Traveller's Tales revealed the first DLC pack for the upcoming Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham at New York Comic Con last weekend, and it stars Conan O'Brien of all people. O'Brien will act as the guide for the Arrow Pack, which will also feature the cast of the popular TV show of the same name, an exclusive level and a new vehicle.
Funcom announced this morning a new release date for Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. This MMO will now gain 8 more weeks of development, allowing Funcom to deliver an enchanced experience when it's released on the 20th May 2008. Funcom say they are: “fully committed to its communities and the quality-level they demand and deserve, and has previously postponed the Age of Conan launch. The changes implemented as the game was moved to a 2008 release have proven to greatly improve the experience for newcomers, while introducing a more involving and accessible character progression throughout the game.”
Funcom and Eidos announced this morning that over 500,000 gamers from all over the world have signed up to become a member of the Age of Conan: Hydorian Adventures community by either joining the ongoing beta test or by signing up to the Clan of Conan official fan club. “The massive attention Age of Conan is generating throughout the international gaming community is simply amazing,” says Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas. “The game seems to be already striking a chord with gamers across the world and we are thrilled and motivated by all the positive feedback we have been getting from both the press and the community.”
With speculation that Age of Conan for the Xbox360 would see retail shelves 12 months after the PC release, Funcom have stated that it's a "rough estimate" at best. Age of Conan has elicited quite the fanfare with its style of MMO gameplay with an action-adventure approach to combat. The game was meant to be out slaying things with a large axe last year; however the game was delayed until May 20 this year to better fine tune the combat system.
Age of Conan is approaching and what kind of tender muscle is a PC going to need in order to cut a swathe of blood rich justice for the online land this May? Funcom have let slip the minimum and recommended hardware needs or perhaps the demands of this upcoming MMO.
Andi was able to take a look at an early build of the upcoming MMORPG Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures from Funcom. So what does this title offer to set it apart from the giant of the genre, World of Warcraft? The preview may answer that question. Read the Age of Conan preview.
The open beta will begin on May 1st at 3 pm (GMT) but only those who’ve signup up with FilePlanet will get the chance to taste the highly anticipated MMO. The whole game won't be available to beta testers, there's a cap at level 13 and a majority of locales are off limits. It's purely "final stress testing" says Gaute Godager.
The time has come for Funcom to bare all beneath the loincoth, metaphorically speaking. The game will cost around $59.99 and €49.99 in their respective unwashed tribal lands. The tribute to your barbarian King Conan is $14.99 for North America and €12.99 for Europeans.
Age of Conan is nearing its release date, so Eidos has confirmed the pricing structure for the Action MMO. As you'd expect, those of us that decide to purchase longer subscription will in the end save more money. If you'd like to take Age of Conan for a month's spin, then you'll be made to pay £10.34/$14.99, whilst three months will cost you around £28.95/$41.97. But, if your really enjoying Age of Conan then you might want to go for the six month option which will cost around £39.27/$77.94.
Funcom and Eidos announced today that the Age of Conan beta test has reached the 1 million sign-up stage, confirming that the game is one of the most anticipated MMO's to date. “Funcom has not been able to find any higher beta numbers for MMOs in the western world,” said Morten Larssen, VP of Funcom Sales and Marketing. “We believe it represents the largest ever beta sign-up figure in the history of the genre.”
Aside from being rather excited their greatest creation is almost ready to fling open its virtual barbarian gates, Funcom say they’ve taken many steps to keeps things running. "The biggest issue is the unknown," says product director Jorgen Tharaldsen, speaking at the launch in Oslo, Norway.
Funcom have announced the Xbox360 version of their MMORPG is roughly a year behind the PC, and they aren't ruling out the possibility of a PS3 version. The interesting part is Funcom's ambition to let PC and Xbox360 gamers optionally play Age of Conan together with friends "if they like to".
Fans looking to flex those graphics muscles will have to wait a while longer as Funcom is still going to be working the pixel mines until their satisifed. The DirectX 10 version, which will have even more features added now, will premier this August at the Games Convention in Leipzig.
New MMO titles tend to struggle a little in the beginning as they find a following, but Age of Conan has exploded with popularity at such an early stage. It has already pillaged the pre-orders record for a PC game with 700,000 copies, near half of which went to North America alone - but will subscriptions stick?
Funcom announced today that Age of Conan has risen to the number 1 spot on the PC gaming charts, and has been performing well on the all-format lists. The game has sold out in many retail outlets due to its success, but Funcom aims to resupply new boxes as soon as possible. Full press release inside.
During an interview with Eurogamer, Gaute Godager 'cheekily' compared Blizzard's World of Warcraft to "McDonald's" while Funcom's Age of Conan enjoys "steak". The newly launched MMO has been hugely successful. He admits though "it's more expensive," and that "perhaps it's not as easily accessible as WOW is."
With over 700,000 subscriptions so far since launching in May, Funcom are not unsurprisingly buoyed that Age of Conan remains top dog in PC sales charts worldwide. The developer proudly announces that Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures is "the undisputed #2 subscription MMO in the western world."
For now only the owners of the Collector's Edition of Age of Conan have been issued their buddy keys to let friends play unsubscribed for seven days. Standard copies don't have their buddy keys activated just yet but they "will soon open up" say Funcom. CE owners have five buddy keys to give away.
Warhammer Online's Paul Bernett has said how "very sad" a failure would be for Funcom's MMO because they "worked really, really hard on it". His concern is that AOC's "rhythm, longevity, gameplay and style" might not be in sync with the market's fickle desires. EA's Warhammer Online debuts this autumn.
The Funcom guys are more than pleased with themselves to have enjoyed "one of the largest PC launches in this decade." No time for a quick nap though. Aside from planning major content updates for Conan's online court they've also announced The Secret World - another MMO but with a real-world/secret world twist.