According to this guy at neoGAF, Ubisoft is not quite so negative on the Wii as Kotaku reporting might lead you to believe, via gonintendo.com:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=18712666&postcount=617
For all the BS in this thread, I'm surprised no one has taken kotaku to task for this ridiculous reporting. It's so far out of context, it's a complete lie. This site really deserves to be banned.
First, the conference call is regarding Ubisoft's first half-year outcome.... which ended September 30th. Ubisoft released their sales data earlier in November for this same period. This is their platform breakdown:
System 2009 2008
DS 23% 37%
PC 17% 14%
PS2 2% 3%
PS3 15% 21%
PSP 5% 4%
Wii 22% 11%
360 14% 9%
other 2% 0%
The Wii is clearly not to blame for their loses, nor has Ubisoft ever blamed the system for their loses.
Second, Guillemot's statement is being over-analyzed and taken out of context. The purpose of that statement was to distract people from otherwise poor results... nothing more. It was comments about recent sales and next quarter's guidance having nothing to do with the rest of the report. Guillemot was not bashing the Wii at all... in any way, shape, or form.
Third, its quite obvious that that article is merely reciting the press release without actually listening to the conference call. Nothing beyond the first page of the release is quoted, nor is any additional information from CC noted. There is a lot information being ignored for this article to reach its conclusion.
Highlights from the conference call:
- It was a pain in the ass to understand. Why can't the french speak better english?
- Ubisoft is not changing the future guidance; it's too early in the season to know how sales will go.
- Regarding AC2... online breakdown is about 55% on 360 to 45% PS3 (although when he first says this it sounded like he said 65% 360 to 45% PS3)
- Regarding Wii software sales... 'some games are meeting expectations, some are not.' They refused to say which titles did what, claiming that they were still waiting for more numbers and that it was too early to know...
- ... They did claim that "Rabbids Go Home is taking off."
- Two investors phrased their questions in a way that would make this thread proud. One called Wii software sales a "malaise," the other saying that the Wii wasn't helping the industry. The Ubisoft reps shot down both suggestions, stating that they expect the Wii to have huge December and that 'the system has a high penetration and can be very profitable with quality software.'
- Ubisoft expects most of THEIR growth for the next year to come mainly from the 360 and PS3. (Looking at their current results its not surprising)
- 10 Natal and 5 PS3 wand games are currently expected within the first year of each accessory. 70% of those titles will be new IP's. They are focusing on the casual market.
- New PoP will cater to both hardcore and casual gamers... with 'lots of action' and I got the impression that they were saying that they were going to make it easier for the casual gamer.
Looking at the games Ubisoft released in the six months ending Sept 30, I'm not sure exactly what "quality" Wii software is yielding 22% of Ubi's revenue. I guess it's mostly legs from games already released, since Ubi's biggest release this year for Wii is Gold's Gym in the EU at 167k according to VGC:
http://vgchartz.com/yearly.php?date=40139&console=Wii&maker=Ubisoft&boxartz=1#
Compare that with HD releases like Call of Juarez, HAWX, and Vin Diesel: Wheelman.
"The worst part about these reviews is they are [subjective]--and their scores often depend on how drunk you got the media at a Street Fighter event." — Mona Hamilton, Capcom Senior VP of Marketing
*Image indefinitely borrowed from BrainBoxLtd without his consent.