When it comes to consoles, you generally won’t find two things: 1) RTS games, and 2) MMOs. So far the only true MMORPG experience comes from Final Fantasy on the PS2 and Xbox 360, with a Phantasy Star Universe for the Xbox 360 (though it isn’t straight up MMORPG like many). However, that is it. No World of Warcraft. No City of Heroes. And no Guild Wars. However, some MMOs like Age of Conan will be coming to console to give the console market a good ol’ try, and Guild Wars might try too…sometime or another that is.

From the article:

Guild Wars has proven one of the strangest entries in the MMO space, as NCSoft and ArenaNet ditched the monthly subscription model, deciding to charge for new content. They may not have World of Warcraft numbers, but the model works, and they’re already pushing forward on an ambitious sequel with the same mindset.

Could this next step also lead them near Sony and Microsoft’s boxes? Unfortunately, probably not this time around. “We are focused on PCs right now. I think consoles remain an interesting opportunity for Guild Wars in the future, but that’s not something we’ve announced any plans for at this time,” said ArenaNet designer Ben Miller to Eurogamer.

Read the full article over at 1up.com

Bellevue, WA., March 27, 2007—NCsoft® and ArenaNet® today revealed their exciting plans for the future of the hugely successful Guild Wars® franchise. The companies announced that development already is underway on a full sequel to the original Guild Wars games. Guild Wars 2™ will draw from the game mechanics that made the original Guild Wars one of the most popular online games ever and will add a fully persistent world. It was also revealed that, like its predecessors, Guild Wars 2 will not have a subscription fee. No launch date was announced, but the ArenaNet team anticipates that Guild Wars 2 will go into beta sometime in the second half of 2008.

In addition, ArenaNet developers are working on the first true expansion for the Guild Wars franchise, Guild Wars: Eye of the North™. Due to hit store shelves during the 2007 holiday season, Guild Wars: Eye of the North™ will require at least one of the previous Guild Wars campaigns (Prophecies™, Factions™, or Nightfall™) in order to play. It’s a game that will benefit long-time players of the Guild Wars games, with all of the content targeting existing Guild Wars characters.

“We felt it was extremely important to reward those people who have been playing Guild Wars since the game first launched in 2005,” said Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet. “Those players have seen three very large campaigns created in a little under two years and so we think it’s time to begin filling in the details of the existing world and to provide more content for current characters. We are thrilled to focus our time on something that our players have been asking for.”

Set largely in the dungeons and caverns of the lands of Tyria that players first explored in Guild Wars Prophecies, Guild Wars: Eye of the North will have 18 large, multi-level dungeons, 150 new skills across all 10 Guild Wars professions, 10 new Heroes, 40 new armor sets, and even more items, weapons and titles.

And for those looking even further down the road at Guild Wars 2, Guild Wars: Eye of the North will provide a Hall of Monuments where players’ accomplishments are memorialized and eventually inherited by their Guild Wars 2 characters, unlocking exclusive items and bonuses in Guild Wars 2.

“It’s the payoff we hope players will appreciate as we continue to build on the Guild Wars franchise,” said Strain. “We’re excited to announce these two new products and we want players to know that Guild Wars has an extremely exciting future in the months and years ahead.”

An exclusive full preview of Guild Wars 2 and Guild Wars: Eye of the North can be found in the May issue of PC Gamer which will be on newsstands by April 3. More information on the Guild Wars franchise can be found at http://www.guildwars.com.

NEW CONCEPT ART FOR THE GAME

ArenaNet, developer of the award-winning online roleplaying game Guild Wars, and NCsoft Corporation, the world’s leading developer and publisher of online computer games, announce today that one of the year’s most-anticipated PC titles, Guild Wars Factions, has officially shipped. For fans of the game that revolutionized online roleplaying, the wait is nearly over as Guild Wars Factions goes out today to retail stores worldwide.

Guild Wars Factions is the stand-alone follow-up to Guild Wars, the game that set new standards in online gaming with fresh design, innovative technology and no-subscription-fee pricing. With an expected retail price of $49.99, Guild Wars Factions will be available worldwide and servers supporting the new release will “go live” at 12:01 AM PDT /7:01 GMT on April 28, 2006.

Those who pre-ordered the game will be able to participate in the exclusive Guild Wars Factions Head Start Event beginning at 12:01 AM PDT/7:01 AM GMT on April 27, 2006. These lucky gamers will have access to the game for a total of 48 hours, including a full 24 hours before the game’s global release. During the first 24 hours of the Head Start Event, ArenaNet has planned an exclusive in-game event titled “Day of the Tengu,” in which players will join one-day-only “Day of the Tengu” quests, and earn exclusive in-game rewards.

“New features in Guild Wars Factions such as guild scrimmages, alliance battles, ranked character titles, and some surprises still to come all resulted from our drive to create a truly unique gaming experience for existing and new fans of the Guild Wars universe,” says Mike O’Brien, co-founder of ArenaNet. “With a full year of development and a passionate design team, we think what we’ve created delivers on that and much, much more. Either played as a stand-alone game, or linked with your original Guild Wars account, Guild Wars Factions is a game we are thoroughly proud of-and still carries no subscription fee.”

Guild Wars Factions takes place on the Asian inspired continent of Cantha, where players create a character from eight distinct professions-including the newly created Assassin and Ritualist-and join an epic quest that pits two warring factions, the Luxons and the Kurzicks, against an ancient evil, and against each other. As players become embroiled in this brutal war of conquest, new missions will provide both roleplaying fans and competitive PvP players the opportunity to help determine the fate of Cantha.

VAUGHAN, ONTARIO-(MARKET WIRE)-Apr 20, 2006 — Ideazon Inc., designer and developer of the Zboard, the world’s first keyboard designed for PC gamers, today announced its new Guild Wars Factions Limited Edition Keyset for Zboard. Designed specifically for the highly-anticipated ArenaNet title Guild Wars Factions, slated for release April 28, 2006, clans, communities and gamers from around the world will be able to enjoy the ultimate experience in custom gaming.

The partnership with online game developer and publisher NCsoft has enabled Ideazon to take gamers to a whole different level of game customization and will enhance the Guild Wars Factions gaming experience. Ideazon’s Guild Wars Factions keyset lets players choose sides in the battle and master the game’s playing environment using a dedicated control layout that is simple to learn and easy to use.

“The Guild Wars Factions Limited Edition Keyset is tailored to meet every player’s needs within the stunning and visually immersive world that ArenaNet has created,” says Chris Rathgeber, president of Ideazon Inc. “We worked closely with NCsoft and our ZCommunity members to create the gaming weapon of choice.”

“This Keyset is an exciting development for Guild WarsR fans and will help new players master the game quickly,” says Dorothy Ferguson, vice president of sales and marketing for NCsoft’s North American business. “From incorporating the game’s visuals to the thoughtfully laid out command keys, Ideazon takes the Guild Wars Factions experience to new heights.”

The Guild Wars Factions Limited Edition Keyset for Zboard gives gamers:

- 56 dedicated action keys and labeled commands;

- 12 menus intuitively organized for ease of play;

- 12 quick access emote keys including fist shake, bow, and dance;

- Stunning official game graphics to immerse gamers in the action; and,

- Compatibility for use with Guild Wars and Guild Wars Factions.

The Guild Wars Factions Limited Edition Keyset for Zboard, retails for $19.99 US and is currently available online at e-tailers, including bestbuy.com. The Zboard retails for $49.99 and is also available online.

The Zboard Gaming Keyboard also comes equipped with gaming terrain and tactical features, including:

- Gaming Keyset for FPS and Action games;

- 15 common shooter and action commands labeled on keys;

- Eight distinct “command zones” for ease of use;

- “Butterfly” directional keys for maximum comfort;

- Instant remapping capabilities;

- Standard Keyset with Windows and Internet Explorer commands labeled on keys; and,

- USB base with two extra USB peripheral ports.

For more information on the Zboard and a complete listing of purchase partners.

Hot on the heels of a massive global preview event for Guild Wars Factions, ArenaNet, developer of the award-winning online roleplaying game Guild Wars, and NCsoft Corporation, the world’s leading developer and publisher of online computer games, announce today the date and location of the Guild Wars Factions World Championship. The Guild Wars Factions World Championship event will take place at the biggest European electronic game show, GC Game Convention in Leipzig, Germany August 24 - 27, 2006.

The Guild Wars Factions World Championship is a culmination of the Guild Wars Factions Championship Series, comprised of three seasons of competitive gameplay taking place between March 7 and June 26, 2006. The Championship Series is open to all Guild Wars players, and at the end of each season, the top 16 guilds on the Guild Wars Ladder will compete in post-season playoffs for Guild Wars Factions Championship Points. The five guilds from around the world with the most Championship Points at the end of the three qualifying seasons along with the winner of the upcoming Guild Wars Factions Championship Open Event will be awarded a trip to the GC Game Convention in Leipzig, where they will compete for more than $100,000 in cash and prizes. The winner of the Guild Wars Factions World Championship will also earn the honor of choosing the designs of next season’s set of Guild Wars skill pins, new collectible badges given to Guild Wars fans at events throughout the year.

Guild Wars Factions is the highly anticipated stand-alone follow-up to the critically acclaimed game Guild Wars, an online roleplaying game in which more than one million players explore a rich fantasy world, acquire skills, build personalized characters, and compete in head-to-head battles with players from around the globe. ArenaNet attributes the success of Guild Wars to compelling game design, innovative technology that offers a unique online gameplay experience, and a revolutionary business model with no monthly subscription fees. Guild Wars Factions is set to hit store shelves April 28, 2006 with an estimated retail price of $49.99 (US).

Complete details regarding the tournament rules are available.

ArenaNet, developer of the award-winning online roleplaying game Guild Wars, and NCsoft Corporation, the world’s leading developer and publisher of online computer games, opened the virtual door for a weekend-long sneak peek at its new game Guild Wars Factions, and players around the world responded in record numbers. From 12:01 am on Friday, March 24 until 11:59 pm on March 26, more than 500,000 players participated in the invitation-only preview event and cumulatively spent more than three million hours online, making the Guild Wars Factions Preview Event (FPE) one of the largest preview events in gaming history. Guild Wars Factions is set to hit store shelves April 28, 2006 with an estimated retail price of $49.99 (US).

“We knew that by focusing on new ways to play and new things to do within the game, such as the 12×12 Alliance Battles, which were extremely popular with both PvP and roleplaying gamers, that fans would respond enthusiastically,” says Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet. “This weekend reinforced that we are on the right track with Guild Wars Factions and are making a game that rises to the challenge to be innovative and ever-compelling for its fans.”

The extraordinary weekend is just the latest success for Guild Wars, the wildly popular game that continues to redefine the online roleplaying experience. The Guild Wars Factions pre-order pack offered a key code for access into the FPE, driving gamers to their local game stores and driving sales of the pre-order pack into weekly Top 10 lists alongside full retail titles at stores and chains around the world.

“Guild Wars continues to set new standards for online roleplaying alongside some heavyweight competition,” says Bob McKenzie, Senior VP of Merchandising, GameStop, Inc. “The combination of a unique pre-order pack for retail, an exciting live preview event for players, and a high level of anticipation for Guild Wars Factions has helped to create one of the best pre-sale campaigns for GameStop and EBGames. We get the impression this is only the beginning of a very exciting year for the Guild Wars franchise, and we look forward to the April 28 release date of Guild Wars Factions.”

Guild Wars Factions is the highly anticipated stand alone follow up to the critically acclaimed game Guild Wars, an online roleplaying game in which players explore a rich fantasy world, acquire skills, build personalized characters, and compete in head-to-head battles with players from around the world. ArenaNet attributes the success of Guild Wars to compelling game design, innovative technology that offers a unique online gameplay experience, and a revolutionary business model with no monthly subscription fees charged to users.