The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar to IPO on March 16

Midway Game’s (NYSE: MWY) The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar for the PC will debut on the simExchange on Friday, March 16, 2007. It will be categorized under the Role-playing genre. Shares will open for purchase at 100 DKP (forecasts 1 million copies sold worldwide over lifetime).

The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar is a new Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) based on J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings universe. The game takes place after The Fellowship of the Ring. You can choose among four races and seven classes to create your character. Unlike many fantasy MMORPGs, the game does not involve any magic casting classes as magic is not widespread in Middle Earth. The game features three gathering skills and seven crafting professions.

Like many MMORPGs, the game features many PvE quests that you can tackle in six man parties or 24-man raids. The game will be more story-driven, in which players will meet key characters and trigger world events, rather than fighting hordes of boar to level up.

The game features many popular Web 2.0 features, including a wiki for players to contribute information on mobs (monsters), loots, and quests. A social-networking feature in which players can create their own journal pages about their characters in a form similar to MySpace.

The regular subscription rate will be $14.99 a month. Gamers who preorder will get a special $9.99 a month offer. An open beta will launch on March 30, 2007 for preorder customers and a public beta will launch on April 6, 2007.

The game will be released in North America on April 24, 2007. The game listing was submitted by pherstothelee.