How are four unfinished screenshots saving the Ubisoft stock prices?
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Kotaku: Assassin's Creed 2015 set in Victorian London (Quebec Dev, Screenshots)
- Thread starter shinobi602
- Start date
How are four unfinished screenshots saving the Ubisoft stock prices?
Once again for emphasis:
Ubisoft stock prices don't need to be saved, they're higher now than right before Unity came out :<
LeGourmand
Member
Oh so that's what they are working on (the Quebec studio) they are like a 3 minutes walk away from work. Hopefully this goes well for them, we need more job like these in Quebec, not less.
In terms of blacklisting: I don't think it matters. Kotaku is one of the biggest gaming news sites so publishers have to "play ball" with you to get the coverage they need. For the games I have worked on, any time we got a Kotaku news story our site hits (and subsequently preorders/sales) would spike way above our daily/weekly normal. Even if it was less-than-great coverage (such as reporting on a major bug) we still got a sales spike.
wow that's fascinating insight from a developer. very very interesting.
Once again for emphasis:
Ubisoft stock prices don't need to be saved, they're higher now than right before Unity came out :<
That's what the poster I quoted implied if I understood him/her correctly, not me.
Just trying to point out the ridiculous lengths people go to trying to make this look like a controlled leak.
doctorblurg
Banned
"We're gonna do it this time guys!" God what a two year dev cycle could do for this series. I just started playing black flag in October after dropping brotherhood and while I love the boat stuff the cut and paste eavesdropping stuff just makes me turn the game off since I've done it dozens of times already. I see this and it's the most intense franchise fatigue Ive experienced even if the setting is kinda cool.
SpacePirate Ridley
Member
I really like we are going to get a realistic open world victorian london setting without any fantasy steampunk crap attached, or neo victorian "London". And then the usual crazy "historical" fun ideas like making you friend of Arthur Conan Doyle or trying to find Jack the Ripper.
Im not preordering (I never do with Ubisoft games), but im going to have an eye put on it, wait for reviews and people opinions and then decide if I purchase it or not.
And I could say the same with your avatar you know?
That's what the poster I quoted implied if I understood him/her correctly, not me.
Just trying to point out the ridiculous lengths people go to trying to make this look like a controlled leak.
I know, I was emphasizing the point with images that his argument was wrong in the first place because the stock doesn't even need help
Sadly, despite that, we have been blacklisted by more than one major publisher who believe that the press's role is to serve as their marketing puppets. I wish video game publishers wouldn't get mad at us for doing our jobs, but hey.
I know it isn't much, but there are plenty of us who laud you for doing your jobs ethically and well. You are appreciated.
1866 and this Assassin Creed game... I don't know what the third one is.
Same for me except that I just can'T stand the site's design... I don't know why but it just doesn't click with my brain, I can't navigate it.
RowdyReverb
Member
This makes so much sense it hurts. I think people are looking for drama where there is none. They want a narrative
Thanks! Don't get me wrong: we're in a good place right now. Our readership is bigger than ever, thanks at least in part to the fact that we're moving further and further away from the PR cycles that have influenced video game coverage for the past three decades. (More and more we're focusing on games that are already out rather than PR bullshit.)
It's a bummer when publishers get angry and refuse to work with us because we posted leaks or ran investigations about them, but I think we'll be OK. Really cool stuff coming on the horizon for us. 2015 is gonna be a good year!
iNvid02
Member
checks? god damn it lol
kotaku uk is much better in that regard, but its not really the same.
i dont think ubi wanted this out there at all, and kotaku have delivered in the past, would like to have seen that video but dont have any qualms here
kotaku uk is much better in that regard, but its not really the same.
i dont think ubi wanted this out there at all, and kotaku have delivered in the past, would like to have seen that video but dont have any qualms here
AHA-Lambda
Member
I know, I was emphasizing the point with images that his argument was wrong in the first place because the stock doesn't even need help
Fair enough.
Kinda disappointing that they seemingly get away with anything though. Already read a lot of tweets and even Facebook posts of friends and contacts who look forward to AC:Victory despite having issues with Unity.
Actually, it's about leak ethics in Kotaku culture.
Why the fuck would you leak a multi-million dollar project for PR instead of showing a 'fledged-out' product at a hugeass tradeshow
Bloodborne
captainnapalm
Member
There are millions of dollars and probably plenty of jobs on the line when it comes to a game's success. If this early leak leads to people not buying Unity because they'd rather wait for this one, I can understand why that would upset Ubisoft and the people who work there.
They've only just released Unity, a game which, in contrast to the ridiculous levels of sandbaggery that went on in the press, is actually a pretty impressive game in a lot of respects. I can fully understand them still wanting to focus on that game and they've done a lot to rectify its problems. There's really nothing ethical about the person who decided to leak this to Kotaku or the site deciding to print it.
If I was making a game, I would like to think I could decide when to unveil it, when I was happy with what had been created, and how the reveal fit into my business plans.
I'm not down with trying to palm it off as a service to the consumer, and not a scoop for clicks.
They've only just released Unity, a game which, in contrast to the ridiculous levels of sandbaggery that went on in the press, is actually a pretty impressive game in a lot of respects. I can fully understand them still wanting to focus on that game and they've done a lot to rectify its problems. There's really nothing ethical about the person who decided to leak this to Kotaku or the site deciding to print it.
If I was making a game, I would like to think I could decide when to unveil it, when I was happy with what had been created, and how the reveal fit into my business plans.
I'm not down with trying to palm it off as a service to the consumer, and not a scoop for clicks.
PapaJustify
Member
I am excited for the new AC and I can understand that sites like Kotaku have to run that story if they get such a scoop, but that has nothing to do with good journalism or journalistic duty.
Leaking that game probably has ruined the surprise for a lot of fans and especially the development team that works hard on it.
Leaking that game probably has ruined the surprise for a lot of fans and especially the development team that works hard on it.
Windom Earle
Member
Nice try quoting me out of context, but don't do it if you don't understand what my post means. Of course WD and Unity are pushing more graphical effects, but the level of detail in GTA is simply unmatched.
Also I am done talking to a shill, your hipocrisy was established a long time ago when we learned about your shitting on Infamous Second Son and that you are working for Ubi "not directly".
lol people shitting at people being excited. Not healthy being cynical all the time. With limited information, just base your opinions off that slice and not just expect the worst.
There is plenty of time to be sceptical before the game comes out or when it comes out.
But from what is shown so far, game looks good so far.
There is plenty of time to be sceptical before the game comes out or when it comes out.
But from what is shown so far, game looks good so far.
Well i think that publishing these kind of leaks are beneficial only to person/site that brought it to us. In this case we already knew that new AC game will come next year and that Ubisoft Quebec is lead studio for the first time. Leaking period and other info in my opinion is not something that will be that useful to customers. Another year, another AC game and another interesting historical period to visit.
I understand Kotaku and Jason as journalists. They have right to publish info that they got but i don't like that they are pretending like they did favour to fans/customers/gamers. At least they could explain readers what Target Footage is and what users can expect to see in final game based on Target Footage.
I as a person would never do something like this. No matter how bad publisher is i care more for persons that were and still are working on project like this for years. Every game and movie deserves proper reveal and that is huge milestone/event for people who were working on that project.
I understand Kotaku and Jason as journalists. They have right to publish info that they got but i don't like that they are pretending like they did favour to fans/customers/gamers. At least they could explain readers what Target Footage is and what users can expect to see in final game based on Target Footage.
I as a person would never do something like this. No matter how bad publisher is i care more for persons that were and still are working on project like this for years. Every game and movie deserves proper reveal and that is huge milestone/event for people who were working on that project.
What part of "news" don't you understand? I would be livid if Kotaku got their hands on this and decided not to run it because it could hurt Ubisoft. That is grade-a corporate stoogery and has no place in any legitimate news outfit.
Kill_la_Chill
Neo Member
Looks cool actually. Still not buying Unity until the summer. Graphically sharp though. Hope this one has no bugs.
Glad to see moving in a new direction is paying off and don't worry about wrinkling a few feathers. The larger you get the less it matters if you piss the publishers off - at the end of the day, your readers are the exact people the publishers need to get news about their games to, so they can only stay mad for so long before it costs them too much money.
As for Ubi's response, do any of the big publishers have worse PR people? Maybe its just me, but "And, while we certainly welcome anticipation for all of our upcoming titles, we're disappointed for our fans," just comes across as completely tacky utter bullshit..
Tempesta di Fuoco
Banned
Will they have French accents?
Pankratous
Member
Why not Glasgow? When will the Scots get some love?
captainnapalm
Member
Nonsense. Any business has the right to decide when it wants to publicly unveil its own projects. And it's not just hurting Ubisoft, the corporate giant. I'm sure many of the creative people - artists and designers - are also unhappy with having their work leaked early.
There's a difference between leaking sensitive information to the public or consumers because it is in their specific interest or because the business is itself acting unethically by not supplying that information, and this kind of leak. I'm surprised you don't see a difference.
MMaRsu
Banned
This is just basically lying. I mean wtf I havent noticed one drop below 25 at all. At least I dont think so!? Sure it drops a bit in the city but that's not a damn bug son. And GTAV does a helluvalot more than Unity with its copy and paste 20.000 npc's all around you in a boring ass world with nothing to do.
Killer gates? NPC's repeating animations? What are you on about?
Ubisoft has been a company that has released bugged products, DRM products that fuck over legit customers and the endless list of anti consumer behaviour just goes on. To even compare them to R* is an idiocracy.
Aces&Eights
Member
Totally agree. I highly doubt they have seen a ROI for Unity and now that we see a Victorian AC game, anyone who hasn't purchased Unity will simply wait for the new game.
Ubi has to be pissed but quite frankly, they deserve it. I am reading that some in the world found Unity to run brilliantly for them but for me it is a power point presentation and buggy mess.
Regardless, I will not be pre-ordering the new one. In fact, I will never pre-order a Ubisoft game ever again.
I've actually noticed that. I am finding myself going to your site quite a bit more than I used to. I think you guys really turned the corner on your coverage and are heading down the right path.
You're right in some ways, and these are things we discuss quite a bit whenever this sort of thing happens at Kotaku. There are a lot of reasons we chose to handle this leak in the way we handled it, but ultimately it comes down to one main factor: our job is to report the news, and this is news that was sent to us.
MMaRsu
Banned
I for one appreciate the trouble you and Kotaku go through though Jason. I feel like you are doing great work
.Because it is not Kotaku's duty to protect the interests of Ubisoft or their workers; it is Kotaku's duty to report on news related to video games. What would the point be to keeping this secret? As I've said before, they are not a PR arm for Ubisoft. They owe them nothing. And while I'm sure the creative team is miffed, they ultimately are part of the corporation itself, and hurt feelings are not a reason to keep this story from running.
Ubisoft's output seems as relentless as it is clueless and yet the stocks are high so some board of executives must see virtue in this cycle. To churn out buggy mediocrity at this rate of fire is practically sickening to me. I am so far away from even buying one of their games at this point but I cannot turn away from what is one of the most stomach-churning carnival acts in the video game industry.
I want to see it go even faster. Do you think they would do that for us?
I want to see it go even faster. Do you think they would do that for us?
block tower
Member
please leak more Fallout 4 Jason! im thirsty for information. forget Pete Hines lol, leak that shit.
Bullshit. Ubisoft is in the entertainment business, thrusting itself in the public eye year round in hopes of making million / billions of dollars per year. If it wants to put itself out there, beg for attention of gamers and gaming press periodically throughout the year, make ungodly amounts of money publishing the same game year over year, then it has no right to cry that the people whose attention it craved and begged for won't stop from peeking behind a fictional privacy curtain designed only to avoid loss of sales of an existing game.
PapaJustify
Member
So just because Ubisoft is in the business of making (entertainment) products, which they occasionally market and sell to customers/consumers, they do not have the right to privacy or the right to complain if that privacy gets violated?
Did I get that right?
they can complain, and game websites should still keep reporting anyway.
their service is to their readers, not to the companies
captainnapalm
Member
I'm sure the story was too good to pass up. Quite a scoop, obviously.
Come on now, it's not like they reported on the sex life of Yves Guillemot. If journalists are only allowed to cover what the publishers tell them what's the point in having journalists at all? We have PR statements for that.