On March 27th, Nexon America will launch the North American version of Mabinogi, the wildly popular MMO that has, until now, been commercially available only in Asia. This launch will bring a whole host of new features, including the opening of the Nexon Cash Shop, where players can get their hands on microtransaction-enabled items to enhance their 'Fantasy Life'. While Mabinogi will still be free-to-play, upgrading to one of three monthly fee packages will also allow the player to participate in the mainstream storyline, which will advance through each generation of the game.
Additionally, today's the last day for players to enter one of 3 contests to win fabulous prizes. The first contest goes to high level players, to reward their ongoing participation in the game. The winner will receive a GeForce 9600GT 512MB DDR3 video card, with 20 other winners receiving 14,000 in Nexon cash.
[Thanks, Robert!]
The second contest is for 20 players with over 20 friends in their friend lists, to win a Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500 Revolution, and a second prize of 14,000 Nexon cash. Finally, anyone who enters Mabinogi at any time before 3 PM, PDT today stands a chance to win the grand prize of a Sony 32-inch LCD tv! A second prize winner will receive a Dell 24-inch Widescreen monitor; 3 third place prize winners will get a $50 Best Buy gift card; and 20 players will win 14,000 Nexon cash.
Finally, from the press release: 'Other options at the Cash Shop include enhanced character creation features, and a Character card. This card allows players to rebirth a character and carry over skills. Avatars can even be reborn at a younger level, which will reset an avatar's level and make it easier to gain ability points. The Character card also allows players to create a new character or change a character's appearance. The premium character card gives players more customization features than the basic options.'
The long wait is over; Mabinogi has finally arrived! Look for our First Impressions later today for our experience playing the open beta.
