steven on August 1st, 2008
Eidos and Funcom are proud to announce that Age of Conan continues to dominate the PC sales charts in all markets where the game is available. Over the last few weeks it has remained the overall #1 PC game in most European markets, whilst also performing tremendously well on several all-format charts. In the US, Age of Conan impressively conquered the #1 PC spot for the first two weeks of available NPD data. Due to the amazing interest surrounding the game, more than 700.000 gamers have now signed up for an Age of Conan account. In the second month after release it is also clear that Age of Conan has taken the position as the undisputed #2 subscription MMO in the western world.
When Age of Conan stormed into retail stores as what we believe to be the most pre-ordered original PC game in history, it instantly became the best selling PC game of May. The pace at which Age of Conan sold made it one of the fastest selling PC games of all times, and Funcom and Eidos are therefore very satisfied to see the positive sales trend continue. As all countries report sales differently, it is not possible to get a complete overview of the exact box sales at the time of writing, but Age of Conan remains the top selling PC game in most all released markets. This includes being the #1 overall PC game in June in the Nordic countries, Oceania, Germany, France and Spain, as well a top three contender in all other markets where the game is out. No substantial sales data for June is yet available from the US market, but Age of Conan was the #1 PC game in the latest official NPD update.
a�?That Age of Conan remains #1 in retail stores several weeks after release is of incredible importance to us, and proves that the game has a large potential beyond the early adopters,a�? said Morten Larssen, VP of Sales & Marketing in Funcom. a�?With more than 700.000 accounts created so far we have a fantastic platform to build from, and we will continue our marketing spend to further drive numbers in the months to come. It also means that Funcom can dedicate significant development resources on evolving the game even further, naturally giving us a great hope for the future of Age of Conan.a�?
a�?We are incredibly pleased to see Age of Conan turning into an MMO phenomenon,a�? said Gaute Godager, Game Director on Age of Conan. a�?As an MMO company we know that a good start is just the beginning for a virtual world. All we care about now is to make Age of Conan into an even better game, and we have extensive plans to ensure that Age of Conan remains a top MMO alternative for many years to come.a�?
steven on August 1st, 2008
Chief Executive Officer John De Margheriti today announced the appointment of Mr Adam Shaw as BigWorlda?s Education Program Manager. Mr Shaw will help the company to implement one of the first Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG) and Virtual Worlds learning resources and support services for educators in 2009.
Tertiary institutions and specialist educators are currently teaching their games courses using more traditional peer-to-peer game engines which are unsuited in learning about how true MMOGa�?s and Virtual Worlds are created. The new resources that will be made available to educators by BigWorld will make it possible for teachers and lecturers to offer students the opportunity to learn on world-class middleware technology that enables hundreds of thousands of players to interact simultaneously, rather than using engines that are restricted by the number of players.
John De Margheriti commented a�?We have many months of hard work ahead with educational partners to get this initiative off the ground. The industry as a whole needs to make it easier for motivated young talent to gain experience in using todaya�?s industry standard middleware technology. These games are much more complex to develop for and this is a pro-active approach to prevent an industry shortage of experienced MMOG developers, particularly game programmers and game designersa�?.
a�?I am pleased to have the opportunity to work with leading game educators to provide them with the resources to create MMOGs and Virtual Worlds. The technology that will be made available will greatly enhance educatora�?s and studenta�?s understanding of what commercial grade MMOG engines are about and also provide students with greater job prospects in this online agea�? said Adam Shaw.
BigWorld hopes that these specialist modules in MMOG game development will help to shape the way forward for todaya�?s leading educators. Recently released statistics from DFC Intelligence show that a�?the total overall number of online gamers in the twenty leading online game countries is expected to increase 51% from 2006 to 2012a�? and that a�?worldwide online game revenue is expected to increase from $4.5 billion in 2006 to $13.1 billion in 2012, a 192% increase. According to mmogdata.voig.com, active MMO Player subscriptions have grown from about 10,000 as of April 1997 to approximately 47.67 million as of April 2008, and the number of active MMO Player subscriptions has increased by 63.07% per year on average since January 2003, and increased by 83.77% between April 2007 and April 2008 thus emphasizing the growing trend for demand for these types of games.
steven on August 1st, 2008
Funcom and 1C Company announces the signing of a Service Partnership Agreement for a Russian version of Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. According to the agreement 1C will fully localize voice and text and operate local customer service, communities, websites and in-game support for Age of Conan in Russian, while Funcom takes care of back-end technology, server infrastructure and continuous development of the game. A dedicated Russian realm is to be created, giving the Russian community an opportunity to stay together and communicate with each other in their native language.
The agreement shows Funcom and 1C Companya�?s full dedication to the growing Eastern European market, and is another important step in ensuring long-term success for Age of Conan through-out numerous languages and regions.
a�?1C Company is a clear leader in the Russian speaking regions, and we are confident we have found the perfect partner,a�? said Trond Arne Aas, CEO of Funcom. a�?We have already shipped a substantial amount of English boxes into Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, but we know that the real key to success is achieved through localized servers and services. Together with 1C Company we will do our uttermost to make Age of Conan a success for many years to come.a�?
a�?We are happy working together with Funcom on bringing Age of Conan to Russia. The game has already gained success here, reaching top places in many retail charts. With an already established fan base in Russia Ia�?m sure it will become even bigger after the localized version appears on the market,a�? said Nikolay Baryshnikov, International Sales Director of 1C Company. a�?Age of Conan is a great mix of action, RPG elements and adventure. I believe that the game has potential to become a big hit in Russia.a�?
Age of Conan launched this spring, and instantly became one of the fastest selling PC Games of all times, topping the charts in more than 17 countries. The unique mix of real-time action combat, incredible graphics and mature MMO content turned it into a massive success. Russian gamers will get access to the same version, and all updates and additions to the game will be released in Russian at the same time as other languages. The final release date for the Russian version is still to be set, but the game will come out during Q4 2008.
Russian will be the sixth language Age of Conan becomes available in, and launch in additional languages and territories is actively pursued by Funcom. For more information or to order Age of Conan a�� either in English, German, French or Spanish a�� visit the official website at www.ageofconan.com where you also can access the respective community websites.
