Ubisoft Says to Expect More Annual Sequels

StewShearerOld

Geekdad News Writer
Jan 5, 2013
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Ubisoft Says to Expect More Annual Sequels



The Assassin's Creed developer believes that annual sequels can continue as long as the games are good.

Sequels have been big business this generation. This has, in part, been a result of the times. Development costs are higher than ever and sequels are a far safer bet than investing in new properties. That said, as some franchises have begun falling into annual release cycles, there are those who have expressed their doubts as to whether that sort of business model <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/122592-Take-Two-Says-Frequent-GTA-Releases-Would-Degrade-Franchise>can continue much longer. Countering such naysayers is Yannis Mallat, head of Ubisoft Montreal, who says that annual sequels are here to stay.

"When you have quality content, the frequency of coming out with the game is not an issue at all," said Mallat. "On the contrary, people expect more and more of that content. So it's natural to be able to provide that content. The gamers are happy and it's our job to make them happy." Mallat is not without basis for his claims. The Assassin's Creed franchise has grown significantly more popular and profitable since the first game launched in 2007, thanks in no small part to a consistent string of sequels. Assassin's Creed III, released in 2012, was a massive success, selling <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/120531-Assassins-Creed-3-Sells-3-5-Million-in-First-Week>3.5 million copies in its first week and more than 12 million copies total in the months following.

Shortly after the release of Assassin's Creed III, Ubisoft announced Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, slated for a 2013 launch. It was also revealed recently that another Assassin's Creed game <a href=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-03-28-jade-raymonds-ubisoft-toronto-collaborating-on-new-unannounced-assassins-creed-game>could already in the works for 2014. Mallat is confident these game will both be successful in part because Ubisoft has created a development culture tailored toward regular releases, with multiple teams working on different projects with coordinated schedules. "Every Assassin's Creed has one dedicated core team working more than one year on their projects. We call that a roadmap. It takes into account the creative content - the settings, the where and what - the technology and the team."

While Mallat believes that Assassin's Creed can enjoy a healthy life of regular releases, he does admit that it probably won't go on forever. That being the case, he doesn't see an end in sight. "The players will tell us. Right now there are more and more coming into the franchise, so I don't see that day."

Source: <a href=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-03-29-annualised-assassins-next-gen-and-ploughing-fields-the-boss-of-ubisoft-montreal>Eurogamer via <a href=http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-04-02-ubisoft-player-satisfaction-justifies-assassins-creed-sequels>Games Industry


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AzrealMaximillion

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Jan 20, 2010
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Haven't bought an Assassin's Creed game since Brotherhood and won't until the series is done. I was under the impression that we were getting a trilogy of games. Apparently not.
 

mattttherman3

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Dec 16, 2008
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Well, I was disappointed with Assassins Creed 3 over all, that last chase sequence, the ridiculous crap when Conner led the army. The only thing I loved about the game? Naval Battles believe it or not, I really enjoyed them. After Assassins Creed 3, I really see no point in continuing with Desmond's family line. We pretty much wrapped that up didn't we? (albeit in a really weird, ridiculous way)
 

anthony87

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Aug 13, 2009
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Bleh.

The annual releases along with the fact that they seem to be padding the ever loving fuck out of the story is exactly what put me off the Assassins Creed series. Seems like nowadays it's less about "Assassins vs Templars" and more "Look at this historical figure/time period!"
 

OManoghue

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Dec 12, 2008
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Well he has a point, if the games are good it doesn't really matter how often they come out. It's just when the series fizzles out and they keep getting worse is when the problems start.
 

Dr.Awkward

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Mar 27, 2013
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Please, please, PLEASE tell them that it takes time to make "quality content". A LOT of time. We don't need annual releases, and we never asked for it. Seriously, just stop aiming for sales expectations that are above 5 million, and just be happy if you get 1 million because those are often the people are really care about the series.

Just... Please. We are not cows.
 

GAunderrated

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StewShearer said:
Ubisoft Says to Expect More Annual Sequels



The Assassin's Creed developer believes that annual sequels can continue as long as the games are good.




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Well you should have probably stopped after AC:Brotherhood because that is when you started to slip with the yearly releases. After AC2 I noticed the game was becoming overstuffed with useless mini-game crap that no one wanted to get in the way of assassinating people. Oh sure they will continue to sell for a bit longer because AC is still somewhat fun but the shine is wearing off and I can't see this lasting more than 2 more years.
 

Sectan

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Aug 7, 2011
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Although many might not agree with me I still think Assassin's Creed 2 holds up the best among the sequels. Plus with Ubisoft rushing to excrete Assassin's Creed every year it's slowly losing it's polish. Hopefully it doesn't turn into Call of Assassin's Duty.
 
Apr 28, 2008
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Such a shame. The games are suffering from this. All the series feels like anymore is a bunch of extraneous crap thrown together. No real "core" to it anymore, which is a shame. Games have been getting buggier as well, and don't get me started on the damn insta-fail missions that give you extra objectives then fail you if you attempt to pursue those objectives.
 

CriticalMiss

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Jan 18, 2013
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Wait, are Ubisoft co-owned by EA and Activision or did they just decide to try and run their franchise in to the ground all on their own? I can see it now: Altair's Pro Stabbing. Ezio Hero: Legends of Stab. Assassins Creed 2014: Modern Sea Battle-fare.
 

Mad Sun

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Jul 15, 2011
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Leximodicon said:
Well he has a point, if the games are good it doesn't really matter how often they come out. It's just when the series fizzles out and they keep getting worse is when the problems start.
The thing is, the more often they release these games, the quicker the idea well will run dry. And that is when the series will start to fizzle and degrade.
 

lRookiel

Lord of Infinite Grins
Jun 30, 2011
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Oh so I can continue to ignore Ubisoft? Fine....

They can have my money when they get some imagination....
 

deathbydeath

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Jun 28, 2010
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Huh, I wondered why AC was looking similar to Tony Hawk.

All jokes aside, this is a terrible idea for the franchise. They keep adding on a bunch of random shenanigans while forgetting that the game is about fucking assassinations. I bet that the idea for Black Flag spawned from the overwhelming praise that the shipping got in AC3. "Hey, did you know that people's favorite part of an Assassin's Creed game were the bits where you sailed ships? Let's make an Assassin's Creed game all about sailing ships!"

We need less business people in the games business.
 

Vivi22

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Aug 22, 2010
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Yay for a business decision that not a single person wants.

You know what I don't want Ubisoft? To play Assassin's Creed III for three years in a row before you decide to do something new (then again, I haven't even played III yet so it could be terrible and maybe I really won't play them again).

There seems to be this idea in AAA publishing that you can just release the same game every year and it doesn't get old. Then every three or four years you'll be able to release a totally revamped version and it will also be really good. This is a myth of course. Nothing in the history of the gaming industry shows this to be true. There's no reason to believe that releasing more of the same thing will keep things fresh, or that yearly release schedules give sufficient time to properly innovate, or if anyone will even care once you do.

By all means then, let's carry on doing the same thing that already killed several major franchises in the last several years.
 

VanQ

Casual Plebeian
Oct 23, 2009
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I don't want annual sequels, I want quality sequels. Pretty over publishers missing the mark completely. And where the hell is Rayman 4, Ubisoft? You promised us Rayman 4 in the Rayman 3 tutorial!