NCsoft announce details for the Aion standard and Limited Collector’s Edition retail products. NCsoft expects to launch Aion, its highly anticipated fantasy MMO game, in the West this fall. Aion has exceeded expectations and captivated gaming populations in Korea, where it won the prestigious Grand Award of 2008 and in China, where Aion garnered unprecedented numbers of paying players during its launch week last month.
In Aion, players explore a celestial world of breath-taking beauty and epic adventure. Players create either winged Elyos or Asmodian avatars, sworn enemy races that discover a common foe: the twisted and depraved Balaur.
When Aion launches, players can purchase the Aion Limited Collector’s Edition box through multiple retail channels. The centrepiece of the Aion Limited Collector’s Edition box is a 16.5cm hand-painted figurine of the powerful Aiva, a female winged Asmodian Daeva. Aiva sports detachable wings and wields a removable axe. The Limited Collector's Edition features several exclusive in-game items, including the Black Cloud Wings, which greatly enhance flight time, the Black Cloud Earring, which boosts health and mana while playing, and an exclusive title that enhances an avatar’s abilities.
Additional in-game items include two exclusive character animations, called emotes, as well as a special dye colour to customize player avatars’ equipment. Opening the box uncovers two dual-sided posters depicting maps of Elysea and Asmodae, the home regions of the two player races. The Aion Limited Collector’s Edition box also contains the official Aion soundtrack by composer Yang Bang-Ean (known as Ryo Kunihiko in Japan), the Aion game client on two DVDs, a quick reference card, and a game manual.
Aion's standard version first production run is packaged in a premium SteelBook™ metal case, which includes the game DVDs, a user manual, and a quick reference card.
In Aion, players experience the thrill of flight as a strategic and integral part of gameplay that touches combat, quests, and exploration. In addition to unprecedented character customization and unmatched visuals, Aion invites players to soak up its breath-taking world through exploration of more than 1,500 quests, intense visceral combat, and a deep crafting system. For the first time in an MMO, Aion introduces a new game system that pits players against each other and their environment simultaneously in an otherworld zone called the Abyss.
The Aion Limited Collector’s Edition will sell at an anticipated price of £54.99, while the Aion standard edition will sell at an anticipated price of £34.99. Both retail packages include 30 days of game time. After 30 days, a monthly subscription fee of £8.99 for the game service will apply. Other pricing options will also be available. Pre-order purchases, available at retail stores June 9, can be applied to the Aion Limited Collector’s Edition or the standard edition of Aion. Details about pre-order benefits and subscription pricing options for Aion will be announced at a later date.