Ubisoft: Console transition 'pivotal moment' for industry

May 29, 2013 11:28AM PDT

CEO Yves Guillemot says new console cycle will be watershed moment for the industry; next-gen console installed base could double previous generation.

The upcoming console transition will be a "pivotal moment" for the game industry, according to Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot. The executive laid out the importance of the new console transition today as part of an announcement of the publisher's plans for next month's Electronic Entertainment Expo.

"This is a pivotal moment for the video game industry, and E3 is the opportunity for us to share our vision for the future," Guillemot said. "We have many incredible games in development, and we're especially excited to share more on our next-gen titles, which will deliver more connected, immersive, and interactive experiences to our fans."

Ubisoft also said that based on past market trends and its own internal estimates, within two years, next-generation consoles' installed base could be double that of the previous generation over the same time period. The publisher said it is prepared to capitalize on this proliferation thanks to its "cross-studio collaboration structure."

Microsoft is also bullish on next-generation console sales, predicting total lifetime sales could surpass 1 billion units.

The current generation of consoles have totaled around 250 million units, with the Wii leading the pack with 99 million systems, followed by the Xbox 360 at 77 million, and the PlayStation 3 at around 74 million.

Ubisoft titles on display at E3 2013 will include Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Rayman Legends, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, and Watch Dogs. The company also plans to announce new next-generation titles at the event.

Ubisoft's E3 2013 briefing takes place Monday, June 10 at 3 p.m. PDT.

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By Eddie Makuch, News Editor

Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.

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251 comments

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PrpleTrtleBuBum

5 Like

There isn't a single next-gen game I'm excited for. I bought 360 because of Halo and Splinter Cell, but both series have regressed out of my radar. Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed and many other games got stale on this very generation.

Maybe I'm getting old or maybe something is just wrong with the games. There needs to be something ashtonishing for me to get a next-gen console.

Gankstar_VX84

@PrpleTrtleBuBum Call of Duty Ghosts! all the reason everyone should need!

Umitencho

1 Like

@Gankstar_VX84 @PrpleTrtleBuBum Sigh. Yes a HD dog model is why people should be dropping $70 this gen. COD fanboys these days.

csward

@PrpleTrtleBuBum I think it's big data's effect on game development. The big publishers know exactly what you'll pay extra for and what you won't. That's why things like good AI, soundtracks, level design, story, ect. go out the window for certain games.

It seems there's no more incentive for devs to "push the envelope" and create the best, but instead an incentive to produce games at the lowest cost and push all the so-called "key areas" casuals much have to buy a game.

I think it has backfired for a lot of companies as they have alienated their core customer, the hardcore gamer,

PodXCOM

@csward @PrpleTrtleBuBum

Dear csward,

I'm guessing you don't think used games are a problem then, right?

If so, can you look at a video called "The Devil's Halibut - Used Games" on youtube? It's by TotalHalibut. I would give you a link, but gamespot doesn't like video links. It changed my mind a bit on
used games.

edinko

1 Like

I call BS that the new consoles will sell double of this gen within 1 year. He must be on crack

csward

@edinko I think you're right. It took 2+ years for the PS3 to get a good run of AAA games. I don't expect this cycle to be much different, save some publishers like Ubisoft that promise 1 year dev cycles on certain games (which will make those games garbage over time, but that's another argument).

farcorners

Predictions, before these platforms have even come off the production line, are like pulling numbers out of a hat.

PodXCOM

1 Like

Sometimes I really hate you people.

Ubisoft just want to make better games, and you all act like they're the bad guys!

csward

@PodXCOM For my tastes, every Ubisoft game I play feels like they did the bare minimum to make a game. Their games are stale and very average to me, but I know they are very popular nonetheless.

To each his own.

PodXCOM

@csward @PodXCOM What about From Dust, or Might & Magic Heroes VI?

jhcho2

2 Like

@PodXCOM @csward

They didn't make Heroes VI, merely published it. Black Hole Entertainment made it. Did you also know that Ubisoft were so fickle and undecisive with design decisions, Black Hole could barely finish the game on time and had to pay out of their own pocket to complete the game? Black Hole also swore to never work with Ubisoft again. Black Hole went bankrupt last year. If that doesn't spell 'EA' from Ubisoft's working culture, I dunno what does.

jhcho2

1 Like

@PodXCOM

Ubisoft is EA in the making. They lack the sheer size and control over the industry the way EA does, but they seem to share a rather similar philosophy. One way to know is to see if a company pumps out more than 5 games of one franchise in one generation. EA is guilty of that. Activision is as well. The other is Ubisoft. Birds of the same feather.

PodXCOM

1 Like

@jhcho2 @PodXCOM No they are not! EA would NEVER make a game like From Dust, or Might & Magic Heroes VI. They are better in some ways.

blackace

There's no way it's going to double. Unless these next gen systems launch for like $299 out of the gate. I doubt they will sell more then 100 million in their lifetime. They'll have to prove me wrong.

starjay009

@blackace I hope some of them people are also not PC gamers. Cause if they are.. then that's one fat conflict of interest right there... (Hint: Huge GPU prices)

Hurvl

"The current generation of consoles have totaled around 250 million units, with the Wii leading the pack with 99 million systems, followed by the Xbox 360 at 77 million, and the PlayStation 3 at around 74 million." These figures are old, but I'm sure Nintendo will let us know when they reach 100 million Wii's sold, because a company just can't avoid telling others about such a milestone. For a PC-only gamer it doesn't matter who won the war between Xbox and Playstation, but I would believe that the difference between them is less than 77 million vs 74 million.

Carpetfluff

You know what? Ubi have been saying a lot about the new machines; let's see if their games change as much as they seem to think everything else will? I'll let Black Flag slide, but the next, next Assassin's Creed better be something more than just a prettier iteration of what we've been playing...let's see if you can really create something new and fresh with the next gen.

csward

@Carpetfluff Ubisoft plans to make a new AC every year. So, if I were you, I would expect as much innovation in AC as football fans (like me) get out of Madden every year, next to 0.

Oh. we do get pay to win games like Madden Ultimate Team though. So expect some new mode like that.

Hurvl

@Carpetfluff I'm hoping Watchdogs will provide something new or at least something good.

Carpetfluff

Much like Black Flag, I'm not including Watchdogs as it's a cross-gen game. I think it'll be decent, but the more of it I see the more obvious it becomes that it has adopted a lot of same general gameplay mechanics as Assassin's Creed. I think it'll have enough of its own feel to seperate itself, but it's not crossing the boundaries in the ways Ubi seem to imply their true next gen games will.

PrpleTrtleBuBum

@Carpetfluff I'm waiting if the next-gen sequel can be what Assassin's Creed 2 was compared to the original - took the concept and turned it into an actual game.

To me Watch_Dogs looks like a stiffier GTA that has no replay value. Much like the original Assassin's Creed was way too bare for me to play again.

acerx7

7 Like

Well it surely is a pivotal moment for me. This is the first gen I won't be buying the new consoles day one (if ever for that matter). After living through the awesome previous gens and purchased every system Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft and Sega had to offer (and 500 plus games over a few gens) I am outs. I am tired of the shady tactics and gimmicks. So I am done for a while. It is going to be weird not having the new games....on the flip side though I am going back to PC gaming (or I'm thinking PS4 after a while if they don't announce anything outrages). My PC is so out of date though so I may build a new one. Hope you guys enjoy it, but really I just can't stand the increasing amount of tact on multiplayer, dlc, online passes, games as a service, always on line, DRM, and so on. You can't just sit there and just pop in the game and play it anymore; you have to go through all this red tape just to enjoy a game's full experience.

dussan2

@acerx7

Well said. I think I will spend the cash and beef up my PC or do a whole new gaming rig. Maybe build a gaming laptop just to save space.

I will be getting a PS4 when Infamous comes out. But I am done with Xbox.

Carpetfluff

@acerx7 Can't see any need to day one this time. Neither machine has a killer app for launch yet - that may change after E3 - but so many of the year end games are coming out on both gens I might as well use the cost of the new machine to buy those for the two I already have. Extra bells and whistles aren't enough; I'll wait until there's a 'I have to own that machine to play THAT game' moment. That used to happen at launch, but not so much with the more recent ones.

XxTheEvilxX

It is rather amusing to me that Microsoft predicts over a $Billion in next gen consoles sales yet can't even manage to hold a proper press conference to advertise their next game console. I never knew it was that hard to sell games to a gamer.

Another thing... what's this pivotal shit?? I never knew us current gen gamers had it so bad. Thanks Ubisoft for clearing this up. I can now sleep again.... :\

AyatollaofRnR

@XxTheEvilxX its called E3.

Carpetfluff

@XxTheEvilxX Not to mention the fact that they've chopped their market size down with the online requirements.

Chaos_Dante_456

1 Like

They say this but I highkly doubt it. Wishing for the next gen to amazingly double the user base won't make it happen/ Well maybe E3 will show us something that actually gets us excited, I haven't really talked to anyone who was as excited as previous generations for this one.

But hey Microsoft thought the best way to showcase the future of gaming was by highlighting Madden and COD two series that have been around for a long time and released yearly.

XxTheEvilxX

1 Like

@Chaos_Dante_456 Exactly. They talk about the innovation of.... television?!?! while at the same time selling their gaming innovation via COD and Madden. Yeah... because when I think innovation - I think Madden and COD.

Here is COD innovation: Announcing COD (Enter title here) for Fall (year). This time... AMERICA IS IN TROUBLE. And to combat it, we have guns... lots of guns. And then's there our multiplayer, we change one thing and give you new maps. Now that's what I call innovation.

GSGuy321

1 Like

Yeah I'm dying to be always connected...

So that I can game with egocentric teenagers who ruin the gaming experience entirely with their childish antics.

Who wouldn't want that.

Polynecro

@GSGuy321 I just find it funny that people are complaining about needing an internet connection on a forum that requires an internet connection.

cirugo

@Polynecro @GSGuy321

yeah that how stupid...you have to go online to post a comment on a forum where other people can read it so why shouldn't you also have to go online to play a game where you have no interest in anything other than single player...right? moron...

blackothh

2 Like

Thank you Captain Obvious

Also, get that word connected, out of your head. I dont want to be "connected" to anything

Hurvl

4 Like

@blackothh I fully agree with you! I want to be immersed in a game, interact with it, but the only connection I want is an emotional connection to the game and it's characters. No bloody "social" features or internet requirements. I might be in the minority here, but I want to enjoy my games privately - singleplayer only and offline of course. I have facebook and use it when necessary, but don't want any of that when I play a game.

thenephariouson

Ubisoft titles on display at E3 2013 will include Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Rayman Legends, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, and Watch Dogs.

Erm, R6: Patriots???

6orange6

16 Like

Well, I owned both previous xboxes. No way on earth I am getting the next one.

I have an iMac quad core I use for work, might get elder scrolls online for that. Other than that its my iPad for games now.

The future is either a custom PC hooked up to the tv or a PS4. This could turn out to be the worst console gen in history and the beginning of the end of console gaming.

I really do think its best days are in the past now. It is no longer run by gamers for gamers. It is run my blood sucking leeches who steal money from people anyway they can.

edinko

1 Like

@6orange6 You must be joking with the Ipad. Tablets and phones are good only while sitting on the crapper. When I got my tablet I played some games on it about the first 2 days then never touched anything.ITs great crapper entertainment but you obviously wouldn't want to play a shooter withc touch controls

Vodoo

2 Like

@6orange6 You already see the writing on the wall and we don't even know the details of the next-gen consoles yet. Ipad gaming pales in comparison of console or pc gaming. But yet you think the PS4 is "the future"? Got news for ya friend, the PS4 is gonna do the exact same thing the Xbox is doing, as far as anti-consumerism goes, or neither will do it. Sony just hasn't been as forth coming, but they're gonna screw you just as hard and try to make you feel good about it.

Don't be naive. Like you said, "The industry is run by blood sucking leeches who steal money from people any way they can."

6orange6

Ipad gaming pales in comparison of console or pc gaming. But yet you think the PS4 is "the future"? Got news for ya friend,

Suggest you learn to count, you think combined PC sales and console sales can match the App Store? 1 billion downloads, most of them games. And if you want to argue they don't count, they are games. And real racing 3 on the ipad 4 has graphics I have yet to see on a console for speed and resolution.

Ironmanxrs2

3 Like

LOL ok guy. See you on Xbox Live!

Barazon

1 Like

Huh, he forgot to say "But only if the console-makers don't screw everything up with stupid requirements that users hate".

cirugo

@Barazon

uh, he's all about those requirements...did you not read his code words like "connected"?

EvilTyger

1 Like

@cirugo @Barazon Code words nothing. Just read his previous comments about hating the entire used games market.

(I sold most of my original X-Box games to fund the purchase of newer games, such as AC2.)

mike300zxt

2 Like

Wow, good job on the misleading subtitle Gamespot. They didn't say next gen sales would double this gen overall, only that within the first 2 years, they expect to sell twice as many as they did in the first 2 years last gen. Oh well, hype it up!

joshmonus

"next-gen console installed base could double previous generation" im surprised this guy is employed

Umitencho

2 Like

Sure, you will get 1 billion consoles sold when its sold at $0.

mike300zxt

5 Like

@Umitencho Maybe Microsoft is talking about PS4 sales, since we're all switching to PS4 ;)

pradius

@mike300zxt @Umitencho Umm.. I'm not switching to BS4. Speak for yourself bro.

rayonmachristie

1 Like

@mike300zxt @Umitencho im not moving.

Ironmanxrs2

1 Like

Not all of us player. Not I.

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