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Age of Conan gets 'unlimited free trial,' fine print
Funcom has made its barbaric MMO Age of Conan free-to-play -- well, at least in a sense. From today through January 1, those who download the game client and create an account will be able to play for free until their character reaches level 20 (basically the game's first zone). Doesn't exactly seem "unlimited," unless ... oh, we see, you can create a new character once you reach the free trial level cap and play through the same content again -- until that character reached level 20, and so on. Funcom is hoping that folks who go in for the trial experience will be so captivated that they'll want to pony up the money to see what lies beyond level 20. (Hint: It's more of the same.) Funcom is calling this "a special holiday offer to anyone who wishes to experience the sexy and savage world of Conan." We're calling it a cry for attention.
Age of Conan subscription prices slashed, free content added
Listen up folks, because Funcom is willing to do anything to get you to drive away in an Age of Conan TODAY. You want discounted subscriptions? You got 'em. You want a 20-percent discount on three month subscriptions? No problem. How about a 30-percent discount for six months? Done. You want more? How about a 45% discount on a full-year subscription. Funcom is just crazy enough to do it. But wait, that's not all. Act now and you'll receive a free update that adds three new Halloween quests, offering you the chance to earn a demon pet and a legendary weapon known as the "Unholy Backscratcher." In addition, you'll get access to the new Veteran Points system and a new high-level dungeon. Once again, this is absolutely free to subscribers. And, take it from us, this isn't a deal that Funcom would make for just anybody, but you, you look like someone that knows what they want. So come see Funcom, friend. If they can't make you a deal, they'll start choppin' heads™. [Via Big Download]
Funcom confirms layoffs and Secret World delay, Age of Conan not affected
We contacted Age of Conan developer Funcom yesterday after reports from Norwegian news site E24 claimed the company would soon be making major staff cuts. The company's director of communications, Erling Ellingsen, recently responded to our query, confirming the layoffs, and adding that Ragnar Tørnquist's mysterious MMO The Secret World would indeed be delayed "by a few months." Age of Conan and its in-development expansion, Rise of the Godslayer, will not be affected by the layoffs. Ellingsen explained that the cuts, which would primarily take place in Funcom's Oslo, Norway offices, were made "in order to adjust to the market situation." Though the layoffs are coming fairly soon after the developer announced its new, Montreal-based studio, Ellingsen explained that "this has nothing to do with the establishment of our studio in Canada." We wish our Norwegian game-crafting allies the best of luck in getting back on their feet. %Gallery-49441%
Direct2Drive's anniversary sale continues with $5 RPGs and MMOs
Digital retailer Direct2Drive continues its seemingly endless parade of values this week with a number of MMOs and RPGs which you can acquire for a single five-dollar bill. These titles include Neverwinter Nights 2, EVE Online, Age of Conan and Assassin's Creed Director's Cut. Well, fine -- that last one isn't exactly an RPG, unless what the director cut from the original version was turn-based random encounters. If you're not a fan of playing roles, you'll be happy to know that D2D has kept a number of the previous weeks' deals alive, adding BioShock, Civilization 4, Assault on Dark Athena and many other titles to the pile of $5 games. If you're looking to expand your PC library on the cheap, it's definitely worth checking out.
Eidos investigating 'bad' Batman collector's edition DLC codes
PS3 owners who scooped up the formidable Batman: Arkham Asylum collector's edition are going a bit batty on the game's official forum due to seemingly botched DLC codes. The codes, included only with the CE, enable two challenge map downloads -- but, so far, have only unlocked ire. Not to fear, as Eidos community reps are asking for the spurned downloaders' codes so that they can be "passed on and investigated." The publisher is definitely on the case, although there's no clear ETA for a fix. We suggest bookmarking the thread if you're having problems, as it seems to be a source of frequent updates. We also suggest that you don't think of doing anything crazy with that replica Batarang. They're just DLC codes, folks. It'll be OK.
Rocksteady 'not involved' in the development of Hitman 5
Despite the recently discovered resume indicating that Batman: Arkham Asylum developer Rocksteady Studios may be working on a game titled Hitman5 (yes, without a space), Eidos "Life President" Ian Livingstone flat out denies the possibility. Talking to Prey's World Gaming Magazine, Livingstone said, "Hitman always has been and always will be IO Interactive's baby, which it still continues to be so." Worried about miswording in that? He followed up with, "Rocksteady are not involved with the development of Hitman 5." All that said, we do know that some version of Hitman is on the way, as Livingstone has confirmed as such in the past and Rocksteady is currently hiring a few positions to produce a "AAA titile on the next generation platforms." It appears as though the two are unrelated though, at least for now. Meanwhile, IO Interactive is currently wrapping up development of Mini Ninjas for a September release -- and then the studio can get to work on the next Hitman game in earnest, eh? (Please?)[Via Blue's News]
Free PlayStation Home Batcave comes on Batman: Arkham Asylum disc
After pounding macho men to a pulp in the recent Batman: Arkham Asylum demo, we're definitely excited for additional bat-goodies. That's why we're happy to pass along some info from the PlayStation Blog, which says Home users will get the sweet Batcave space you see above. It's called the "Batman Arkham Asylum Batcave Outpost Apartment" and comes chock full of stuff, including a "Batsuit, Batmobile, and Batwing, along with various Bat-gadgets." The space will be unlocked for gamers when they pop in the disc and allow them to walk about Bruce Wayne's (spoiler!) underground lair. Sounds all well and good, but where's the virtual Alfred to boss around?
BAM! Batman: Arkham Asylum demo punching faces online
Hello, loyal readers. We should have mentioned this a few hours ago but a demo for Batman: Arkham Asylum is now available for Xbox Live Gold users. Why are we late on the tip? Well, we've been busy playing the demo ... and time flew by. Translation: The demo is good. Yeah, that's right. Soak it in for a moment, a superhero game that doesn't immediately make you want to punch yourself in the face. Feels nice, doesn't it? Of course, the demo's vertical slice could be a mischievous ruse, and only when we play the full version will we realize that half the game is played by a boyish Robin ... or worse, The Arbiter (we're kidding, you're always The Bats). Will the final game live up? According to our other experiences in Arkham, Rocksteady has actually done Batman some justice. It's about time. Do the Bat-Dance, Queue up the Batman: Arkham Asylum demo
Funcom: Anarchy Online 2 not in the cards (yet)
Funcom isn't planning on a sequel to Anarchy Online just yet. Speaking with VideoGamer, Game Director Craig Morrison believes a sequel would be "problematic." He notes that AO has been running for eight years and is still making money. We can't blame Funcom for not wanting to mess with a game that's making money. Morrison explains that Age of Conan and The Secret World are currently the company's two main projects. For now, it looks like Anarchy won't be getting a sequel for ... well, considering MMO development cycles, a good long while.
Give Age of Conan a second chance, get two weeks free
Have you turned your back on Hyboria, nay, the entire Age of Conan? The MMO may be populated with barbarians, but its developer, Funcom, is really being quite nice to turncoats by offering two free weeks of gameplay if you return. No questions axed. This re-evaluation campaign comes in advance of August's planned game expansion, which itself is set to be unveiled at Germany's GamesCom, which runs August 19 through 23. The wise barbarian will pocket those 14 days of free play until then.
Funcom announcing Age of Conan expansion in August
Listen, we're in no position to further heckle Funcom's muscle-bound MMO Age of Conan for its underwhelming install base. We think it's great that the game has survived this long, and we're certain the game's three players will -- no! No heckling! The game's players will be thrilled to hear Funcom's got a big expansion planned for the Hyborean RPG. The developer is planning on unveiling the expansion during GamesCom, a gaming convention (comvention?) that will be held in Cologne, Germany from August 19 - 23. Details about the add-on are non-existant -- hopefully it won't include any mammarical modifications, which have already been proven to be decidedly unpopular with Conan's subscribers.
Age of Conan survives one year, gains unspecified growth
FunCom has announced that Age of Conan is officially celebrating its first anniversary this week, adding that the company has seen a "significant" increase in the number of players per month. The company also noted that activity levels in the game have increased "significantly." Just how significant is all of this significance? That's anybody's guess, as Funcom hasn't provided any hard numbers. Considering that the Age of Conan log recounts a litany of woe and despair, we suppose any player increases would be good news which, in and of itself, would be significant for the beleaguered MMO. In celebration of the first anniversary of the game, players will be treated to in-game fireworks and the chance to win prizes. Also, Funcom will soon be adding the ability to buy additional character slots and, as a bonus anniversary gift, will provide veteran players that have subscribed to the MMO for at least six months with a new character slot for free. Everyone else gets to keep playing World of Warcraft.
Eidos revenues up 26%, Lara says 'You're welcome'
GI.biz reports that Eidos has posted financial results for the six-month period ending December 2008, and things are looking up for the publisher. Revenues for the period were up a full 26% at £80.3 million, up from £63.4 million during the same period in 2007. The cut to the publisher's losses was even more dramatic, down to just £1 million compared to £81.4 million in 2007. Eidos also managed to lower its debt from £5.7 million to £3.2 million.The uptick in revenues is largely the doing of Lady Croft and her recent Underworld adventures, which sold 2.6 million copies (with 1.5 million sold through to consumers). Eidos noted that Tomb Raider: Underworld has outsold both Legend and Anniversary, though the company reiterated that sales were still lower than expected.This has got to be good news to Square Enix, which recently crammed more Eidos stock into its portfolio and is gunning to acquire the publisher. It has to be even better news for the growing number of stockholders that support the acquisition.
Age of Conan still in development for Xbox 360
Funcom is still developing a Xbox 360 port of Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, the publisher reiterated in an interview with Eurogamer. The affirmation comes after PC player subscriptions for the MMO dropped and half the servers were shut down. Game Director Craig Morrison wouldn't go into specifics beyond the fact that the company still plans on having a version on Microsoft's console. Morrison describes the team working on the console version as small and dedicated. Heck, it's worth a try. Then again, who will test it? Didn't QA get laid off?
Eidos disappointed with TR: Underworld sales, stock drops
Following UK publisher Eidos Interactive's announcement that sales of Tomb Raider Underworld didn't hit its internal forecast, the publisher's shares dropped 25% this morning (there's been some slight recovery since). Eidos states that Lady Croft's latest adventure, since its debut in November, sold 1.5 million copies by the end of 2008, which makes us question how high Eidos set the bar for the adventurer to spring, swing and flip off of.Eidos' expectations come even more into question with its statement that the "difficult North American economy" caused restrictive inventory and price discounts. The assertion has a heaping hint of truthiness to it, more so following GameStop's astronomical sales during the holidays. We love Lara, but it doesn't sound like Eidos knows the limits of its own franchise in a competitive market.Source - Eidos: 1.5m Tomb Raider Sales Miss Expectations (Edge)Source - Eidos shares plunge 25% on bad news
Mark Hamill's Joker confirmed in Batman: Arkham Asylum
If you're reading this blog, chances are you've spent at least a few afternoons taking in Batman: The Animated Series. If so, you probably have some fond memories of Mark Hamill's portrayal of the caped crusader's nemesis, the Joker. Rejoice, Joker fans, as Eidos and Warner Bros. Interactive have confirmed to Joystiq that Hamill will be reprising his role as the Joker in the upcoming Batman: Arkham Asylum. Also joining the voice cast will be Kevin Conroy, who has voiced Batman in just about every Batman cartoon under the sun. Now let's just hope the rest of the game is up to snuff.
Funcom still has "high expectations" for 360 Age of Conan
It has been a long, long time since we heard anything about the Xbox 360 version of the Funcom MMO Age of Conan. Considering the spate of bad news about Funcom and AOC lately, we were half convinced that the project had been shelved altogether. Not so, apparently, as Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas told gamesindustry.biz that the title was still in the works, saying, "We had high expectations when we first set out to do a console version of Age of Conan, and these remain high." He added that Funcom is working to tailor the experience to the console, saying that the 360 version should boast "most, if not all of the content and improvements that have been made to the PC version of the game." Just when we should expect to see Age of Conan on the 360, Arne Aas did not say. [Via Ars Technica]
Video: Meet the crazies of Batman: Arkham Asylum
Embedded above is a newly released trailer for Batman: Arkham Asylum and, just as one could expect from the game's title, there are quite a few crazies running amok. The Joker seems as deranged as ever, Batman looks to be stressed, there's an overly large (possibly steroid fueled), chain wielding baddie on the loose and well, everything is rather gloomy. Actually, the game doesn't look too bad. Non-video game related pro-tip: Go buy The Dark Knight.
Funcom confirms Age of Conan layoffs
The bad news parade for Age of Conan doesn't look like it's going to stop until it pulls a Tabula Rasa. TenTonHammer has confirmed layoffs at developer Funcom's US branch. Although the company would only acknowledge "staffing cuts," TTH reported rumors that 70% of the staff, mostly from the customer service and quality assurance departments, were let go. Although it's certainly no secret that Age of Conan is hurting at this point, the QA and CS departments are the two bookends of support on many MMORPGs. When there's no need for them, it speaks volumes about what happens next. [Via Game|Life]
First Batman: Arkham Asylum trailer
You know, given the apparent state of Arkham Asylum, it's no wonder that Gotham City's criminals are complete wack-jobs. Honestly, considering the utter disrepair of Gotham's premiere mental health facility, is it any wonder that its patients are never properly rehabilitated? Just look at it. It looks like something out of Silent Hill. Hardly the kind of place that promotes a sense of mental well-being. Oh, and the asylum also serves as the setting for Eidos' upcoming Batman: Arkham Asylum, in which the criminally insane trap the caped crusader inside Arkham's hellish walls. Or something like that. Gallery: Batman: Arkham Asylum
