SAN DIEGO, CA - January 17, 2005 - Sony Online Entertainment Inc. (SOE), a worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online (MMO) gaming, today announced the formation of Station Publishing, a new distribution label within the company. Station Publishing will focus on distributing interactive entertainment products licensed from external content providers for the PC and game console market. The first titles due from Station Publishing will be Turbine Entertainment Software's Asheron's Call: Throne of Destiny and Asheron's Call 2: Legions.

"Station Publishing is dedicated to growing the overall Sony Online Entertainment product catalog with titles produced outside of our own studios," said John Smedley, president, Sony Online Entertainment. "This new label gives Sony Online Entertainment the ability to work with talented developers and publishers and to give them access to the high caliber retail and marketing resources that we have developed over the past six years. Turbine's Asheron's Call games are the perfect titles to be the first on this new label. The AC franchise has attracted hundreds of thousands of players to the online medium over the years, and SOE is very happy to be distributing these high quality products."

"Having Sony Online Entertainment distributing the titles produced and published by Turbine gives us direct access to the strongest retailers in North America," said Jason Bell, executive vice president, Turbine Entertainment Software. "We're excited to see our games get onto store shelves and into the hands of our passionate and loyal players."

Throne of Destiny is the third installment in the original 3D massively multiplayer online role playing game series Asheron's Call, first launched to critical acclaim in November 1999. In the new expansion pack, players will enjoy a graphics upgrade, a new playable race, the Viamontians, and a challenge to experienced gamers with a new high-level play system that rewards players with skill credits.

Legions is the first follow-up to the graphically ground-breaking MMORPG Asheron's Call 2: Fallen Kings. Legions will provide players with an ambitious new storyline complete with an extensive array of new content for hours and hours of additional online adventuring. The expansion provides players with a new playable race, the mystical Empyreans, a massive new continent shrouded in mystery and an innovative new hero system.

Asheron's Call: Throne of Destiny and Asheron's Call 2: Legions is scheduled to hit retail shelves in the first half of 2005.

The preceding text comes from the official SOE press release found here.