Jorgen Tharaldsen, the product director for Funcom's Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (Xbox 360, PC),  has announced that they plan to have cross-platform connectivity between the Xbox 360 and PC version of the game. In addition, he hinted at the possibility of a PlayStation 3 version as well as how the company will be splitting up to handle the maintenance and development of the game.

Tharaldsen explained that the Xbox 360 game should be coming out within a year and that those who pick up this version will be enjoying "the same essence and the same experience" that PC gamers will be experiencing, and that includes the possibility of being able to play with the PC community. He explained this further:

We want them to be able to play with their PC friends if they like to. It's not a forced thing but we would like that to happen. But obviously the control mechanism, the communication, all this is stuff we are solving on a daily basis. The patching, the install, the footprint, the payment, the servers, the customer service... it's a challenge. But we will get there eventually.

He also pointed out that they haven't ruled out the possibility of coming out with a PlayStation 3 version of the game. Apparently, the reason that there isn't a planned PS3 version of the game is due to the fact that it wasn't out yet when development on this game started:

When we started development of Conan there was no PS3, there was no online plans for PS3, there was no environment for it. Xbox and Microsoft had a very clear strategy, they had a very clear goal, what they wanted to do, and shared our belief of what you could do with the console. So we'll see I guess.

Unfortunately, Tharaldsen did rule out a Wii version of the game saying that it would be too difficult for them to bring Age of Conan to the platform considering its limitations. At this moment though, they're still sticking with the game plan by focusing on the PC version and then the Xbox 360 version afterward. Here's what he had to say about it:

We're not ruling out anything except a Wii version. That would be hard with these graphics and technology. But right now the PC is the focus, then the Xbox and then we'll see what happens. It's hard to say now how this will pan out. We'll know in a few months and then we'll see.

Finally, Tharaldsen discussed the split Funcom will be undergoing once the game goes live. According to him, the company will be fielding three divisions: one to focus on providing tech support, the second to work on an expansion, and the third will focus on developing the Xbox 360 version of the game.

The game looks to be shaping up quite well, and it looks like Funcom has some pretty big plans for this game in the future. We're going to be keeping an eye on this game when the PC version launches on May 20 in North America and May 23 in Europe.