Funcom and NVIDIA Collaborating on Age of Conan

Funcom and NVIDIA have issued a press release announcing a strategic partnership to further improve the visual quality of Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures.

Funcom and NVIDIA collaborating on ‘˜Age of Conan’

– Funcom and NVIDIA engineers to unleash the best graphics in any MMO to date –

– Brand new trailer now available on nZone.com and AgeofConan.com –

Durham, USA November 15th, 2006 Funcom announces a strategic partnership with NVIDIA, a world leading manufacturer of graphics chipsets. The two companies have entered a strategic partnership in order to further improve the visual quality in ‘˜Age of Conan’, the most technologically advanced massively multiplayer online (MMO) game in development. Engineers from the two companies are already working closely together to achieve this ambitious goal, while preparing the game for DX10, Microsoft Windows Vista and the impressive new NVIDIA® GeForce® 8800 range of graphic cards.

As a part of the agreement ‘˜Age of Conan’ enters NVIDIA’s ‘˜The Way It’s Meant To Be Played’ program, which ensures smooth compatibility with NVIDIA products as well as engineering and marketing support. As the developer of a key MMO title in the program, Funcom has received extensive onsite aid ever since the first hand-built prototypes of the DX10 enabled graphics cards came around, all to give ‘˜Age of Conan’ players the best graphical experience possible.

(Solid and fun gameplay is our mantra, and we never compromise on that, but as we enter a revolutionary new generation of PC graphics technology we are given the power to create worlds with unprecedented beauty and depth,) said Trond Arne Aas, CEO of Funcom. (We are therefore delighted to match our talents with NVIDIA engineers to create the most realistic MMO graphics seen to date. Not only will this be essential for the visual experience in ‘˜Age of Conan’, but also for the visual impact in our future MMOs.)

Roy Taylor, NVIDIA’s Vice President of Developer Relations, explains: (Our key objective in working with developers is to ensure that they have all the tools and support they need to make the most of NVIDIA’s hardware’s capabilities. ‘˜Age of Conan’ will be a landmark game and, as a member of ‘˜The Way It’s Meant To Be Played’, players can be sure of a stunning graphics experience which maximises the power of DX10 and our new flagship graphics processing units, the GeForce 8800 Series.)

‘˜Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures’ is a Showcase title for Windows Vista, and the game won ‘˜Best MMO of E3’ awards from IGN, GameSpot, GameSpy and Yahoo. The game was a runner-up to the ‘˜Most innovative game of show’ E3 award from Gamespot, and PC Gamer US named it as one of their top 10 most anticipated PC games. More information, screenshots, forums and a welcoming community portal can be found on the official website http://www.ageofconan.com . ‘˜Age of Conan’ will also look and play great on DX9 systems. The game will be co-published by Eidos.

Be sure to check out the brand new ‘˜Age of Conan’ trailer released by NVIDIA and Funcom today. The video is downloadable from http://community.ageofconan.com under ‘˜Videos’ and from the nZone website hosted by NVIDIA. You can also get it directly from the following FTP address: ftp://ftp.funcom.com/media/Age_of_Conan/ – the videos are titled (NVIDIA Trailer).

ABOUT FUNCOM

Funcom is an independent developer and publisher of online games for PC, consoles and mobile platforms. Funcom has provided outstanding entertainment since 1993 and continues to expand its track-record of more than twenty released games. Recent successes include ‘˜The Longest Journey’, ‘˜Anarchy Online’ and ‘˜Dreamfall: The Longest Journey’. For corporate information please visit http://www.funcom.com. For information about Funcom games visit http://www.anarchy-online.com , http://www.dreamfall.com or http://www.ageofconan.com . Funcom is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker FUNCOM.

ABOUT AGE OF CONAN HYBORIAN ADVENTURES

In ‘˜Conan’ the players will enter a mature, brutal and barbaric universe, presented with fantastic graphics and stunning 7.1 surround audio. In a world filled with cruel gods, mythical creatures, lost civilizations and a struggling human race, the mighty barbarian has finally seized the throne of Aquilonia. But King Conan’s rule is on the brink of chaos, spiraling towards doom as ancient evils rise again. In this twisted fantasy world, dark magic and brutal combat lurks around every corner, and each man and woman must carve their own unique destiny under Conan’s reign. In the true vision of Robert E. Howard’s dark universe, it’s now time for you to become a messenger of death.

ABOUT CONAN PROPERTIES INTERNATIONAL

Conan Properties International, a wholly owned subsidiary of Paradox Entertainment Inc., controls all rights to Conan, associated characters and the Hyborian world, as created by Robert E. Howard and expanded upon by acclaimed authors and artists for decades. Conan is considered to be the world’s best-known fantasy character. For more information about Conan Properties International, visit http://www.conan.com. For information about Paradox Entertainment Inc., visit http://www.paradox-entertainment.com.

About NVIDIA

NVIDIA Corporation is the worldwide leader in programmable graphics processor technologies. The Company creates innovative, industry-changing products for computing, consumer electronics, and mobile devices. NVIDIA is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA and has offices throughout Asia, Europe, and the Americas. For more information, visit http://www.nvidia.co.uk.

About Eidos Interactive Ltd

Eidos Interactive Ltd is part of SCi Entertainment Group Plc (SEG) one of the world’s leading publishers and developers of entertainment software. Eidos consists of publishing operations across Europe and the US and several development studios including Crystal Dynamics, IO Interactive, Beautiful Game Studios, Eidos Studios Hungary, Eidos Sweden and Pivotal Games. The Group has a valuable combined portfolio of intellectual property including: Tomb Raider, Hitman, Deus Ex, Championship Manager, Carmageddon, the Conflict series and Just Cause. Some of the titles currently in development include: Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, Crossfire, Battlestations: Midway, Chili Con Carnage and Highlander.