Ubisoft on Yearly Assassin's Creed: We'd Be Stupid Not to Satisfy This Need

[grey_space]

I never played an Ass Creed game up until AC4, the plots of all the games did not appeal to me. But playing a morally neutral ninja pirate captain sounded absolutely awesome.

And the assassination bits were withoput a doubt the most boring bits of the game for me.

As for 5, unless they can make it somehow more interesting than 'Assassinate this guy, then this guy, then this guy.'

Then I'm out.

 

[mrdude2010]

I don't think anyone ever wants a yearly franchise. There's just too much work that goes into making a good and at least vaguely unique (you should be able to tell which version of AC you're playing pretty quickly for a reason other than the setting) to make it feasible to consistently crank one out every single year.

 

[martyrdrebel27]

every two years, fine. every year though, we'll end up with poorly built games like assassins creed 3. 4 was really great, but everything about 3 was mediocre. i found it to be the most poorly paced and and structured game of the entire series.

 

[MrDumpkins]

Well I won't buy any assassin's creed games any time soon, the first was good. I really like the second, I thought the two ezio spinoffs were rentable and I played them. Got the third one and just didn't feel like playing anymore. I thought I was excited for another one, but I literally lost the desire to play them anymore. Even though I hear 4 is great I just lost all interest in the games because of how often I got to play them. This release schedule has certainly lost me as a customer. But then again I might pick one up in a few years when I don't have the fatigue anymore. I don't think any of them are bad games, I just get tired of them if I have too much (like anything really).

 

[Reaper195]

The dude just needs to point at the sales of the series as his source. The AC game sales keep going up and up. And obviously took a major jump with 4. If people didn't want them, they wouldn't buy them. Unfortunately, this guy is talking to people who aren't the ones who tend to buy AC games every year.

 

[RicoADF]

Now about that avatar

Do you have one where the dog's celebrating?

OT: I guess AD-Stu has a point, sure theres a new AC every year but that's all, it's not like guitar games or Call of Duty where they have one (or 2 or 3) every year plus other companies do 1 or 2 a year and the market gets flooded, atleast in this case it's "each year you get an open world game set in a different historical place". Honestly when you think of them as individual games using the same basic gameplay elements (like all FPS's use the basic parts) it's not so bad.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I think that quote should be "We'd be stupid to not accept money when people keep giving it to us."

We all keep buying them, not so much because we're stupid, but because most of the games are pretty good... Well, half of them is anyway. And eventhough we're tired of them, the games are just sotra like fast food.

Ofcourse AC4 did a lot to revitalize the franchise, because I think I speak for many here when I say that at the time AC3 buried any enthusiasm we might've had for this series.

 

[Grabehn]

"We won't make AssCreed yearly anymore" "we'd be crazy to not make it yearly" So Ubisoft is backtracking faster than EA does now? What's this nonsense? I wish these companies had retained their original purposes instead of changing into the "we want money, f*ck the quality" thing they have nowadays.

Good grief, I still haven't completed Ass Creed 2...

Might as well, is the last one that sorta retains the original concept, even though the "yes, there's a sequel" ending was pretty annoying.

 

[RealRT]

Yeah, right, because it worked WONDERFUL for Guitar Hero, didn't it?

 

[CriticalMiss]

It's not really a 'need', more a 'want' and even then tastes will change and people will be wanting something else.

But yes, it would be silly not to make games that people want if they are demanding them you just have to be careful not to follow Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk off the annual installment cliff and smash your skull on the rocks of franchise fatigue. One day they will run out of ideas or people will stop giving a shit.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

People don't need it. They just want it because it's there. But they would get over it, I reckon.

 

[Strazdas]

There is no need. there can never be need for videogames. what there is is a want and a economic demand.
You would be stupid to satisfy it. As rockstar clearly shown, building a quality product while letting the hype build itself by not constantly releasing shit works wonders. the most hailed (not popular, but often pointed out at look how awesome this is) series are usually 3-4 years apart. thats because developers have time to make them good.

We all keep buying them, not so much because we're stupid, but because most of the games are pretty good

Not all of us. I stopped at AC2. The factor in this decision was not the game itself, but Ubisofts DRM. Legal costumers cant play the game because ubisoft servers suck. Pirates can play it because they dont need that server. Nope, ubisoft, im not playing your games anymore.

 

[the_green_dragon]

Yearly Assassin's Creed games do keep me sated.
If they keep up the quality as they have so far, then by all means keep em coming.

IF they keep up the quality seems to be the main point, IF its done right I might buy an new ass creed every year but with such a short development cycle it seems unlikely. I mean thats unless they actually have multiple teams working on a new ass creed, so next years ass creed had actually been in development since 2010, and the 2011 team has been working on the 2016 ass creed.

Hmmmm, I highly doubt that tho.

 

[Chaos Marine]

Can anyone else say market over saturation?

 

[ToastiestZombie]

One of the main reasons AC4 was so liked whereas AC3 wasn't was because the AC formula right now is just really tiring. I could barely get past the beginning of AC3 because it was just so tedious. Then with AC4 I've fully upgraded my ship, completed the story and am now going around doing the side missions. AC4 brought new gameplay, a setting that wasn't dull and depressing and the AC formula was mainly kept to a few tailing missions peppered throughout.

 

[Insideout Ink Demon]

Although i hate yearly releases, he's right

I don't ever remember taking a survey asking me if I want a new Assassin's Creed game every year, so I don't know where he's getting this knowledge from.

Basically, I'm assuming he's going from sales figures. If they weren't selling, i doubt Ubi would put the money behind annual development

Such a shame; AC, PoP, Splintercell (and it looks like Watchdogs too) feel like they have similar mechanics, why not get them in to the same rotar, and mix things up a little with alternating year.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

I have no interest in any annually released titles. A game with such a short dev cycle (or even two years if you have two teams working on alternating titles) is going to be one or more of the following: low quality, unimaginative, a rehash of the last game, the same engine, assets, graphics, etc.

I appreciate that this is what all publishers want. The ability to re-release the same game, same engine, same graphics and art/sound assets....all that time saved by not creating something new. You spend one year shuffling things about, incrememnt the number on the cover and keep right on flogging that horse, despite his already being bludgeoned into a pulp. Charging full price for this, not having to actually create something new, original or interesting.....what publisher could say no to that.

Tragedy is customers buy it.

 

[bandit0802]

The way you're treating this series, Ubi, it'll eventually go out with a whimper. And it doesn't deserve that. Seriously, once this one's over, do one more (and take your time with it!) that will wrap up the whole thing with a satisfying CONCLUSION. This is a series that deserves to go out with a bang. Please make that happen, and then try something fresh.

And please don't sequalize the hell out of Watch_Dogs. Make it like a trilogy or something. But give it a satisfying conclusion at some point.