Ubisoft revenues up, several games delayed

[UPDATE] Publisher's revenues get a boost while Dark Messiah of Might and Magic and new Splinter Cell are pushed to October; Resident Evil 4 PC delayed indefinitely.

Ubisoft reported its financial results for the first quarter (ended June 30) today, and the publisher saw a sizable spike in revenue that it attributed primarily to sales of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter for the Xbox 360 and PC and Heroes of Might and Magic V for the PC.

The Xbox 360 and PC were particularly kind to Ubisoft. Between the two of them, the platforms accounted for 73 percent of the publisher's revenue in the first quarter. For the same stretch of time last year, the PC only made up 30 percent of the publisher's business, while the Xbox 360 had not yet been released.

The company's take of 70 million euros (almost $89 million) for its fiscal first quarter is nearly 63 percent more than it brought for the same period last year. That quarter's biggest release for the company was Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith for the Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance.

For the company's second fiscal quarter (July-September), Ubisoft expects to rack up sales of 78 million euros (about $99 million), a significant shortfall from the 110 million euros it took in for the second quarter last year. Ubisoft's expectations would no doubt be higher, but the publisher also confirmed that it has delayed the release of Splinter Cell Double Agent to "the end of October," pushing it out of the company's second quarter entirely. Instead, Ubisoft will have to bank on the performance of new releases Open Season and Enchanted Arms, as well as Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow for the PlayStation 2 and PC, which it is publishing in Europe.

Looking a little bit further out, the holiday-encompassing third quarter could be a good one for Ubisoft. It now plays host to a handful of big releases from the publisher. In addition to Double Agent, the company is expecting to launch Rayman Raving Rabbids, Red Steel, and Rainbow Six Vegas by the end of 2006.

[UPDATE] Two more Ubisoft titles were pushed back, as Dark Messiah of Might and Magic and the PC edition of Resident Evil 4 were mysteriously absent from the publisher's list of games launching through September. An Ubisoft representative told GameSpot that Dark Messiah of Might and Magic had in fact been delayed to mid-October.

As for Resident Evil 4, PC gamers might need to muster all the patience of a "Las Plagas" colony in stasis to get their hands on the game. The rep had no revised release date for the game and couldn't give an official reason for the delay.

88 Comments

  • elusionm

    Posted Oct 20, 2006 4:57 pm PT

    That would be cool for a PC version....i would like it to have new parts in the game and add-ons...new cut-scenes....

  • ChiefFreeman

    Posted Oct 19, 2006 8:27 am PT

    Translation: Cancelled. Too bad.

  • remembamlilf

    Posted Oct 13, 2006 4:13 pm PT

    damn!!!
    i really wanted RE4!
    Iz my favorite game and got a PS2, but it broke....
    Guezz im gonna have to get it fo da wii when i get one, but again-
    damn!!!

  • micahk

    Posted Sep 24, 2006 4:53 pm PT

    no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i wanted re4 for pc. this is like the 7 th delay

  • kohashi_yuro26

    Posted Aug 5, 2006 8:19 pm PT

    not too many owns a ps2 or xbox.. T_T sadly.. i'll wait for it still..

  • surferjon01

    Posted Jul 29, 2006 8:03 pm PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

  • Shingo

    Posted Jul 29, 2006 11:06 am PT

    Yay Ubisoft! Sucks for PC players, but do that many people not own a PS2 or Gamecube?

  • relset

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 1:42 pm PT

    thit is the worst new that I`m heard this week....Resident evil 4 PC...i`m waitng for it for a long time..I`ve hoped that finally will come out in september...but not...I`m crying now!

  • ewjim

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 11:58 am PT

    It's not good for PC owners... but not for me ., because i completed Resident Evil 4 looooooong time ago on PS2!

  • gameloverx

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 11:20 am PT

    no RE4 for PCs eh hmm I'll be waiting for next Rayman game

  • ShadoweaverCode

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 11:19 am PT

    jmangafan nice response bro i wasnt even expecting that. Utimately it comes down that both are great games and I will definitely agree that MGS beats out SC in a few catagories. As far as art design you are right, MGS has a very nice art appeal and the attention to detail with its characters (whether they be mechanized or human) is extrodinary and beats SC hands-down . Although I would have to say as far as level design, I think Chaos Theory's levels were better with its varied stages, jumping from rooftop, to the interior of a residential house, then zipping down the streets, Playing a spy game I find it alot more fun to have the freedom that SC's levels allow. Alot of times its an open environment with many different ways to reach objectives, I find the linear level design of the MGS series works very well but open-ended gameplay is very spy-friendly.

    As far as story you've got me beat, I would have to agree that the story in MGS is alot deeper and more compelling then SC's somewhat old theme of so and so's got nukes and we gotta stop em...

    And I actually kind of disagree with the GCN and PS2 versions getting the short end of the stick. They only get the short end of the stick because Ubi designs their games to run on the Xbox hardware, then scales down or up appropriately for each console. I would much rather prefer a game vary its performance for different consoles depending on that consoles capabilities rather then have ports all across and the gameplay designed around the lower-end consoles with no difference on the higher end hardware. If they were to make MGS4 on Xbox 1 I would buy it with the assumption that it might not run as well as on PS3 but hey at least I get to play the game!

    So I guess I am saying that they people that get the unoptimized versions should feel grateful that they get to play the game because as far as Konami is concerned, it could have been (or in this case is) an exclusive title all day long.

  • cesarotromundo

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 10:35 am PT

    RED STEEL HERE I GO!

  • Maquis_UK

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 8:47 am PT

    he did leave the company after the decision to sloppily port his masterpiece.. the remark was heartfelt and sincere when it was made, but short of decapitation, what else could he do? It's a world away from the insincerity of fake tattoos, at the very least...

  • Sweendrix

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 8:46 am PT

    Ubisoft is certainly one of the fastest growing brands in the Market Today. Ubisoft has taken the Market by storm over the last few years and I would not be surprised at all to see Ubisoft rise to the top of the market and dominate with the next generation of consoles. Ubisoft brought us outstanding titles on the previous generation of consoles that just seemed to squeeze every ounce of power out of the PS2 and Xbox…(splinter cell anyone?)…which tells me that they have talented programmers working for them. These same programmers also did a great job providing excellent and innovative gameplay in their offerings. Ubisoft is certainly a company to watch. They have already shown that they can produce upper tier games in the next generation with the Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter and have a solid foundation upon which to move forward.

  • PierreDevereaux

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 8:01 am PT

    Delayed till the end of October?

    Then it will be Splinter Cell Double Agent vs. Final Fantasy XII on the same day!

  • LordBraz

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 5:40 am PT

    I want Red Steel now...and did that guy ever chop his own head off for porting Resident Evil 4? A promise is a promise.

  • wugglez

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 2:06 am PT

    damn it i want res evil 4, now

  • Air-Hendrix

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 11:09 pm PT

    Yeah, what happened to Capcon?
    ......... I thought they made RE series. Seriously. Anyway, that's bad news for PC Gamers. They're not gonna be too happy at all.

  • rynmls

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 10:24 pm PT

    ubisoft for RE4? how about capcom?

  • Voodoo2k3

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 10:07 pm PT

    re4 is a GC game FOREVER!!!!! Lame ports = poop

  • DiscGuru101

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 10:07 pm PT

    "...delayed the release of Splinter Cell Double Agent to "the end of October,"

    -Noooooooooooo

  • gmrscore-addict

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 8:15 pm PT

    to jcloverboy It will kill me !!!

  • jcloverboy

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 7:54 pm PT

    One more month for Splinter Cell on 360 won't kill me.

  • pwnr

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 7:27 pm PT

    i'm really used to these delays thanks to valve

    go half-life 2 delays!

  • adolfogomez

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 6:48 pm PT

    good to see the old PC making good money for Ubi ^.^

  • koreamanloves24

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 6:11 pm PT

    To respond to tbolt 88, I believe Ubisoft is publishing it.
    If you do not know, there is a major difference between companies who develop games and those who are the distributor

  • tbolt_88

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 5:59 pm PT

    wut does Resident Evil 4 even have anything to do wit this..its made by Capcom..not Ubisoft

  • cheung31

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 5:21 pm PT

    Nooooo.. Double Agent delayed?

    Well I just hope that it comes out very polished. It'll be on PC for me. As for Res Evil 4, that's a bit of a bummer, I was hoping I could try it on the PC (port will probably stink, but just curious). Odd that Devil May Cry 3 was ported (don't know if it was on schedule), but RE4 is having difficulties.

    Q3/4 for Ubisoft looks very exciting. hope a friend picks up a Wii so I can try Red Steel.

    Hats off to Ubi for their large revenue increases in Q1.

  • mrblah00

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 5:16 pm PT

    huh since when was RE4 even planned for the PC?

  • Poltergeist13

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 5:11 pm PT

    They probably don't want SC: DA to get caught in the wake of Gears of War. GOW supposedly comes out 10/02/06.

  • Lewos1

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 4:42 pm PT

    Jmanga fan: "Whoring" in the case of the Splinter Cell Series is hardly a valid critisism. The PS2 port got above solid reviews (8.7/10) and the same on the Gamecube (8.2/10.) The difference between the ports according to the majority of reviews i read was the limitations of the hardware.

  • taisui

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 4:11 pm PT

    You shouldn't say that SC is bland becuase it has more "real gameplay" in contrast to MGS which has became more of an "interactive movie".

  • damned_beast

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 4:09 pm PT

    again... Well atleast we know ubi is putting alot of work in this

  • jmangafan

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 3:38 pm PT

    Shadoweaver Code: Valid points, but I contest it as such.

    Availability: Yes, SC is on more platforms, but its also becoming quickly whored out, with a Splinter Cell on every platform, its gonna start to fall apart. Invariably, they focus on one platform and merely port to the rest. The Xbox is generally favored, with the PS2 and GCN versions getting the short end of the stick. Yes, its available to them, but what good is it if its an unoptimized port?

    Multiplayer: Well, yeah. SC has major multiplayer and MGS doesn't (save for the cool as hell ideas (Snake vs. Everyone) in Subsistence) need multiplayer, its meant as an in depth story, the characters and presentation of the story is far more memorable than SC's quick and dirty (and frankly, bland) story mode. So yes, you can go ahead and suffer MP for story. Its not to bad of a trade off.

    Graphics: They only go so far. The uncanny valley is quickly approaching SC whereas it leaves MGS alone, MGS has a less realistic and friendlier to the eye style, which is where MGS is clearly better, its art design. From intricitely detailed Metal Gears to the unique character designs for outlandish and badass characters. It shows far more creativity and imagination than what SC has been capable of. Then again, this is personal opinion, as most graphics really are.

    All this being said, I enjoy both series; especially SCDA; mostly for its prison based portion. Though, this delay doesn't really bother me, its not a "MUST HAVE TITLE" but I'll quietly add it when time comes.

  • jtparsons54

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 3:28 pm PT

    "still nothing on Double Agent for the ps3 yet "

    dont worry, ubisoft wont abandon PS3 owners...

  • chickenoverlord

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 3:27 pm PT

    Delay it as long as it takes... there's nothing worse than a great title being ruined by pushing out the door unfinished

  • ryokinshin6x3

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 3:23 pm PT

    make the game good, thats all that matters, oblivion was delayed and no one would dare say that it should have been released sooner, or it might not hav been the game it is today

  • helldemon47

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 3:09 pm PT

    So you're telling me that Ubisoft is delaying Splinter Cell just to increase their profit margin in the 3rd quarter? What kind of bull is that?

  • billigloo

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 2:45 pm PT

    still nothing on Double Agent for the ps3 yet

  • frankeyser

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 2:41 pm PT

    splinter cell games are alright. they just are not very much fun to me. i played through all of them... and i am not sure why. i guess just so i could say i played them. much the same reason i played through both halos and did not really enjoy them. so i could see what all the hype was about. i prefer metal gear solid, beyond good and evil and a few other sneak around games to the splinter cell series. i think mostly because in splinter cell if you are found it. it seems about impossible to escape or blaze your way through the level.

  • ryaratha

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 2:39 pm PT

    Seems like every big time Xbox 360 game is being delayed (Halo 3, Double Agent)....

  • Real720

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 2:37 pm PT

    I knew Double Agent was going to be delayed!

  • jdbthexboxgamr

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 2:31 pm PT

    aargh!!,man my most anticipated game of the year for the 360 gets delayed!,oh well,I guess a delay will mean more polish but geesh,I am getting tired of waiting on this one..........

  • agent401

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 2:20 pm PT

    I'm getting damn tired of people who fill up these comments with useless "I don't care" messages. No one cares that you don't care, get a life.

    I'm a little dissappointed that they delayed Splinter Cell, but it'll give them more time to polish it up before release. UBI never dissappoints (except for lockdown)

  • Imallvol7

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 2:04 pm PT

    I detest the splinter cell series, not a big fan at all. So i could care less

  • Liliroots

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 1:59 pm PT

    Personally, I think Splinter Cell is better than GRAW b/c of all of the reasons ShadoweaverCode said. I'm a fan of Splinter Cell series. The sad part is they delay much more than other games I play.

  • HyperMetaDragon

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 1:57 pm PT

    Ubisoft has always been a good third-party company. I've always enjoyed their games. And a delay can only mean an improvement to a game.

  • Chemosh013

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 1:53 pm PT

    good for UBIsoft. GRAW is one of my favorite games on 360 and heroes V is as addicting as III was with much better graphics. they really have some great franchises going now!

  • Jared_Vegeta

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 1:47 pm PT

    Well, it can only get better with a delay.

  • superfreak6500

    Posted Jul 27, 2006 1:42 pm PT

    Whenever you here that a new Splinter Cell game is coming out I have learned always to anticipate at least one or two delays so this comes as no surprise to me. It was the same with Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory.

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