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?
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.
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.
@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.
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.
@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.
@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.
@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.
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.
@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.
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.
07/28/09
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?
07/27/09
John Romero blames Daikatana's massive failure on software piracy.
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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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