Magic: The Gathering Card Game Makes Its Internet Debut

Posted on February 5, 1998

MicroProse, Inc., a worldwide interactive entertainment company, announced the availability of ManaLink, the free Magic: The Gathering multiplayer update. For the past two weeks thousands of avid online Magic: The Gathering fans have been playing Magic on the World Wide Web in a limited release. ManaLink is now available in five languages, including English, French, Italian, Spanish and German.

"Magic: The Gathering" has become an intellectual sport of the '90s, and has even been featured in such high-profile, mainstream outlets as ESPN2 and "Sports Illustrated." With more than two billion of the Wizards of the Coast trading cards sold to date and the shipment of more than 270,000 copies of MicroProse's original interactive computer game on CD-ROM, the game has successfully transitioned from paper format to computer game and now the Internet.

"As MicroProse's most anticipated endeavor in the online gaming business, the debut of 'Magic: The Gathering' on the Internet marks the realization of a long-time vision for millions of fans," said Derek McLeish, senior vice president, marketing at MicroProse.

The ManaLink multiplayer update enables two players to duel over the Internet, chat, send messages and taunt opponents inside and outside of the Duel. For easy opponent matching over the Net, ManaLink creates a "live" player environment, allowing players to view a list of other Magic players who are currently online and playing over the Internet. Players can sort potential opponents by attributes such as skill level and concede rate. Impromptu tournaments over the Internet are already beginning to appear online, and together MicroProse and Wizards of the Coast plan to build formal tournaments into online "Magic" play in the near future.