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Eidos Picks Up Conan MMOG

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the conan-smash dept.

Gamespot has the word that Eidos will be publishing the delayed Massive game Age of Conan, with a release date sometime next year. They've also revealed it's being developed for one or more of the next-gen consoles. From the article: "The deal marks the first time that Eidos has become involved with either an MMORPG or a game based on the Conan character. The fictional barbarian was created by the late author Robert E. Howard in print during the 1930s and played by Arnold Schwarzenegger on film in the 1980s. (The Conan films also costarred Japanese-American character actor Mako, who succumbed to cancer over the weekend.) The franchise has since spawned novels, comic books, and a short-lived television series starring German bodybuilder Ralf Moeller (Gladiator). "

54 comments

  1. Aha. by Poromenos1 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Doubtless, the lead developer has his sights on becoming governor of California. At least, that's what I hear happened to the last guy that was involved in Conan.

    --
    Send email from the afterlife! Write your e-will at Dead Man's Switch.
    1. Re:Aha. by Tackhead · · Score: 3, Funny
      > Doubtless, the lead developer has his sights on becoming governor of California. At least, that's what I hear happened to the last guy that was involved in Conan.

      Conan, what is good in life? "To crush Gray Davis, to see him driven before you, and to hear the emptying coffers of his campaign donors!"

      But this isn't politics, it's a MMORPG. The dialogue from the original movie will have to be...

      "Crom, I have never prayed 2 u b4. I suck at typing. No 1, not even u, will remember if we were teh r0x or teh sux, why we PVP, or how we got pwnt. All dat matters is that my guildies griefed teh Chinese gold farmers. Dat's wut's important. Valor pleases u Crom, so grant me 1 request, grant me teh win! And if u do not listen, then up urs n00b!"

      ...dumbed down a bit.

  2. what if by MrSquirrel · · Score: 4, Funny

    Did anyone else think "Conan... O'Brien?".
    That would be pretty sweet: *Hair swish* *summon Max Weinberg and the Max Weinberg Seven*

    --
    A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
    1. Re:what if by The+MAZZTer · · Score: 2, Funny

      "Did anyone else think "Conan... O'Brien?"."

      Yes, but only because of those blasted YTMNDs. >:(

    2. Re:what if by dextromulous · · Score: 1

      Yes, and I was really looking forward to a Conan O'Brien game. I wonder if you could level just by talking nonsensically.

      --
      There are two types of people in the world: those who divide people into two types and those who don't.
    3. Re:what if by Dorceon · · Score: 1

      I actually thought it was Detective Conan for a moment, but I guess a mystery-solving MMORPG wouldn't be any good. Then again, since when does a bad premise stop an MMO from getting made?

      --
      What sound do people on rollercoasters make? Hint: it's not Xbox 360.
    4. Re:what if by bynary · · Score: 1

      Sounds like a wonderful MMOG...for me to POOP on!

      --
      http://www.bynarystudio.com
    5. Re:what if by rehtonAesoohC · · Score: 1

      Not to mention Triumph the Insult Comic Dog!

      Triumph: "Who do you think you are? Conan the Librarian?!"

    6. Re:what if by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Yes, but only because of those blasted YTMNDs.

      You say that as if you DONT believe that Conan O'Brien will conquer the world and enslave us all.

    7. Re:what if by John+Nowak · · Score: 2, Informative

      Well, there's this: http://www.play.net/mo/

    8. Re:what if by servognome · · Score: 1

      We've sunk to an all-time low when games are asking, "Want to roleplay teaching a class in Modus Operandi?"

      --
      D6 63 0D 70 89 81 BB 8E 7B 7C 5F 5D 54 EA AB 73
  3. Wow, was beginning to worry a bit... by sgant · · Score: 1, Funny

    It had been almost a full week and a company hadn't announced a new MMORPG yet. Was starting to worry.

    Now we can add yet another new game to the list of announced-but-will-never-be-released MMORPGs! And in about a year or two we can add it to our ever growing list of cancelled MMORPG's.

    And for the love of God, don't try to create anything innovative or different or try new things or be original, as it will totally screw up the list.

    --

    "Leo Fender was in a 'state of grace' when he designed the Stratocaster." -- Paul Reed Smith
    1. Re:Wow, was beginning to worry a bit... by snillfisk · · Score: 3, Informative

      The Conan MMORPG was announced quite some time ago; this is just an announcement regarding the publisher. The game is also being developed by the norwegian company Funcom, who developed Anarchy Online, two expansion packs, The Longest Journey and Dreamfall. They do at least have some merit in finishing their projects.

      --
      mats
      One man's ceiling is another man's floor.
    2. Re:Wow, was beginning to worry a bit... by rabbot · · Score: 1

      "And for the love of God, don't try to create anything innovative or different or try new things or be original, as it will totally screw up the list."

      Plus it will be labeled a "gimmick" by the gimmick police that seem to have sprouted up in the past few years.

  4. Another MMO? by Ryan+Amos · · Score: 2, Insightful

    How many MMOs can the market support? MMOs are absolutely dependent on achieving critical mass to be successful, and with so many out there and how many are so time consuming you can only play one at a time, it seems that more of them should be failing. Are they just being propped up by VC or are these companies genuinely turning a profit?

    1. Re:Another MMO? by GundamFan · · Score: 1

      It's funny, there is evidence that the market is reaching a saturation point as we speak. Having said that if WoW players suddenly start an exodus (due to say a disapointing expansion) there will be quite a few gamers relativly new to MMOs and looking for there next fix. If I had to guess I would say that many of these new MMO teams are trying to be done in time to catch some of Blizzards cast offs (if my friends are any indication I would wager that quite a few WoW players are geting the itch to try something new).

      It's a smart move on the part of these developers even if the game hasd no staying power, even "unsucessful" MMOs are extremely profitable in the short term and involve almost no loss when they shut down.

      --
      I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.
      Mark Twain
    2. Re:Another MMO? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There was a lot of people thinking the MMO market had reached saturation before WoW, but then WoW showed that if the game is made right, you can bring new players into the MMO genre. If someone released a fun MMO that had wide appeal and got away from the EQ model everyone is still stuck on, you'd see another big spike in MMO players.

    3. Re:Another MMO? by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      There's already more MMOs than the market can support and many are failing. But you know the games industry, everybody thinks that THEIR game will somehow be different from all the others.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    4. Re:Another MMO? by GundamFan · · Score: 1

      That's interesting, it could be argued that EQ was the first big MMO to expand the market, perhaps this is an indication of a trend in the market. Many have started that WoW was the "mold breaker" you refer to, I would guess that in a few years games will be negativly compared to WoW just like EQ.

      --
      I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.
      Mark Twain
    5. Re:Another MMO? by ShakaUVM · · Score: 1

      I played during the EQ beta, and considered it both new/innovative and crap at the same time. I didn't buy it. I also beta tested UO and AC1, and was given AC2 for free. I played long enough to learn that I'd really hate playing it for real, and so I didn't buy any of them. I was tricked into buying FFXI, but cancelled my account after a few months.

      Even though I'm a pretty hardcore gamer, I hate MMORPGs in general.

      Amazingly, WOW has held my interest for the last 1.5 years, and will continue to do for the forseeable future. What did they do differently? They put so much content into the game it is possible to hit level 60 without grinding once. And grinding is the reason I find other MMORPGs so intolerable. In WOW, I don't need to grind for anything. I do an MC, an AQ and a ZG once per week, and that gives me all the gear I need to support my PVP habits.

    6. Re:Another MMO? by geminidomino · · Score: 1

      I do an MC, an AQ and a ZG once per week, and that gives me all the gear I need to support my PVP habits.

      You run the same 3 raids once per week. How is that not "grinding?"

    7. Re:Another MMO? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Define critical mass.

      Everything ever released before pales in comparison with World of Warcraft's subscriber base.

      I don't see the developers of EQ begging for change on the streets.

      Hell, the developers of EVE are doing quite well for themselves.

      You'd be surprised how low the 'critical mass' is - hardware is a mostly one-time cost, bandwidth is cheap, indeed, so are employees. Customer service is a non-issue, thanks to the previous few generations of MMOGs, players are fine doing without it.

      The only thing that really kills MMOGs is Electronic Arts. I'm not trying to be funny, either. EQ1 is still turning a profit. Hell, UO is still turning a profit. It's almost impossible *not* to turn a profit with an MMOG - unless you have corporate overlords who think the bottom line isn't quite large enough and terminate your game, there's few reasons to actually close the doors on an MMOG.

    8. Re:Another MMO? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The problem is that a lot of people seem to think that if an MMO isn't getting the 6 million subscriptions like WoW then it's failing.

      EQ1 had 400k subscribers and was considered a remarkable success - so much so that WoW owes its existence to it.

      EVE Online has 120k subscribers and thats more than enough for the developers to keep developing the game they want (without simplifying it to make it more appealing to the masses).

      If WoW does start haemorrhaging players they'll be more than enough to go around - unless the developers/publishers have nothing more than $$ in their eyes.

  5. Awesome by Rorian · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I still remember playing Conan: The Cimmerian (some variant of it anyway) on the PC about 15 years ago. It was an RPG style game, you were (naturally) Conan and you basically walked around killing things, gaining levels / items and all the usual RPG stuff. Probably the first RPG I ever played and I've loved them ever since :)

    --
    Will program for karma.
  6. What's next? by Skraut · · Score: 1

    Hercules and Xena MMORPG??

    --
    Introducing Microsoft Vacuum 1.0 The first Microsoft product that doesn't suck.
    1. Re:What's next? by ultranova · · Score: 1

      Hercules and Xena MMORPG??

      Why not ? Considering Greek tales about Zeus it would actually make a lot of sense for a few million demigods to be running around... But they'll still have to start by slaying or being slain by rats or chickens.

      --

      Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

    2. Re:What's next? by montyzooooma · · Score: 1
      Simutronics did one years ago as a subscription based MUD but the license must have lapsed because they no longer mention Hercules or Xena though the game is still there under a different name.

      http://www.play.net/aoh/

    3. Re:What's next? by sesshomaru · · Score: 1
      You really can't compare Xena to Conan (Hercules would be fair). Conan is a giant of fantasy literature created by a master of the form.

      Xena is a soccer mom dressed up as a drag queen, the two aren't anywhere near the same realm.

      --
      "MIT betrayed all of its basic principles."
  7. I hope the movie does not influence the game. by DuckDodgers · · Score: 4, Informative

    The Conan films with Schwarzennegger are an easy way to waste a few hours, but aside from roughly following the ethnic stereotypes of the original stories, they don't fit the literary character at all.

    Conan is brutal, lightning fast, crafty, and bloodthirsty in addition to being muscular. He used the best equipment he could get, and fought for fun, wealth, and women. The literary character would have escaped slavery. He would have engaged in pit fighting for fun and profit. He would have worn armor and not stalked around with a loincloth.

    Does this sound like a boring, stupid, lumbering brute to you? "The fighting madness of his race was upon him, and with a red mist of unreasoning fury wavering before his blazing eyes, he cleft skulls, smashed breasts, severed limbs, ripped out entrails, and littered the deck like a shambles with a ghastly harvest of brains and blood."

    Capturing that kind of intensity in the game will mean the difference between making something that does well, and something that offers Diablo 1 with better graphics. I like the Arnold flick as much as anyone, but it doesn't represent the fun of Conan at all. It also gives Sword and Sorcery writers and fans a worse stereotype than they deserve.

    1. Re:I hope the movie does not influence the game. by Boogaroo · · Score: 1

      I agree, the books were good. I remember one book which had a radioactive ore being mined for contruction of an idol. They don't state that it's radioactive, but if you know the symptoms, it becomes more clear over the course of the book. I could see that being implemented in a game as a sort of "cursed" item.

      I've never gone for an MMORPG, but if they get it right, it would appeal to me.

    2. Re:I hope the movie does not influence the game. by russellh · · Score: 1
      Capturing that kind of intensity in the game will mean the difference between making something that does well, and something that offers Diablo 1 with better graphics. I like the Arnold flick as much as anyone, but it doesn't represent the fun of Conan at all. It also gives Sword and Sorcery writers and fans a worse stereotype than they deserve.
      That particular Conan will probably have to stay in the books. Slightly OT, but I always found the story behind howard's writing more interesting than his subject. It might not be true, but it's been said and recorded here and there that howard felt compelled to write the conan stories as if conan himself were standing behind his chair as he wrote at night. That is the movie to be made about conan, imho.
      --
      must... stay... awake...
    3. Re:I hope the movie does not influence the game. by DuckDodgers · · Score: 1

      Two of Robert Howard's other famous characters were Bran Mak Morn and Solomon Kane, and all of Howard's writings for each were recently rebundled into new books with the same names. He also wrote about Kull the Konqueror, a king in ancient Atlantis that preceded Conan by thousands of years. In addition to that, he wrote dozens of independent short stories, some suprisingly good poetry, and Westerns. He was also friends with HP Lovecraft, one of the most famous horror writers of the 20th century, and Clark Ashton Smith, another popular science fiction writer.

      If Conan was Howard's only character that had a large number of stories, or Howard only wrote sword and sorcery fiction, or Howard was a complete recluse, or Howard never tried to publish his stories but only recorded them, I would give some credence to the idea he believed Conan himself actually told the stories. As it is, I think at best it's an urban legend, at worst it's a marketing campaign Howard or someone else invented to boost sales.

    4. Re:I hope the movie does not influence the game. by rasjani · · Score: 1

      In latest issue of one local game magazine, Funcom devels (company behind Conan) clealy state the game will draw its influence from the books and writings of Howard, not from the movie.

      --
      yush
    5. Re:I hope the movie does not influence the game. by ultranova · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If Conan was Howard's only character that had a large number of stories, or Howard only wrote sword and sorcery fiction, or Howard was a complete recluse, or Howard never tried to publish his stories but only recorded them, I would give some credence to the idea he believed Conan himself actually told the stories. As it is, I think at best it's an urban legend, at worst it's a marketing campaign Howard or someone else invented to boost sales.

      It's a description of a certain kind of feeling. You sit in front of your computer (or typewriter or pen and paper) and the story and characters in your mind are so strong that the text seems to write itself. You can see the events you write flash in front of your eyes. You can feel the characters you write about standing behind you, telling their story. Of course you know they aren't really there, but it sure feels like they were. And when it feels like that to the writer, it feels like that to the reader too. That's why Howard's Conan is so popular.

      It's the literature equivalent of the trance some coders can fall to, and it's the difference between those characters that can endure the test of time and those that can't: the enduring characters are those their writers imbued with a soul, so that they feel real to the writer and reader alike. A character that doesn't seem to talk to its writer is going to be little more than a puppet on strings; while you can still make very nice string puppet shows, the puppet cannot hold a candle to a real human, imagined or otherwise. Unless the puppet happens to be a Muppet, but then again, Muppets were arguable imbued by souls by their creator...

      This got a bit metaphysical, but the point is that Howard was really quite serious and quite correct: Conan spoke to him. That is where the stories intensity and power comes from.

      --

      Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

    6. Re:I hope the movie does not influence the game. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Whole_Wide_World

      They did make a movie about him, but I didn't see it.

    7. Re:I hope the movie does not influence the game. by sesshomaru · · Score: 1
      Unless the puppet happens to be a Muppet, but then again, Muppets were arguable imbued by souls by their creator...
      Yes, I saw that episode of Angel too... quite gruesome, wasn't it?
      --
      "MIT betrayed all of its basic principles."
  8. Interesting Take by colanut · · Score: 2, Interesting
    I couldn't find much info about which "age" of Conan they are using. I'd really like the old books version. There is definitely some weird stuff in there. However, this game play nugget sounded interesting:
    The game will begin as a 20-hour single-player game in which gamers will create a specialized character before heading into a sprawling multiplayer online campaign.
    I've love to play and re-play character creations just for fun, taking only my favorite characters farther. If the single player can be done with out having to access the internet, that would be even better. Then interacting with people who have cared to go beyond the initial phase may raise the social experience (or maybe not). Anyhow, it is interesting and I am actually curious about the details. Hope they include Mac too (WoW runs fine on my Dual 533 G4).
    1. Re:Interesting Take by colanut · · Score: 1

      Wee, this sounds good:

      Ideas on the fee structure

    2. Re:Interesting Take by AcidLacedPenguiN · · Score: 1

      Yeah, Especially if you don't have to subscribe for that initial 20 hours, I never usually buy MMO's cause its like $50, then $15 a month. But if the single player game is actually good I wouldn't feel like I was getting stooged.
      well that is until someone decides that SOE would be the greatest fit for them. I could just imagine all the fun new game enhancements!

      --
      disclaimer: I've been known to store numbers in my ass for which to dig out when quantities are required.
    3. Re:Interesting Take by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I couldn't find much info about which "age" of Conan they are using. I'd really like the old books version.

      Huh. Their website is pretty clear:

      When in the timeline of the Conan Universe is the game set?

      The setting is chronologically directly after the Robert E. Howard book "The Hour of the Dragon", in the era when Conan was king of Aquilonia. This novel is heralded by many as one of Howard's strongest, and gives us a great entry point into Howard's world.
  9. I love the Conan movies!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Conan" (and "Terminator") are his best movies..

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082198/
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087078/ ...what? No URL autodetection??? That's sooo un-Web2.0'ish!!!

  10. best conan quote by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Mongol General: We have won again. That is good! But what is best in life?
    Mongolian trainee: The open steppe, fleet horse, falcon on your wrist, wind in your hair!
    Mongol General: Wrong! Conan, what is best in life?
    Conan: To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women!
    Mongol General: That is good.

  11. Infos by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If anyone is interested, here's a nice site featuring a collection of developer quotes http://www.conan.ch/conanonline/interview_quotes.h tm about the game.

  12. Forget Conan! I want... by LoverOfJoy · · Score: 1

    Thundarr! That universe would have interesting creatures to play as/against.

    1. Re:Forget Conan! I want... by Visceral+Monkey · · Score: 1

      I see your Thundar and raise you with GAMMA WORLD!

      --
      *Fortitudo, aequitas, fidelitas.*
    2. Re:Forget Conan! I want... by birder · · Score: 1

      It would impossible to level up in that game because your sword swings always miss.

  13. Mako died? :( by Tz-Auber · · Score: 1
    Heck with yet another MMO....

    I am quite saddened to hear Mako died.

    Not immediately finding an obituary, here's a link to his IMDB entry (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0538683/)

    We'll miss you!

    1. Re:Mako died? :( by sesshomaru · · Score: 1

      Here's a Mako obituary.

      --
      "MIT betrayed all of its basic principles."
  14. List of requirements... by ahmusch · · Score: 1

    Let's see... crushing enemies, seeing them driven before you, and hearing the lamentation of their women.... what else could they possibly need?

  15. The ground... by SupremoMan · · Score: 1

    The ground is littered with crap that doesn't fly, why add to it?

  16. By Crom! by tholomyes · · Score: 1

    This is the only MMO game that might get me to quit playing Warcrack, especially with all the love and reverence the publishing industry's been showing to the original R.E. Howard works of late. They finally got all of his original stories published in non-bastardized forms, and the new Dark Horse Conan series has been nothing short of amazing... If they can get it right, I think it'll be a hell of a lot of fun. The screenshots shown in the last year show a lot of promise.

    --
    When did the future switch from being a promise to a threat? -C. Palahniuk
  17. Some missing details about Conan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This game is being developed by FunCom and they continue to have full control over such. Eidos is just aquiring the distribution rights only. Another example of a Funcom MMORPG is Anarchy Online, which just hit its 5th year. It may not be as trendy as WoW has been lately, but 5 years is quite an achievement. The expansion for AO, titled Lost Eden, should be out a little later this year. AO is also one of the only MMORPG's that has a completely free-of-cost subscription component to the game. No trials, no gotchas, no risk of getting locked into a subscription if you just want to play the core of the game. Expansions like Shadowlands require a subscription, but even as a free player... you can still participate in aspects of Notum Wars and Alien Invasion (you just won't get the perks from it).

    That's pretty comprehensive just for a free player. AOC looks fantastic, from what I've seen, so this is something I'm REALLY looking forward to.

  18. Lame! I want Conan The Librarian MMORPG by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Learning the dewey decimal system with thousands of people in real time would be sooo fun!

  19. It can't possibly measure up to... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It can't possibly measure up to the awesomeness that is "Conan Kill Everything."
      This title took second place in the "Stupid Title Competition" on rec.games.int-fiction, and unlike most of the other entrants, the submitter took the time to build a whole stupid game around his stupid title.

      The plot is really obvious from the title. You are Conan. You must kill everything.