Ubisoft Scheming to Defeat EA and Activision

[Tom Goldman]

Ubisoft Scheming to Defeat EA and Activision

Ubisoft plans to take down EA and Activision to become the world's #1 videogame publisher someday.

When it comes to multi-platform videogame publishers (which excludes Nintendo), there are certain giants in the room. A couple of those giants, Activision and EA, are bigger than most of the others, with Ubisoft right behind them in the third spot. Ubsioft CEO Yves Guillemot says this may not be the case for long, with Ubisoft now able to calculate a plan to move into the top spot.

Holding Ubisoft back in the past was EA's partial ownership, which it sold off [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/102146-EA-Selling-its-Share-of-Ubisoft] in 2010. Guillemot told MCV: "When [EA] left it changed lots of things for us. We had a competitor owning a share of the company and we were always wary that they could decide they would go for the company - and that wouldn't have been welcome."

Guillemot says that EA's stake in Ubisoft prevented the company from acquiring new studios or making other moves that conflicted with EA. "So now we are totally independent again, we feel a lot better, we are number three and our goal is to beat those guys, EA and Activision, at some point," Guillemot added.

Ubisoft likely brought in around $1.5 billion in revenue for the 2010 fiscal year, while Activision and EA brought in approximately $4.5 billion and $3.5 billion. Adding another $2+ billion dollars to the annual revenue stream isn't exactly an easy task, but Guillemot says that Ubisoft's move from #25 to #3 was unlikely too, so anything's possible.

According to Guillemot, Ubisoft will make strides with acquisitions, but primarily by focusing on games that will "make the difference and will be recognised as the best products in the industry." One of these products will probably have to be an MMO, with Activison's Star Wars: The Old Republic [http://www.amazon.com/World-Warcraft-Battle-Chest-Mac/dp/B000H96C9M/ref=sr_1_2?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1302464993&sr=1-2] aiming to do the same. If Guillemot's words ring true, we should expect some major moves from Ubisoft in the coming years.

Source: MCV [http://www.mcvuk.com/news/43880/Ubi-We-can-beat-EA-and-Activision]

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[Arachon]

EA had a stake in Ubisoft? I had no idea, the things you learn...

 

[ace_of_something]

Maybe they should just focus on making super good games?
Seems easier.

 

[putowtin]

and once they rule the gaming world they shall take over... dare I say it... the world!

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

I can't believe I have to bust out Bender again so soon.

 

[Waaghpowa]

Maybe they should just focus on making super good games?
Seems easier.

This, I don't think I've played a good game from Ubisoft since the last generation.
Since PoP and Splinter Cell were both butchered, you could argue that Assassin's Creed was one of their great games, but I personally found them to be "meh".

 

[Klitch]

It's cute that they think they can compete with the Evil Overlord of Gaming and the ex-Evil Overlord of Gaming. Seriously, beyond Asassin's Creed, what does Ubisoft have going for it? Unless they have some truly stunning new IPs under wraps, this sounds like it's just some morale boosting.

 

[Woodsey]

They're too schizophrenic.

Apart from (the admittedly fantastic) Assassin's Creed, they don't really have any AAA titles, and they probably have the largest amount of shovelware of any high profile publisher I've seen.

I mean, Activision puts out some fucking shit games, but there isn't that much that I'd actually describe as shovelware. Ubisoft on the other hand...

[sub]If they could get Splinter Cell back to the depth and stealth of Chaos Theory, with the angry old bastard feel of Conviction, I would happily have sex with them though.[/sub]

 

[Arcanist]

This just in - a business wants more market share so they can make more money!

This seems a bit self-evident, so I wonder why they feel the need to publicly announce it. Probably for the free publicity.

 

[ElectrifiedSorcerer]

Step 1: Put Michel Ancel in charge of absolutely everything
Step 2: ???
Step 3: Profit

But in this case replace ??? with 'use his ideas to make totally awesome games and throw the might of your marketing behind them'

 

[Littlee300]

They're too schizophrenic.

Apart from (the admittedly fantastic) Assassin's Creed, they don't really have any AAA titles, and they probably have the largest amount of shovelware of any high profile publisher I've seen.

I mean, Activision puts out some fucking shit games, but there isn't that much that I'd actually describe as shovelware. Ubisoft on the other hand...

[sub]If they could get Splinter Cell back to the depth and stealth of Chaos Theory, with the angry old bastard feel of Conviction, I would happily have sex with them though.[/sub]

Also it must have spies vs. mercenaries.

 

[vxicepickxv]

Good luck with Activision.

New Republic will probably not do as well as EA wants, it's going to cost them too much. I don't think it's going to work out for them at all.

 

[samsonguy920]

Well, they still hold the title of Most Evil Gaming Company, though they only have that with their one thing. (No cookie for the answer)

It is good to set goals, and it will be most entertaining to watch them try, but I don't see them standing a chance until EA and Activision finally shoot themselves in the feet. Which they keep trying to but keep missing the mark.
Ubi has put out some interesting IP's that break the moldy mold that EA and Acti put out, but they apparently have been missing some finer details. (Like decent cutscenes in RUSE for one. Thanks for breaking my illusion, Unskippable!)

Except for Assassin's Creed. That game rules my world.

 

[MaVeN1337]

Go home ubisoft. No one loves you.

 

[Tim Latshaw]

Yes, they're going to take over the video game industry. And you can live every moment of their rise with Imagine: Publisherz! Coming Fall 2011.

 

[Irridium]

Uh-huh.

I'm still pissed about your online DRM. You pricks. Of course things may change. Since EA owned a stake, I wonder if they used Ubisoft's games as a "test bed" of sorts.

Time will tell, seems they're scrapping it though for the very slightly less bullshit "online check at install".

 

[erbkaiser]

Oh goodie...another MMORPG. Here's a better idea, Ubisoft: stop pissing everyone off with ridiculous DRM and just make good games.

My point exactly. On the one hand Ubisoft makes a lot of shovelware for the kiddieWii, and on the other it cripples its PC branch by having far too late ports that tend to use such an abusive form of DRM that it is even worse than SecuROM in those days it was actively killing disk drives.
Unless Ubisoft changes, I really hope the public is smart enough not to buy their crap so they have no chance of becoming #2 or top dog.

 

[manythings]

Maybe they should just focus on making super good games?
Seems easier.

Don't be silly. Being in big business means pissing in the face of your customers... just check with marketing.