Sci-Fi News and Reviews

"Age of Conan" Delayed

Age of Conan, a highly anticipated massively multiplayer online RPG, has delayed its release date until March 25th, 2008. It was originally scheduled to be released in late 2007.

I have been following the development of this game for some time. In my opinion, this game will give "World of Warcraft" a serious challenge in popularity. It sounds fantastic. Funcom (the game developer) has designed an adult world, rather than what is typically depicted in the genre. This should mean a more mature player-base (which is usually a good thing!) and a possible "M" rating(which is usually not..but, meh, I still like their thinking!).

Here is a quote from the official statement:

“We naturally regret that we have to push back ‘Age of Conan’. However, after careful consideration, and analysis of recent Beta feedback, we believe that the new release date is in the best interest of the gamers, our company and our owners,” said Trond Arne Aas, CEO of Funcom. “We are fully committed to delivering games with absolute qualities, and in the current MMO marketplace we know that only the best is good enough to truly succeed. With the new release date we have therefore given ourselves more time to meet and deliver on the massive expectations for the game. We are certain that our choice will ultimately pay off, and that all ‘Age of Conan’ players will get a special online experience."

Although delays can mean dire things for a game's prospects, in this case, I think it is a good move. It really has to be great right out of the box, or it will be just another flawed MMO. In addition, the title is designed to take advantage of DirectX 10, so the delay will allow Microsoft to further spread the implementation of that technology (I'm still on 9...). In addition, it allows "World of Warcraft" to age a little bit more. That player base may be willing to jump ship to something special, which "Age of Conan" has a good chance to be. I'll be waiting.

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Posted by Fred on August 15, 2007 3:25 PM
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