Funcom and Eidos should be rightly proud of how well Age of Conan has done. It took a fairly niche license and turned it into a successful MMO. No one can dispute that. But it's worth taking a look at their recent press release to read between the lines. And I have just the person to do it: me. Read the commentary track after the jump.

Durham, USA – June 30, 2008 –Eidos and Funcom are proud to announce that Age of Conan continues to dominate the PC sales charts in all markets where the game is available.

Like weekend box office claims in January, this isn't quite as impressive as it sounds. There's been little competition among PC releases since Age of Conan's late May release.

Over the last few weeks it has remained the overall #1 PC game in most European markets, whilst also performing tremendously well on several all-format charts. In the US, Age of Conan impressively conquered the #1 PC spot for the first two weeks of available NPD data.

I guess they do deserve a cookie if they beat out the PC version of multiplatform titles like Kung Fu Panda, Incredible Hulk, and Lego Indiana Jones bought by people who don't know any better. Hang in there, Conan! Let us know how you fare against Wall-E.

Due to the amazing interest surrounding the game, more than 700.000 gamers have now signed up for an Age of Conan account.

Here's where it gets tricky. And not just because a lot of people in America will think that's a decimal point and figure that a nice round 700 people signed up. How many of those accounts are from people buying the game at retail, and how many are from free trial accounts? And most importantly, how many of the retail accounts will go on to subscribe after the first month? That's the important number, and the one most MMO companies won't share

In the second month after release it is also clear that Age of Conan has taken the position as the undisputed #2 subscription MMO in the western world.

Undisputed? I can think of a couple of western world MMOs that probably would dispute that. And it's kind of funny how #2 is the coveted spot in the MMO industry. Thanks, Blizzard, for messing up the pecking order.

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.

Be on the lookout for phrases qualified by "what we believe to be". When you combine this with "in history", you have what I believe to be the most surefire giveaway in history that you're making up stuff. I don't doubt that lots of people pre-ordered Age of Conan. But I can imagine the PR folks at Eidos:

"What about "the most pre-ordered game in history". Can we say that?"

"Hmm, good question. Maybe put "what we believe to be" in front of it."

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 therefore 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,

I find this hard to believe. I'd think Funcom's servers know the difference between a retail box account and a trial account. Of course, I suppose there are all those darn collectors sitting on unopened copies waiting for the eBay value to spike.

but Age of Conan remains the top selling PC game in most all released markets.

"Most all" is a lovely phrase. It's like "most", but even more.

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.

I fail to see how the lack of competitive high-profile PC releases translates to potential beyond early adopters, but positive thinking can't hurt.

“With more than 700.000 accounts created so far we have a fantastic platform to build from, and we will continue our marketing spend to further drive numbers in the months to come. It also means that Funcom can dedicate significant development resources on evolving the game even further, naturally giving us a great hope for the future of Age of Conan.”

To their credit, Funcom's continuing support of their MMO Anarchy Online should be a huge selling point for anyone considering Age of Conan. In fact, I'd consider it the primary selling point for anyone considering Age of Conan.

“We are incredibly pleased to see Age of Conan turning into an MMO phenomenon,” said Gaute Godager, Game Director on Age of Conan. “As an MMO company we know that a good start is just the beginning for a virtual world. All we care about now is to make Age of Conan into an even better game,

Go, Mr. Godager, go! Seriously, I look forward to seeing where they take Age of Conan. I will return in six months to check up on it!

and we have extensive plans to ensure that Age of Conan remains a top MMO alternative for many years to come.”

Alternative? That's a pretty brutally honest way of saying, 'We hope you'll play Age of Conan instead of World of Warcraft'. It's a bit late in the press release for a sudden burst of candor, but better late than never. Congrats to Age of Conan for doing so well, and I wish it continued success and plenty more creative press releases.