Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood ships 6.5 million

There was little doubt that Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood was going to be popular. Today, Ubisoft revealed exactly how popular. To date, the critically acclaimed action adventure has shipped 6.5 million units, helping the Paris-based publisher beat its own earnings estimates.

Ubisoft had anticipated €520 million ($701 million) in revenue for the quarter ending December 31, 2010. Instead, the company pulled in a record €600 million ($809 million), a 21.2 percent increase over the same period the year prior. Nine-month earnings were €861 million ($1.16 billion), a 30.3 percent year-over-year increase.

Ubisoft's increase in earnings was thanks in no small part to rapid sales of its suite of dance games. The company said that Just Dance, Just Dance 2, Just Dance Kids, Michael Jackson: The Experience, and Dance on Broadway shipped a combined 10.5 million units worldwide.

The publisher was also proud of its Kinect lineup, which includes Your Shape: Fitness Evolved and Fighters Uncaged. The company has now shipped 2 million Kinect games, giving it an 18 percent market share in the US Kinect market and a 21 percent share in the European Kinect market.

In calendar year 2010, Ubisoft saw its overall market share increase from 7.8 percent to 9.2 percent in Europe and from 5.4 percent to 7.3 percent in the US market. That made it the number-three publisher in both territories.

Looking ahead, the company expects to take in €1.02 billion ($1.38 billion) for the full fiscal year, with fourth-quarter sales of €159 million ($214 million). Current-quarter releases include Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood for the PC, Beyond Good and Evil HD on Xbox Live, and six titles for the 3DS (in Europe--Ubisoft has not yet confirmed its North American launch lineup).