT April 28th (tonight); copies are available in a growing number of stores across North America and Europe now. We look forward to seeing you in Guild Wars!

April 26th, 2005

 * Guild Highlights Continue

A new edition of our Guild of the Week series is offered today. This week's feature presents the Legion of Exile, a long-time Alpha Tester guild. Find the feature here.


 * Starter Manual Online

As you are no doubt aware, Guild Wars will possess an extensive online game manual. This ever-growing resource kicks off with the presentation of the Getting Started Mini-Guide. Head over to the manual now.

April 25th, 2005

 * Guild Wars Edition Info

Are you wondering about the appearance of the Guild Wars packages? Would you like to know the exact contents of the Collector's Edition? We have a page in place to answer your questions. Head here for images and contents info for North America, and here for the contents info for Europe.


 * New Previews Posted

New previews have appeared on two websites in the last few days. Find the latest journalist impressions on Xequted and Games Xtreme.


 * Final Pre-Release Movie

It is our pleasure to present the last in our series of pre-release in-game movies. This movie features scenes from the final moments of the April Beta Weekend Event set to a new piece of music from the Guild Wars score. View the celebration here.

April 22nd, 2005

 * Pre-Release Fansite Friday

The final Fansite Friday of the month is a compilation of a dozen questions from our fan forums and emails, as well as queries submitted via our Knowledge Base. You can read "Twelve Pre-Release Questions" over here and catch the next Fansite Friday interview on May 6th.


 * Guild Wars Previews

Several previews of Guild Wars have appeared on the 'Net. First, Gamespot take a look at the various regions of Tyria. Find their preview, with several new screenshots, here. Then, 1Up.com also has a preview and both MMORPG.com and LoadedInc have previews based on extensive gameplay experience in the recent Beta Weekend Event.

April 20th, 2005

 * Final Guild Ladder

As planned after the final Beta Weekend Event, the Guild Wars ladder will be reset tomorrow morning. We want to recognize those who did so well by immortalizing the final Top 20 in global standings on this page. Keep your eye on the Guild Wars Ladder after release, to see your favorite guilds battle it out to be world champion.


 * Wednesday Wallpaper

This week's Wednesday Wallpaper is based on a concept showing the shores of the Fire Island Chain. Find it here.

April 19th, 2005

 * Guild of the Week #3

The Guild of the Week spotlight falls on Isle of Misfits, a veteran gaming guild whose members have made Guild Wars a recent focus. Find out more about Isle, on this link.

April 15th, 2005

 * Guild Contest

This final Beta Weekend Event offers an exciting opportunity for Guild Wars guilds: The top five guilds on the ladder at the end of the Beta Weekend Event will have the opportunity to submit a guild-designed character template that will be included in Guild Wars at release. Each special template will be given the name of the guild in recognition of their achievements during this memorable weekend.


 * Final Beta Weekend Event Underway

All who have preordered Guild Wars are invited to join us now, in Tyria. The final Beta Weekend Event has begun, and we look forward to having you join our world. Remember the guild template opportunity, outlined yesterday, and do explore those new regions and experience the novel gameplay that is on tap for these three days. See you there!

April 14th, 2005

 * Fansite Friday - Final BWE Edition

In a novel move for our mini-interview series, we offer Fansite Friday on Thursday! Our final Beta Weekend Event begins in just hours — 12:01 a.m. PDT/8:01 GMT Friday. We want to share info on what you'll experience during the event and detail an exciting new guild opportunity. So head over to FF#41, right here.

April 13th, 2005

 * New In-Game Movie

In celebration of our final Beta Weekend Event, which begins April 15th at 12:01 am Pacific Time (8:01 am GMT) we offer a brand new gameplay movie. This movie reveals a new region of Tyria and provides a first look at a mission that you will be able to play during the event. Find the movie here.


 * Wednesday Wallpaper

Our weekly wallpaper is back to its traditional Wednesday presentation. This week's offering is a melding of two concept art pieces with hidden surprises. Find it here.

April 12th, 2005

 * Guild of the Week #2

The second in our weekly Guild feature puts the spotlight on Spirits of War, an alpha guild who has been with the test for nearly half a year now. We invite you to get to know the guild and guild members on this link.

April 8th, 2005

 * Guild Wars Cinematic

The Guild Wars cinematic trailer is available today. The movie features Cynn, Devona and Aiden, who were first introduced in the Guild Wars lore. The new 2-minute cinematic movie is available in our Movie Section.


 * Fansite Friday Forty

The 40th edition of our Fansite Friday mini-interview series jumps 18 time zones from the studio to the Australian & New Zealand Guild Wars Community site. This issue talks about Observer Mode, team alliances, NPC controls, and character slots. Find the latest, on this link.

April 7th, 2005

 * Wallpaper of the Week

This week's wallpaper is based on a piece of Guild Wars concept art. The image features a portrait of Grenth's minions standing guard over the entrance to the Underworld. Decorate your desktop by selecting your choice of wallpapers over here.

April 6th, 2005

 * Guild of the Week

A new series is kicking off today, our Guild of the Week feature. This weekly article series will be posted on Tuesdays, and will bring you an introduction to one of the guilds of Guild Wars, with quick tips, build suggestions, a bit of guild history, and a meet-and-greet with some of the members. Find the first feature, on The Amazon Basin, here.


 * Guild Wars Preview

The May 2005 issue of Computer Games Magazine presents a new preview of Guild Wars. Called "Massively Different," the article discusses the novel gameplay of Guild Wars, along with the no-subscription fee business model. The preview concludes with a stirring prediction, "Ready or not, the revolution is coming, and it should be one hell of a show." Find CGM on newsstands this week.

April 5th, 2005

 * Guildwars.com Goes Global

We would like to introduce you to our new website design, and share the exciting news that you may now read your Guild Wars news in English, French, German, Italian, Korean and Spanish. Use the language selection bar above to explore our localized sites, and enjoy!

April 1st, 2005

 * Fansite Friday #39

The Fansite Friday interview for this week is hosted by a Swedish site, Guild Wars Norden. In this edition, you will find info about the Guild Wars manual(s), Early Access, the game interface, and our Wednesday Wallpapers. Head on over to read all about it, in either English or Swedish.


 * Guild Wars Preview

Computer and Video Games provides an in-depth interview about Guild Wars as their feature story today. Find the interview on this link.