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jgw
07/28/09

In reply to Ubisoft Sees Sharp Drop in Sales, Blames Market, DS Piracy
If anything, the reason they did so bad was due to a LACK of Imagine and Petz games. Last year was a banner year for their casual division. This year, they haven't put out any of their more appealing (to the target demo), better-marketed titles like Fashion Designer or Babyz. This year's launch lineup looks to be a majority holiday release for the casual line, which could hurt them due to increased competition from EA and THQ looking to cash in on the young girl game phenomenon.

Hard as it may be to believe, sales figures reflect an increase in European piracy. Spain sales (already low due to unusually high piracy there) remained relatively in line with relevant comps, same with UK, while sales in France, Italy, and Germany declined. One game means they missed their mark in positioning, but the general trend seems to indicate that uptake of piracy for casual games has grown, likely stemming from increased awareness of piracy options in afflicted regions.

It's amusing, but borderline pathetic, how any mention of positive or negative financial results heralds a general airing of grievances against the companies in question. Why such unabashed, uninformed schadenfreude?
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SmilingPolitely
07/27/09

In reply to Ubisoft Sees Sharp Drop in Sales, Blames Market, DS Piracy
This just in:

John Romero blames Daikatana's massive failure on software piracy.
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Rozzlit
07/27/09

@SmilingPolitely: Software piracy made John Romero it's bitch.
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Vilhelm Smari
07/27/09

In reply to Ubisoft Sees Sharp Drop in Sales, Blames Market, DS Piracy
I was unaware that Ubisoft was releasing any interesting games for the DS. Maybe that's what's lacking. I can't imagine R4 owners downloading the -z games and the Imagine games.
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supo
07/27/09

In reply to Ubisoft Sees Sharp Drop in Sales, Blames Market, DS Piracy
Market sees sharp drop in quality of Ubisoft games, blames Ubisoft.
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HBLONGHAIR
07/27/09

In reply to Ubisoft Sees Sharp Drop in Sales, Blames Market, DS Piracy
I just dont understand why company bigwigs are so quick to blame piracy instead of stepping back and examining the quality of the games that they put out. We as consumers don't have a problem seeing what is worth our hard earned cash and what isn't. Company bigwigs just expect us to buy everything they shovel onto the store shelves.
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gold163 (° д° ) promoted this comment HBLONGHAIR was starred HBLONGHAIR was unstarred

gold163 (° д° )
07/27/09

@HBLONGHAIR: This is only made more ironic by the fact that on numerous occasions I have heard people talking about pirating Ubisoft games deliberately in an attempt to send a message to Ubisoft: that they're full of crap.
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Gun Metal Gray
07/27/09

In reply to Ubisoft Sees Sharp Drop in Sales, Blames Market, DS Piracy
The last Ubisoft game i bought was Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory for PC. I never finished it becuase it literally took two minutes to load on my pc. To get the splashscreen that gave you the "Play" option. This was due to the Starforce DRM check. Never considerd a ubisoft game again. This is mainly due to lack of interest in their games.
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gold163 (° д° ) promoted this comment Edited by Gun Metal Gray at 07/27/09 12:30 PM Gun Metal Gray was starred Gun Metal Gray was unstarred

gold163 (° д° )
07/27/09

@spectralpulse: That sucks! Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is easily the best Splinter Cell there is, in my opinion. Great game.
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Gun Metal Gray
07/27/09

@gold163 (° д° ): I might give it another shot. mabey they patched the DRM out by now.
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Kayin
07/27/09

In reply to Ubisoft Sees Sharp Drop in Sales, Blames Market, DS Piracy
companies need to stop blaming piracy for low sales, and start blaming mediocre games.
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gold163 (° д° ) promoted this comment Kayin was starred Kayin was unstarred

gold163 (° д° )
07/27/09

@Kayin: Companies shouldn't even start blaming mediocre games. They should just save their breath and use that effort to make good games instead.
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ChaosBahamut
07/27/09

@gold163 (° д° ): Like Beyond Good and Evil 2? ;)
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gold163 (° д° )
07/27/09

@ChaosBahamut: yeah, when the hell is that coming out??
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RockyRan
07/27/09

@gold163 (° д° ): Most likely at the end of the generation the way things are going. Ubi is way too busy making Petz: Possum Roadkillz for them to be bothered to make a good game.
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dwigt
07/27/09

In reply to Ubisoft Sees Sharp Drop in Sales, Blames Market, DS Piracy
well they aren't gonna make as much if splinter cell is only coming to one console
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gold163 (° д° )
07/27/09

@dwigt: This brings up an interesting dilemma: Would you rather that the game be exclusive and of high quality, or that the game be multiplatform and the PS3 version to inevitably suffer because of it? Better yet, throw in a Wii version that has absolutely no features.
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Edited by gold163 (° д° ) at 07/27/09 12:02 PM gold163 (° д° ) was starred

Vivalacherry
07/27/09

In reply to Ubisoft Sees Sharp Drop in Sales, Blames Market, DS Piracy
I don't think the Petz crowd are the people rushing to buy R4 cards, much less know that they exist.
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Spamps: always with the lurking! promoted this comment Vivalacherry was starred Vivalacherry was unstarred

Silentkiller2774
07/27/09

In reply to Ubisoft Sees Sharp Drop in Sales, Blames Market, DS Piracy
Maybe Ubisoft DS games aren't selling BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL SHIT THAT ENDS IN Z OR BEGINS WITH IMAGINE!!!!!
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Spamps: always with the lurking! promoted this comment Silentkiller2774 was starred Silentkiller2774 was unstarred

Teira
07/27/09

@Silentkiller2774: Most of the time it's both, although I can't believe many people are even pirating those.
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Spamps: always with the lurking! promoted this comment Teira was starred Teira was unstarred

Gun Metal Gray
07/27/09

In reply to Ubisoft Sees Sharp Drop in Sales, Blames Market, DS Piracy
Since when has it become an acceptable business practice to blame your customers? Screw them and screw the *IAA.
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wirebrain promoted this comment Gun Metal Gray was starred Gun Metal Gray was unstarred

phor11
07/27/09

@spectralpulse: It just shows you how far Ubisoft is behind the times.

If their CEO still doesn't understand that trying to combat piracy with measures that inconvenience legitimate customers will not only not stop the piracy, but will end up hurting their legitimate sales numbers, then I don't want to own Ubisoft stock right now.
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GoonerVance
07/27/09

In reply to Ubisoft Sees Sharp Drop in Sales, Blames Market, DS Piracy
Note to publishers, for future reference, making shovelware in an economic downturn is not a good idea. If I only have the money to buy a few games, I'm only going to buy AAA titles.
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wirebrain promoted this comment Edited by GoonerVance at 07/27/09 11:29 AM GoonerVance was starred GoonerVance was unstarred

gold163 (° д° )
07/27/09

@GoonerVance: Furthermore, making shovelware in an economic downturn and being frustrated enough at the fact that it's not selling to blame thieves is just stupid and makes you look like a fool.
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Edited by gold163 (° д° ) at 07/27/09 11:54 AM gold163 (° д° ) was starred

puffa469
07/27/09

In reply to Ubisoft Sees Sharp Drop in Sales, Blames Market, DS Piracy
Is there an 'IMAGINE: GAME DESIGNER' title for the DS? And if there is, maybe Ubisoft development teams should play it.
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gold163 (° д° ) promoted this comment Edited by puffa469 at 07/27/09 11:27 AM puffa469 was starred puffa469 was unstarred

gold163 (° д° )
07/27/09

@puffa469: You forgot the Z at the end of "GAME DESIGNER". Or, better yet, "IMAGINE: GAME DEZIGNERZ". Two Z's!
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Edited by gold163 (° д° ) at 07/27/09 11:59 AM gold163 (° д° ) was starred

Limeade
07/27/09

In reply to Ubisoft Sees Sharp Drop in Sales, Blames Market, DS Piracy
Oh, Ubisoft. If you made new IPs and better games, it wouldn't be so bad.
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originalsteven
07/27/09

In reply to Ubisoft Sees Sharp Drop in Sales, Blames Market, DS Piracy
The bonus figures and items would be great if they didn't just charge you extra for them. The Assassin's Creed 2 Black Edition is selling here for £70 (~$115 US equivalent) and although the contents are great, that price tag isn't going to discourage people from pirating.
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