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[yurinka]

Yeah, it's the lowest-selling major Assassin's Creed game in UK.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1129754

That's in a single country and a one week maybe? Yep, it's an important one specially with that game location, but I'd wait to see at least first month worldwide numbers, or even better the numbers of the next quarter.

Remember that from these numbers we see that their "back catalog" games are selling well, which I assume would be ACU, Far Cry 4, Watchdogs and similar games having good legs, and if we check the other AC games they sell around 10M each year.

I can guarantee you that AC Syndicate wasn't a "great seller".

After talking to distributors... the game will be discounted very soon.

Seems we have another 'insider'... ok. Let's wait and see the numbers.

 

[AtomicShroom]

Actually, they seem to think the opposite.

For the purposes of this report, their big issue is no major 1H releases this year. Next year has the Division and Primal.

Honestly, we need the next quarter or the full year to see if they have a problem with their tentpole releases.

Except, you know, GTA V generated 10 times more revenue alone than all of those games combined.

 

[yurinka]

Except, you know, GTA V generated 10 times more revenue alone than all of those games combined.

Maybe, but from the period that goes from GTAIV to GTAV the others also released way more games. So I assume that at the end of the day would be more or less the same.

And well, GTAV is a very rare case of record breaking giant monster. Maybe not the best game to use as comparision for everyone else, even including the other GTA games.

 

[Taij]

Except, you know, GTA V generated 10 times more revenue alone than all of those games combined.

Except you know that it's no where near "10 times more revenue than all of those games combined." Hell AC: Black Flag sold like 11 million copies alone so GTA V is "only" 5 times that single game. Also GTA was 5 years between releases so it's a strong tent pole for sure but there's a reason T2 is the "4th place" publisher. As big as that one game is you can sell more total copies with more frequent games.

 

[Linkyn]

Should be expected. They had Watch Dogs last summer, but nothing notable this year. All their big hitters fall into the second half of their fiscal year.

Edit: Some of the slides are really interesting. I didn't really expect PC to lead XBO by so much for their games. I also like the one about developer vs publisher ownership of new IP.

 

[Elios83]

Again, you're making up facts completely to suit your narrative when they don't in anyway whatsoever represent what's actually happening.
-Watch Dogs was one of the top selling games consistently, and games in general are incredibly front loaded in terms of sales. It had a ton of hype aside from a downgrade controversy, which hurt hype more than it helped, it also had an enormous marketing campaign. . No one bought watch dogs to stick it to the people complaining about the visuals.
-The Crew sold over expectations, so yes it was successful. Otherwise they wouldn't bother with a graphical overhaul and expansion.
-We know nothing substantial enough about For Honor's SP to conclude that they'll be losing the SP crowd.
-The Division was playable at gamescom and has been at other major trade shows including e3. They haven't been silent at all, in fact we got new footage a couple weeks ago.
-Yes their sales are over expectations, which are clearly laid out in the OP. But fuck reading that right? /s
-No, it's actually clear that you have very little idea about what you're talking about and are making up facts to support our personal feelings about the company itself instead of actually reading the things in the OP.

There is no reason to feel so personally invested in Ubisoft, calm down.
All I said is that while Watch Dogs had (frontloaded) commercial success the game was perceived as a disappointment because of the huge downgrade it had compared to the initial concept and gameplay wise it wasn't great either, it was a really repetitive game with embarrassing phisics. This is not just my personal opinion, it's the average consensus on the game you can read in reviews (metacritic), message boards and such.
I said that so far they have failed to find new IPs that can make them less reliant on annual AC sequels to make profits. Is that false? They're not in a position to stop milking AC otherwise their profits would sink.
About The Crew.....as a gamer I refuse to call successful such a mediocre game (again read metacritic, not just my personal opinion) because somehow they managed to ship 2m units and they tell to their shareholders they're happy with it.
About For Honor....I simply noted they said the title will be focused on multiplayer and if that's the case single player people might be turned away. Stop.
That is a pretty realistic thing to me, lots of people for example won't buy Star Wars even if they're interested in the setting just because it's only online.
I never claimed that For Honor will be multiplayer only and will definetly bomb as your angered reaction seems to imply
About The Division, the fact the game is an other downgrade story, it was delayed and fell off the radar is not my invention....I didn't know they're about to start marketing again on the title and I stand corrected here but the other points are not wrong.
And then of course let's not talk again about the damage they did last year with Unity that is also hampering Syndicate's success which is continuing the yoy decline of the series (although I think the game is really good but overall people are bored with the formula).
Splinter Cell , Prince of Persia, Rayman and BG&E being ''on a prolonged vacation'' (just to say something that doesn't hurt feelings) is an other missed opportunity.

As a gamer I'm not happy with how the company has performed so far on PS4/X1, they had good ideas on paper, but the execution so far is disappointing.
I'm hopeful for the future though because I think they can make good games.

 

[mdubs]

Isn't this the way that lots of publisher (2K iirc) operate, they post losses during the slower parts of the year then massive profits to compensate around their game releases?

Good. So annualizing AAA games is actual unsustainable.

Not sure where you are getting this from considering this report specifically doesn't include the time frame when their annualized stuff does come out?

 

[maniac-kun]

Good. So annualizing AAA games is actual unsustainable.

 

[CopperPuppy]

Good. So annualizing AAA games is actual unsustainable.

Except for the fact that there are no annualized AAA game releases in the sales figures you are posting this comment about.

 

[yurinka]

About The Crew.....as a gamer I refuse to call successful such a mediocre game (again read metacritic, not just my personal opinion) because somehow they managed to ship 2m units and they tell to their shareholders they're happy with it.

Seems that The Crew outsold games like Driveclub or Forza, so should be good sales for the genre:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=990830

And well, in the OP docs The Crew is highlighted in several places:

• "The excellent staying power of major franchises (Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Just Dance, The Crew® and Watch Dogs)" and in the "Very solid Back-catalog: 184 M€,, + 53% / Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Just Dance, The Crew, Watch Dogs"
• They release the Wild Run DLC also as standalone game.
• Ubisoft even purchased the development studio who made the game.

I'd bet they have reasons to be happy with this game / IP.

 

[The_Dama]

Rainbow Six will bomb so hard. Shame

 

[Crossing Eden]

There is no reason to feel so personally invested in Ubisoft, calm down.

I don't work for the company, I do admire the work that their devs put into their titles but the same could be said for a ton of other companies in this industry. I am perfectly calm btw, I just am beyond tired of people making shit up. Like the other things in your post.

All I said is that while Watch Dogs had (frontloaded) commercial success the game was perceived as a disappointment because of the huge downgrade it had compared to the initial concept and gameplay wise it wasn't great either, it was a really repetitive game with embarrassing phisics. This is not just my personal opinion, it's the average consensus on the game you can read in reviews (metacritic), message boards and such.

Message boards are never the general consensus, and the game has an 80 on metacritic. And it was incredibly successful as a new IP, imagine what it'll be like down the line with the next gen only sequel.

I said that so far they have failed to find new IPs that can make them less reliant on annual AC sequels to make profits. Is that false? They're not in a position to stop milking AC otherwise their profits would sink.

Yes, because they have several new ips in development as well as other titles, in the first half of a fiscal year without a huge triple A title they earned more revenue than they initially thought they would.

About The Crew.....as a gamer I refuse to call successful such a mediocre game (again read metacritic, not just my personal opinion) because somehow they managed to ship 2m units and they tell to their shareholders they're happy with it.

Again, you're letting your personal feelings get in the way of what's actually happening. The game didn't just ship 2 million copies. It went over their projections, that means it was a success, you don't invest in something that was never successful. You don't make expansions for things that weren't successful. That's not how these things work. I don't even like The Crew ffs.

About For Honor....I simply noted they said the title will be focused on multiplayer and if that's the case single player people might be turned away. Stop.

They've decided to reveal it with the multiplayer in mind, the game is a year apart, plenty of time to showcase a decent campaign.

That is a pretty realistic thing to me, lots of people for example won't buy Star Wars even if they're interested in the setting just because it's only online.
I never claimed that For Honor will be multiplayer only and will definetly bomb as your angered reaction seems to imply

You implied that it would lose the SP crowd because of MP. Like with many other things it was soemthing you came up with on the spot because you didn't actually know what you were talking about, people also said WD would bomb and look at how that turned out, in fact, people saying a ubi title is gonna bomb is usually met with crow, so good luck with the assumption that it'll bomb.

About The Division, the fact the game is an other downgrade story, it was delayed and fell off the radar is not my invention....I didn't know they're about to start marketing again on the title and I stand corrected here but the other points are not wrong.

A game isn't falling off the radar if it's been at multiple trade shows, you keep implying that they've been silent but again, that was based off of you not knowing that their marketing campaign was starting this month. So yea your other points were wrong.

And then of course let's not talk again about the damage they did last year with Unity that is also hampering Syndicate's success which is continuing the yoy decline of the series (although I think the game is really good but overall people are bored with the formula).

I'm sure they lowered their projections, including the bundles.

Splinter Cell , Prince of Persia, Rayman and BG&E being ''on a prolonged vacation'' (just to say something that doesn't hurt feelings) is an other missed opportunity.

Game development takes time.

As a gamer I'm not happy with how the company has performed so far on PS4/X1, they had good ideas on paper, but the execution so far is disappointing.

Well it's not up to you to decide if they're successful or not.

 

[Granjinha]

There is no reason to feel so personally invested in Ubisoft, calm down.
As a gamer I'm not happy with how the company has performed so far on PS4/X1, they had good ideas on paper, but the execution so far is disappointing.
I'm hopeful for the future though because I think they can make good games.

lol

So you state a bunch of made-up facts that are based on your personal feelings and say this?

Anyway, yeah, your opinion on the games doesn't change the fact that they were sucessful

 

[Elios83]

I don't work for the company, I do admire the work that their devs put into their titles but the same could be said for a ton of other companies in this industry. I am perfectly calm btw, I just am beyond tired of people making shit up. Like the other things in your post.


Message boards are never the general consensus, and the game has an 80 on metacritic. And it was incredibly successful as a new IP, imagine what it'll be like down the line with the next gen only sequel.


Yes, because they have several new ips in development as well as other titles, in the first half of a fiscal year without a huge triple A title they earned more revenue than they initially thought they would.


Again, you're letting your personal feelings get in the way of what's actually happening. The game didn't just ship 2 million copies. It went over their projections, that means it was a success, you don't invest in something that was never successful. You don't make expansions for things that weren't successful. That's not how these things work. I don't even like The Crew ffs.


They've decided to reveal it with the multiplayer in mind, the game is a year apart, plenty of time to showcase a decent campaign.


You implied that it would lose the SP crowd because of MP. Like with many other things it was soemthing you came up with on the spot because you didn't actually know what you were talking about, people also said WD would bomb and look at how that turned out, in fact, people saying a ubi title is gonna bomb is usually met with crow, so good luck with the assumption that it'll bomb.


A game isn't falling off the radar if it's been at multiple trade shows, you keep implying that they've been silent but again, that was based off of you not knowing that their marketing campaign was starting this month. So yea your other points were wrong.



I'm sure they lowered their projections, including the bundles.


Game development takes time.


Well it's not up to you to decide if they're successful or not.

Honestly you seem to live in a world of admiration towards this company where they can do no wrong.
Ubisoft did a lot missteps so far this gen and they're undeniable.
Watch Dogs is simply not the game that was promised and has tons of flaws.
Unity is a textbook case of launch disaster.
The Crew is a mediocre racing title.
The Division was downgraded and delayed.

If you're happy with these things or think they're not true I don't know what to say.
I'd leave it here saying that sometimes being more critical towards the things we like instead of defending them no matter what is also a way to send a message and improve them.

 

[Some Nobody]

Honestly you seem to live in a world of admiration towards this company where they can do no wrong.
Ubisoft did a lot missteps so far this gen and they're undeniable.
Watch Dogs is simply not the game that was promised and has tons of flaws.
Unity is a textbook case of launch disaster.
The Crew is a mediocre racing title.
The Division was downgraded and delayed.

If you're happy with these things or think they're not true I don't know what to say.
I'd leave it here saying that sometimes being more critical towards the things we like instead of defending them no matter what is also a way to send a message and improve them.

I think you're going to make blood shoot out of his ears from this awful reasoning.

Look. If you want to do a thread about how Ubisoft is a mediocre to poor developer, I think you might be able to pull that off. This thread is about sales though and basically everything you've said has been based on your personal feelings about a given title.

Their sales aren't down because they make bad games. Their sales are down because last year they released a crapton of games and this year they've barely released anything.

 

[Elios83]

I think you're going to make blood shoot out of his ears from this awful reasoning.

Look. If you want to do a thread about how Ubisoft is a mediocre to poor developer, I think you might be able to pull that off. This thread is about sales though and basically everything you've said has been based on your personal feelings about a given title.

Their sales aren't down because they make bad games. Their sales are down because last year they released a crapton of games and this year they've barely released anything.

That's because the discussion took a different trajectory with all the quoting.
But my opinion on the sales issue as stated is that they need to release strong new IPs that allow them to become less reliant on the AC sequels that are usually released in October. Even this year they're betting on Syndicate to lift the annual outlook of the group.

 

[Possumowner]

Cant say im surprised by this news.Guess people voted with there wallets

 

[Crossing Eden]

Honestly you seem to live in a world of admiration towards this company where they can do no wrong.
Ubisoft did a lot missteps so far this gen and they're undeniable.
Watch Dogs is simply not the game that was promised and has tons of flaws.
Unity is a textbook case of launch disaster.
The Crew is a mediocre racing title.
The Division was downgraded and delayed.

If you're happy with these things or think they're not true I don't know what to say.
I'd leave it here saying that sometimes being more critical towards the things we like instead of defending them no matter what is also a way to send a message and improve them.

None of those things have anything to do with sales data presented in this thread, those are different subjects altogether. I like how in a thread of Ive stated that I don't like one of their games I get accused of thinking that they can do no wrong.

I think you're going to make blood shoot out of his ears from this awful reasoning.

Look. If you want to do a thread about how Ubisoft is a mediocre to poor developer, I think you might be able to pull that off. This thread is about sales though and basically everything you've said has been based on your personal feelings about a given title.

Their sales aren't down because they make bad games. Their sales are down because last year they released a crapton of games and this year they've barely released anything.

Exactly.

 

[DieH@rd]

PS4 is in beast mode

 

[yurinka]

Cant say im surprised by this news.Guess people voted with there wallets

Yep, they got better numbers than expected basically because ACU, Watchdogs or The Crew sold better than other games last year both as back catalog and as DLC / microtransaction sources.

 

[RE_Player]

It's such a shame the Unity team fucked over Syndicate. While it certainly did not break the mold Syndicate is a great Assassin's Creed game.

 

[Struct09]

Good. So annualizing AAA games is actual unsustainable.

If anything the numbers show the opposite of what you are saying. Had there been annualized AAA games in that time frame their numbers likely would have been better.

 

[maltrain]

Seems we have another 'insider'... ok. Let's wait and see the numbers.

No, I'm not an "insider". I just work on a big retail store in South America and we import directly from distributors on USA. And we know for a fact that all those "official sales numbers" are not that accurate as you think because big studios (Activision, EA, Sony or Microsoft) "sell" thousands of games to this intermediaries who then sell those games to stores like us. And many many many times, we buy "day one" editions of "big sellers" games months (even years) after launch.

Another case? Assassin's Creed: Unity. We are selling the game for a almost a third of it original price. Can you guess what edition we received some weeks ago?

 

[privitsan02]

That's because the discussion took a different trajectory with all the quoting.
But my opinion on the sales issue as stated is that they need to release strong new IPs that allow them to become less reliant on the AC sequels that are usually released in October. Even this year they're betting on Syndicate to lift the annual outlook of the group.

Bruv you need to calm down. If anything, your posts were taking the biggest trajectory here with the personal attacks.

OT, did Ubisoft have anything out in the first half of the year worthy of big sales? Their fiscal year begins in April right, so that would till about September?

Regardless, they definitely need to amp up the quality of their games and maybe spread the releases around. I'm interested in seeing if they can improve Watch Dogs significantly from its first incarnation.

Best wishes.

 

[alexandros]

Very nice PC numbers. Come on Ubi, we've got your back, now do us a solid and kill Uplay.

 

[Krappadizzle]

I didn't pick up AC this year, which is the first time since the series started. R6 looks okay, but I've other games I'm more interested in and I'll wait to see how the micro transactions in that pan out before considering a purchase and the inevitable launch bugs too. Hell, the only Ubi game I'm actually "excited" to play is the new Ghost Recon. That shit looks awesome. But yeah, this has been a bum year of Ubi for me. Next year has a lot more potential.

It's such a shame the Unity team fucked over Syndicate. While it certainly did not break the mold Syndicate is a great Assassin's Creed game.

Ubi didn't help themselves either by pushing the PC release of AC back to a window stacked with high-profile non-annualized games either though.

 

[Setsuna]

Very nice PC numbers. Come on Ubi, we've got your back, now do us a solid and kill Uplay.

Why would they do that Uplay is fine

 

[Vibranium]

Very nice PC numbers. Come on Ubi, we've got your back, now do us a solid and kill Uplay.

I wish, maybe in the next 10 years. If only they had a CEO who would scale it down to a simple rewards program.

Anyways, Ubi should make an open-world non-AC pirates game like everyone wants. It would print money.

 

[UnderWaterTree]

did they even release any AAA games in the first half of 2015 i mean they seem to be focusing a lot on 2016

 

[OléGunner]

Ubi have been extremely poor with their output this year.
Very little on shelves that was appealing to me, except for AssCreed but I've had to give that a pass for the first time in years.

Seems like they are gearing up for a big 2016 though.

Hope to see a fully realised Watch Dogs 2 get showcased as well at E3 perhaps.

PS4 is in beast mode

Wow, PS4 dominating software but it's too be expected as the preferred global console of choice.

 

[DeepEnigma]

PS4 is in beast mode

PC outdoing the XBox One as well. Probably the PS4 hogging all the console sales is a partial factor.

 

[leeh]

Hang on, no-one has commented on this:

Ubisoft did note that digital revenue is up significantly compared to the first half of last fiscal year. Full game and add-ons sold via digital distribution mechanisms now represent 48.3 percent of total sales, up from 27.8 percent in the same period.

48/52 digital, physical split? This is interesting.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Hang on, no-one has commented on this:

48/52 digital, physical split? This is interesting.

Probably not that high for the actual games themselves, since they lumped in the add-ons. But still quite impressive, and seeing how EA announced more than half their sales are add on content, this is now the norm of gaming, leaning towards more service based as well.

 

[OléGunner]

Hang on, no-one has commented on this:

48/52 digital, physical split? This is interesting.

Use your head leeh, I see your still not thinking things through at all.

That digital revenue includes add-ons i.e. DLC and micro transactions (which are now wedged into nearly every Ubi game) and is enhanced by PC being a nearly all digital distribution platform, which is even more significant when PC sales are now outstripping XB1 now.

You cant just come up with an imaginary digital/physical split based on that.
Yes digital distribution is growing but not at those numbers you pulled out.

 

[whome0]

I have been wondering if XboxOne EAAccess subscription program alienates other publishers. They don't get a share they have had because gamers have already submitted own personal monthly/annual gaming budget for EA.

This sure must be an extremely hard situation for competing sports titles but also fps games are a big part of EA catalog.

 

[stryke]

Hang on, no-one has commented on this:

48/52 digital, physical split? This is interesting.

It's called PC, but don't let that get in the way of your futile campaign.

 

[Starfield]

Awesome!

Hope they finally make some changes. It's about time.

 

[OléGunner]

It's called PC, but don't let that get in the way of your futile campaign.

It's honestly quite absurd.

I've never seen anything like it on Gaf lol.

 

[stryke]

Awesome!

Hope they finally make some changes. It's about time.

What kind of changes, because those losses are as easily fixed as releasing a game early next year, which they're doing.

 

[baudelinog]

Ooooh poor Ubi! The reason behind this is not publicating any PS Vita game.

 

[Bold One]

Shame, their smaller more unique games like Valiant Hearts and Child of Light are among thier better games


No one wants to play the same open world, filler bullshit Tower activation game they seem to be releasing every 6 months now

 

[Smushroomed]

Watch dogs was dope. Waiting for the next one

 

[leeh]

Use your head leeh, I see your still not thinking things through at all.

That digital revenue includes add-ons i.e. DLC and micro transactions (which are now wedged into nearly every Ubi game) and is enhanced by PC being a nearly all digital distribution platform, which is even more significant when PC sales are now outstripping XB1 now.

You cant just come up with an imaginary digital/physical split based on that.
Yes digital distribution is growing but not at those numbers you pulled out.

I'm tired, I saw that and ran with it, didn't realise the importance of the last point. I wasn't implying like "look 48% of new game realises are digital now!" more so the huge increase in the revenue from the digital market place. That's going to be a common trend across the board, I feel.

It's great to see the growth of digital.

 

[kurahador]

Remember when they tried to do 2 AAA AC games a year? That move really fucked everything up for the franchise.

 

[Visualante2]

That Division delay really hurt them.

 

[rockman zx]

Ooooh poor Ubi! The reason behind this is not publicating any PS Vita game.

They have games on vita.....

 

[OléGunner]

I'm tired, I saw that and ran with it, didn't realise the importance of the last point. I wasn't implying like "look 48% of new game realises are digital now!" more so the huge increase in the revenue from the digital market place. That's going to be a common trend across the board, I feel.

It's great to see the growth of digital.

Well, you did say physical/digital split but I get you.

I think we can all appreciate that digital is very much growing and becoming a larger part of many publishers revenue stream, I agree there.

You just need to learn to use context and realise the proliferation of digital in terms of actual "game" sales is not as high to come up with some of the sweeping statements you put forward (on consoles at least).

 

[DISSESHOWEDO]

What did Ubisoft even release during the first half of this year?

Edit:rogue was all they released and that was just for PC

Ps3 an x360 too!

 

[KJRS_1993]

Posts

You're not going to win with this guy.
His entire reasoning is "I don't like them (AS A GAMER), so they weren't a success".
Don't waste your time.

Destiny also only had a 70something on metacritic but only an idiot would say it wasn't successful.

 

[John Harker]

Guys these are positive results. They Projected revenue of like 180mm. They made 200mm. This is a decent H1 considering their product schedule, as results are stronger than expected/announced last report based on what's in the market from last year.

They already stated to the market an expected loss, and they evidently over performed on it.

As they released 0 major titles during H1, they had stronger than expected back catalogue sales. So basically, non-marketed titles sold better in the last 6 months than they forecasted. So I guess people wanted their games after all (presumably at a lower price point than launch, but still in volume).

That said... It's the next quarter that will be really telling considering they are releasing (and spending) on like 5 major games. And Star Wars is going to hurt them big time out the gate as it'll be a financial voted sucking up a lot of holiday disposable income.

their best bet is good WOM on ACS and months 2-3 on R6 if the multiplayer sticks, after people are done with Star Wars movie hype. FC Primal is a bit of an unknown but Division will do big numbers out the gate I believe, to close out the fiscal.