Age of Conan

Originally posted by kikinchaz

 

Originally posted by Praetoriani

 

Originally posted by Teala

I wonder how many early access they allowed for?  500K?  250K?   Anyone care to speculate?

 

Over ninethousand!

90% sure they mentioned somewhere they've had 1 million people sign up to it already which is pretty crazy.

 

 

I quote "Hurry though, because the Early Access is only available while supply lasts!" - there you have it folks. If you havent yet recieved your code and therefore couldnt purchase Early Access you should be blaming the retailer not Funcom.

The only thing that number means is that at at least one point over the last three years, there has been enough interest to spawn a million beta applications.

It also means that as many as 950,000 potential customers who applied never got a beta invite and if they still had any interest in the game as of last month, they saw Open Beta go to Fileplanet instead of them.

In short, that number means absolutely nothing other than to show that there was a potential audience for the game. How much of that potential Funcom is able to tap is completely up in the air.

I would like to see the numbers as well for the early access program. I expected the CE edition to sell out like in all other games but it def does not say on ebgames site that access is limited.

Taken directly from Funcom's site:

"Registration for customers with pre-order keys has now opened on http://register.ageofconan.com. Registering with a valid pre-order key (such as the Rhino or Mammoth key) is the unique way to be eligible to purchase Early Access for 5€/5$. This fee includes 10 days of game-time as well as the digital download of the client. Hurry though, because the Early Access is only available while supply lasts!"

Key phrases: "Registering with a valid pre-order key....is the unique way TO BE ELIGIBLE to purchase Early  Access.

And: "Hurry though, because the Early Access is only available while supply lasts!"

That right there is enough for Funcom to say sorry but you missed your chance. Always always read the details and read it carefully. There is no guarantee of Early Access by pre-ordering and if you go by what the retailer says, then its your fault. Retailers almost always are wrong and always go by what the development company says.

I am sorry that some of you didn't get the early access but don't blame Funcom.

As far as marketing hype goes, I think Funcom has done a pretty outstanding job.  Of course the game will stand or fall on its own merits after Tuesday but judging from the beta vs. things like EQs original beta, or lately Vanguard's I'd have to say the product looks more than viable. 

As for the "sold out" pre-orders, if you are not in the early access program, I'd suggest checking with your local retailers again.  I walked into Game Stop this week and the manager rooted around in one of the drawers and pulled out a pre-reg card for me.  I don't think it's impossible to get in still unless they've shut down the site that takes your $5 (If I had a site that does nothing but take $5 from people, I'd be hard press to shut that puppy off - I'd take your money right up until 11:59pm on Monday night!) 

 *** I stand corrected.  The early access is no longer available. ***

Originally posted by Mett

I would like to see the numbers as well for the early access program. I expected the CE edition to sell out like in all other games but it def does not say on ebgames site that access is limited.

--  maybe 100k or less?

forums.ageofconan.com/showthread.php

We had to set that limit to allow the tens of thousands of registered players to download the client and get access to the game on the 17th of May.

Oliver 'Tarib' Kunz
Senior Community Manager

Originally posted by Lachlan66

As far as marketing hype goes, I think Funcom has done a pretty outstanding job.  Of course the game will stand or fall on its own merits after Tuesday but judging from the beta vs. things like EQs original beta, or lately Vanguard's I'd have to say the product looks more than viable. 

As for the "sold out" pre-orders, if you are not in the early access program, I'd suggest checking with your local retailers again.  I walked into Game Stop this week and the manager rooted around in one of the drawers and pulled out a pre-reg card for me.  I don't think it's impossible to get in still unless they've shut down the site that takes your $5 (If I had a site that does nothing but take $5 from people, I'd be hard press to shut that puppy off - I'd take your money right up until 11:59pm on Monday night!) 

 

They have indeed shut off the link that takes your $5 to d/l the client.

Originally posted by fiontar

 

Originally posted by kikinchaz

 

Originally posted by Praetoriani

 

Originally posted by Teala

I wonder how many early access they allowed for?  500K?  250K?   Anyone care to speculate?

 

Over ninethousand!

90% sure they mentioned somewhere they've had 1 million people sign up to it already which is pretty crazy.

 

 

I quote "Hurry though, because the Early Access is only available while supply lasts!" - there you have it folks. If you havent yet recieved your code and therefore couldnt purchase Early Access you should be blaming the retailer not Funcom.

No. Over the past three years or so, they had a million people sign up for beta.

 

The only thing that number means is that at at least one point over the last three years, there has been enough interest to spawn a million beta applications.

It also means that as many as 950,000 potential customers who applied never got a beta invite and if they still had any interest in the game as of last month, they saw Open Beta go to Fileplanet instead of them.

In short, that number means absolutely nothing other than to show that there was a potential audience for the game. How much of that potential Funcom is able to tap is completely up in the air.

Actually 1 million beta sign up since April 2007, so a year :)

That potential audience is still there for a game, but you cant really have a beta with 1 million people in it.

There is at least one spot open.. I cancelled my CE yesterday and got my money back.

Hmmm.  Well the back of the box that i purchased from Best Buy and i assume Funcom Had made and distributed says 3 Day Early Access: begin creating your character(s) and start playing up to 3 days before the release of the game.(note: requires internet connection, credit card, and $5 download fee). I dont see anything that says you may not get early access so as far as i see it Funcom is the misleading party here not the retailer regardless as to what they may have on their website. They are distributing boxes that just  scream false advertising and should honor the early access for the boxes they have in circulation.

If anyone pre-ordered online and they did not get their key and do in fact miss the early access, I would suggest going back to the website and cancelling your order if you feel strongly that you were wrongly informed about what you were purchasing.  I think most reputable online retailers do not charge your card until the order is actually processed and shipped, and that should not be until after the weekend when they actually receive the product to ship.  I have my pre-order sitting with gamestop.com right now.  They said 24 hours to get a the key.  If I do not get it in time to get into the early start, I will probably cancel and then think about whether I want to just get it at the store on Tuesday. 

If you bought at a brick and mortar, do the same, I imagine they will refund even your down payment if you tell them that you were wrongly informed about what you were buying.

It's unfortunate that some of this miscommunication has happened, but don't feel like you are helpless in this situation.  You do have the right to cancel your order, claim a full refund, and re-evaluate your decision to purchase.