When Age of Conan stormed into retail stores as what we believe to be the most pre-ordered original PC game in history, it instantly became the best selling PC game of May. The pace at which Age of Conan sold made it one of the fastest selling PC games of all times, and Funcom and Eidos are very satisfied to see the positive sales trend continue. As all countries report sales differently, it is not possible to get a complete overview of the exact box sales at the time of writing, but Age of Conan remains the top selling PC game in the majority of all released markets. This includes being the #1 overall PC game in June in the Nordic countries, Oceania, Germany, France and Spain, as well a top three contender in all other markets where the game is out. No substantial sales data for June is yet available from the US market, but Age of Conan was the #1 PC game in the latest official NPD update.

"That Age of Conan remains #1 in retail stores several weeks after release is of incredible importance to us, and proves that the game has a large potential beyond the early adopters," said Morten Larssen, VP of Sales & Marketing in Funcom. "With more than 700,000 accounts created so far we have a fantastic platform to build from, and we will continue to market the game to further drive numbers in the months to come.

I assume most of you got Clan of Conan #17 in your e-mails already; if not, you can always just read it online. It is really an important issue as it outlines some of the biggest upcoming additions to the game.

As you can see, there are numerous ways to earn Powerpoints; and everyone will be earning at least some of these since they come weekly with your subscription, too. "Grinding" beyond lvl80 will probably provide diminishing returns (since experience required to "level up" increases with every "level", or should I say, Powerpoint you get); grinding mini-games, on the other hand, could be harder than it seems, unless you do it with a group of friends. Being in a big guild looks like your best bet if you want to benefit from this new system.

Personally, I believe leveling is fast enough as it is, so I expect most people to use their Powerpoints in order to improve their characters or items and make them stronger in end-game PvP or raids. Overall the Powerpoint system looks to me like a nice addition to the game - it is made to reward veteran players (the longer you play, the more Powerpoints you gain) and obviously as a means to keep those subscriptions active. It also seems to rely on guilds a lot, proving that Age of Conan is very much a guild warfare based MMORPG.

As you can see, only 38% of the players who voted on the poll are happy with how AoC runs on their computer - the results are not unexpected, I might say. While it's true that Age of Conan has beautiful graphics and because of that requires a powerful system to run smoothly, even people with modern PCs are sometimes experiencing problems. I know that for a fact as I had some trouble with my ATI Radeon 3870 and Age of Conan myself. I should probably note that this poll won't necessary be accurate as only 74 gamers have voted; however, I'm pretty happy with the result as it is the very first poll I posted on my blog, and expect a lot more votes in the future :-)

It's time for the weekly AoCBlog poll again! This week's question is really simple - what is the level of your main Age of Conan character? Leveling in AoC seems pretty fast to me, too fast even - but maybe that makes sense for an MMORPG which is concentrated on the endgame content. Then again, there doesn't seem to be much endgame content implemented yet. Let's see just how many people rushed through the levels - you will find the poll on the sidebar to the right.

Associate Producer on Age of Conan, Henning Solberg, is more than happy to shed light on this darkest of dungeons: "On the mountain side overlooking Kheshatta stands The Black Ring Citadel," Solberg explains. "Inside its closed gates the Stygian mages conduct research, breath life into rock and create plots to increase their influence and power in the world of Hyboria. Unwelcome visitors will encounter nameless evil and boundless terror if they dare to journey into this heart of darkness."

June 27, 2008 - Released in May, Funcom's Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures takes players to an ancient, dark period where great kingdoms clash in feudal conflicts. As members of 12 diverse classes, they can live, fight and explore in a world based on over 75 years of books, movies, art and other materials.

Reservations Although the art direction has produced a rich, nuanced world environment, users who demand leading-edge visuals will have to wait at least a few more months for DirectX 10 support. Despite enormous amounts of source material to draw on, the lore element isn't always obvious; for instance, a number of the quests could take place in nearly any fantasy setting. PvP is available, but in need of various improvements; for example, it appears siege warfare hasn't been fully implemented. We've seen reports that technical issues prevent some people from playing. Reflections Age of Conan provides a highly visceral play experience, especially via its atypical melee combat system. With sales booming, we look forward to seeing Funcom make improvements that will allow the game to fulfill even more of its considerable potential.