Age of Conan tops the million shipped mark
Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Events, real-world, Launches, MMO industry
Since the launch of Age of Conan, Funcom has been enjoying almost constant successes in the media and in the marketplace. However meaningful you feel critical responses are to an MMO, they continue to be strikingly positive (though with a few exceptions, as always). They've knocked huge titles like Grand Theft Auto 4 off of the top of sales charts, and internal metrics have already put the existing player base above 400,000. In the latest milestone for the Norwegian developer, they've announced that they have surpassed one million units shipped worldwide in less than three weeks.While units shipped is a fuzzier number than units sold in terms of a metric for success, Funcom's VP of sales and marketing is already calling this the biggest MMO launch since World of Warcraft. While we highly doubt that Funcom is even going to approach the numbers that Blizzard has been slinging for years, what's clear is that their game is a tremendous success by most standards. What will be key for them at this point is building on this initial flood of users and doing their best to retain the subscribers they have. It doesn't take long to go from shiny new title to disappearing from your company's quarterly financial report.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Leshrac said on 2:16PM 6-06-2008
I was a closed AoC beta tester for a while, and I bought two copies of the game at launch. But just yesterday I canceled both accounts. The reasons are numerous but for the sake of space; combat was boring, quests were boring, loot was boring, caster classes were boring, etc. If Funcom manages to inject a ton of fun into the game then maybe I'll check it out, I'm keeping one eye on the game.
I picked up MASS EFFECT for the pc last weekend, though its not an mmo, I blasted thru it in 3 days. Up till that point the original Half-Life was my favorite single-playeer game, well MASS EFFECT is now my new no. ! single-player pc game of all time. I plan on going back thru it again this weekend to complete the missions I missed my first time thru (while uusing my level 32 Soldier). I'm also trying to time my 2nd run-thru with the release of the free DLC they're offering for the pc version (Bring Down the Sky).
Other then that I'm waiting on AION, WAR and Wrath of the Lich King.
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ScytheNoire said on 2:37PM 6-06-2008
I think the number of sales for AoC don't mean that AoC is that good, but that MMO fans are that hungry for something new. Many are bored of WoW and looking for something new. This bodes very well for WaR, as fans will probably be tired or annoyed of AoC by then, if not sooner, and be hungry for something new. AoC is the light snack before the main course meal that is Warhammer Online.
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Arabica said on 4:55PM 6-06-2008
Uh...AoC was looking pretty good when 400k or so people pre-ordered. It's actually very telling that they anticipate another 600k purchases after reviews and word of mouth has hit. Considering most MMO's float around 100k or so subscribers AoC could have a cataclysmic drop off and still be doing well.
Regardless of all the numbers the only thing that matters to be is that I am really enjoying it. Meh, to each their own. If you want to bust on AoC fine, but at least come with some numbers of your own. How many units has Warhammer sold? How was their launch? It's *going* to be the "main course"? Awesome. Tell me all about their flawless release and miraculously polished client when it happens.
DeathMutant said on 4:35PM 6-06-2008
The "real" test for how successful an MMOG is not units shipped but number of paying subscribers. The first free month expires soon for many people (around June 20th) so we shall see. . .
ps. Am *I* going to renew my subscription? Hannuman's Stones, AYE!
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phobic99 said on 7:38PM 6-06-2008
Just canceled my AoC account today. While the game does need work, I just don't find myself wanting to log in and play anymore. Once something isn't fun, I move on. I might check out AoC again after a large update perhaps.
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