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Age of Conan: Unchained: Celebrating 600k with a Player Reward
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
According to new metrics released by Funcom, over 600,000 players have checked out Age of Conan: Unchained since the free to play launch in July. To celebrate this milestone, players logging into the game between now and November 21st will be able to claim the "King's Reward Pack" from the item store for free!
The reward pack, which can be found in the 'special offers' tab in the store, contains a selection of potions and is yours absolutely free - a thank you from us for your loyalty to King Conan! Remember to be on the correct character when you claim it however, as these are limited to one per account! So make sure you log in and claim your reward!
Read the full announcement on the Age of Conan: Unchained community site.
Comments
It's a shame that not many of them stayed to play this game, even with all the eu server merges Crom feels very empty. My fingers are crossed that aoc does not lose alot more players to the new aaa mmo's that are about to be released.
Wow, this puts into context the announcement that after a bit more than a week, DCUO had over a million new people checking it out. I wonder why the difference? AOC has a lot more content, though alot more of it is locked (from what I remember). And DCUO didn't really make nearly as big a deal out of going f2p as AOC did.
Play with batman or play with a barbarian.
Batman is more mainstream.
AoC probably had at most 60,000 players before they went F2P. 600,000 is a HUGE increase in their player base and probably gives them a decent revenue stream as well.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
I agree, I wasn't trying to put down the game, I enjoyed it for a while. I guess I don't really see how DCU is such a superior game as to garner so many more people in a much shorter period of time with (what I consider) much less content. It's a bit odd to me, and I wonder if it has more to do with how each of the games handled what is free and what you pay for, because AOC seems like a superior game (in my opinion of course). So the only thing I can really think of is the difference in what is available for free and what is paid for.
AoC has 4 total NA servers. Which means they likely have a max of 500 to 1k during prime time per server or 5k total population per server or 20k toal population. Quite far from the 600k figure they would want people to believe. It is a dead game. That has been dead since a month after release. But then again AOC was not made for long term subs just to maximize box sales.
Their direct quote from the announcement is that "more than 600,000 players have tested the free to play version since July" I don't really read that as them trying to get people to believe they have 600,000 peaple playing.
Well, reading comprehension does take greater skill than just reading.
http://www.zazzle.com/zippy_reality_t_shirt-235497302931783950
The pont of the article and Funcoms hype is to make people believe that people are actually playing AoC and that it is not a dead game. Like everything else from Funcom it is misleading. Who cares if 600k have registered an account. The problem is no one plays the game. A much better story would be, "why did AoC die?" Rather than just mindlessly repeating Funcom's talking points. But then again MMO journalists not asking questions and turning a blind eye to Funcoms lies and deception prior to release was a big reason Funcom sold so many boxes at release. So why should they start being objective now?
The lack of MMO jourmalistic standards is why companies like Funcom can focus on box sales over long term subs and focus on eye candy and hype over quality and content. Because sites like MMORPG.Com focus only on page hits and advertising they have no interest in journalism. Their interest is in hyping poorly made games to genreate page hits for this site. That is where their interest begins and ends.
I thought reading financial statements would be boring, but some of the information is interesting, such as the difference in hosting costs between the time that AoC launched and for when TSW is getting ready to launch.
The important part of all of this is that AoC is generating a positive cash flow and is actually making money as opposed to losing money. So whatever their number of players is, they are making money. It's some kind of miracle really.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
I learned a long time ago how to read promotional material and advertisements. One of those first instances was when Cracker Jacks changed their on-box statement from "Prize inside" to "Surprise inside". Some people take longer.
You making a statement that AoC has been dead a month after release doesn't lend any credibility to your statements, in fact it heavily detracts from it and makes you sound biased against the game to the point of ignoring any facts if they aren't negative about the game.
Hard to make a case for objectivity if you show none of it yourself.
Get over your grudge and move on, is what I'd advise in such cases.
As for the article: it's a nice number of people checking it out, but with the upcoming AAA MMORPG's that will arrive the next 6 months, I fear all current MMO's are going to take some considerable hits, AoC included.
What was the expected difference in hosting costs?
And did the report state why that difference?
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
THIS ^^ is what I think the most important thing for a MMO. Make money to further develop the game and/or develop a new MMO. Don't look at the number of players running around. As long as YOU enjoy this game, and the game makes money (and thus can continue to exist), the game is a success.
Shame because it doesn't mean anything.
I am IN LOVE with this game (got a level 64 and a level 42) and boy are the mid levels DEAD. Life at 80 seems VERY active though (and I mean VERY). But that doesn't mean much because everything's one huge grind at 80: PvP, PvE, AAs, etc. So you're at a disadvantage as a new player. And FC doesn't care about players any longer so abandon all hope of getting the system reworked to make a better gaming experience (or just wait a year for FC to realize there is a problem).
Honestly, AoC is probably the best-made themepark MMO out there. Best-made but worst-maintained. FC doesn't care about its game, it disrespects its playerbase and the cherry on the icing is that whatever they do, they do at a glacial pace. As I said, it's a bloody shame because the game is brilliantly-crafted... it's just that it's lacking almost everything else (developer support, first and foremost).
I quit RIFT to play AoC and I'm having a really good time. I honestly don't care if they only have 4, well 3 servers (Deathwish is dying). The community is far more active, and gregarious than RIFT's (have experience of over 4 shards and have played since headstart). The aesthetics are amazing, and the game graphically is stunning (especially for a 3 year one).
My advice? DON'T PLAY IT. You will run the risk of falling in love with it... and meet the crushing realization that the developers have - unfortunately - erroneously abandoned it for some odd reason (TSW perhaps, who knows). And that'll make you very mad and sad
PS. Be wary of TSW. One would hope FC learns from their mistakes... *snort*
"Never argue with a fool; onlookers may not be able to tell the difference."
I need to take this advice more.
Certainly it is a subjective statement. But the game IMO was dead 4 weeks after release. The servers were ghost towns. The game had no tested conetnt past level 30, the design of the game along with the target audience was not directed towards players that would subscribe longterm, and games that have failed at release in almost all exceptions (AO but that was more a techincal failure as one could not stay logged in and released in a different era when gamers had more patience and less choices) means its over. Not to mention the poor reputation Funcom earned from its open beta bait and switch and its lies about what would be included at release. AoC was made for short term box sales not for long term sub revenue. Which explains the lies, the poor quality, short development time and targetting the over excited kiddie demographic by marketing the game on juvenile themes of nudity, profanity, blood, gore and a simplistic follow the arrow combat system.
Whether you like AoC or hate it the game is dead. It does not have enough people playing it to keep enough devs employed to provide any meaningful content. If you like the game then its even sadder and I feel for you. Look at Vanguard's sad death. Many people will argue it was one of the greatest games ever made. Certainly one of the broadest MMOS developed in terms of horizontal 1-50 content. But sadly it recieved no support once SOE took over in May, 2007, dropping from over 100 devs to 1 dev within a year. There it has remained on life support. Dead with no content but still existing. This is what happens to games that do not have the sub base to support new content. They wither and die while the fanboys post about how things will eventually change and all we be right in the universe one day. Sites like MMORPG.Com will periodically write a nice hype piece (after their writer plays the game for 6 or 7 minutes) telling people how game X is thriving and people are coming back in droves with the expectations of new content. But don't believe it. It is all a lie.
good point but still surprising
DCUO announces 500k PC f2p after its first week (1m if you include console)
AOC announces 600k f2p after 4 months
altho AOC did announce 300k after its first month
http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/11/age-of-conan-unchained-conquers-300-000-new-players-doubles-re/
EQ2 fan sites
So wrong that it isn't even funny.
The game had a bad launch because it was a forced launch and not because of your conspiracy quick buck theory.
Also AoC combat is probably the best combat in any hotkey twitch MMO in the West (can't speak for Asia as I have no experience) and the combat system was a lot more complicated at launch.
Not even going to dignify the other fallacious hyperboles with a response.
"Never argue with a fool; onlookers may not be able to tell the difference."
I need to take this advice more.
Well, I have played it over the years from time to time and maybe you were on an unlucky server, but the servers I played on weren't, even a few months after release they were pleasantly populated. This summer when I checked back again I counted 2000-2500 online at the same time on some servers, which is pretty damn good considering that the highest populated LotrO servers a year or so ago when I checked counted 1000-1500 and a usual 'high population' MMO server has on average 1250-2000 online at peak times.
As for what Funcom implemented, the game after 1.5-2 years was in a much better state than at launch, no more leveling content gaps, some great zones added, the expansion was interesting and they implemented quite a number of stuff and features in the past few years that belie any statement that the game was merely for box sales. It's gotten way, way more support and content added than a game like Vanguard got or even WAR.
If you dislike AoC, nothing wrong with it, but distorting facts and outright lying just because you don't like to see a game or company you hate/despise/dislike do well... I don't see any merit in it at all.
With all the content, changes and continued developing that AoC has gotten over the years, personally I rank it in a current top 5 of AAA MMORPG's, along with WoW, LotrO, Aion and Rift. The game has gotten just that good. IMO of course.
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
"Never argue with a fool; onlookers may not be able to tell the difference."
I need to take this advice more.
I'm really considering getting this. I'm almost capped for the month already due mainly to beta'ing another game but I have like 40gig left for the month so I may or may not get AoC...but seems kinda fun from youtube vids I've watched.
Member of Talon | www.lakexeno.com
RIFT: Redcameo, Warrior, Faemist Server
RIFT: Bluecameo, Mage, Faemist Server
The lore is crap. Extremely lazy development team. I grew up on Savage Sword (if you don't know this then move along), Le Sprague's edited Conan novels (same as before). Necromancers and Demonologists would be killed on sight in Cimmeria. Mitra priests do not align with Set let alone combat one another. This was a story of epic warfare, hence why Conan the King was portrayed as furiously defending his realm vs invading realms (opening animation), NOT what happens when Tammy's Cimmerian, Aquilonian, Stygian guild fights Mike's Aquilonia, Stygian, Cimmerian guild in an instanced BG nonetheless!
However, the game was only Conan in name not content or quality. They needed a semi familiar reference point and they were full aware most folks smoke pot that play these days and are <25. That's the player base that "Rules them All."
Robert Ervin Howard turned in his grave when he saw this mess. Another F2P (Fail to Pay) game.
600,000 kids, foreign servicement who were bored in a pup tent in Iraq, and gold farming employees took a look, and moved on.
So far developers have ruined the mmorpg potential of: Dungeons and Dragons, Star Wars, Conan, and Lord of the Rings (not to mention a few others).
Well I have to disagree, they did a decent job with the lore. You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but I think Mr Howard would enjoy this game. My only problem with the game is you are channeled everywhere, the areas are not open so there is no sense of exploration.
What is up with the multiple carriage returns? Quite rude if you ask me, makes the post very hard to read. Ridiculous I have to edit your post to make it readible.
personally i think conan is great..but released way too early.has for the amount of peeps playing or paying,well on my server the poulation is quite considerable thru day and night,,no idea about the other servers though.i know this,they are making money off this game,so has long as they are i,m sure the content will flow..saying that though once TSW comes out i,ll be moving to that game..unless they do something like what sony do which is access all for a certain price.600k may have logged in to check it out but there is nowhere near that amount playing..i know it didnt state that.but you have to wonder how many actually pay.
so true, if you play as batman/joker for your mentor (gotham city) you'll find at least 200 players under level 10 in your beginner area. Metropolis is slightly less, but china town (Circe/Wonderwoman) is almost empty lol.
Your source. They didn't put a game out like that just for box sales. Even given the type of conspiracy theories that are prevelant with statements such as this, people forget one factor. Common sense. It just doesn't pass the common sense test.
I self identify as a monkey.