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[hadareud]

"Under-pressure Sony must react to 360" - Ubi boss
Illustration
Johnny Minkley 09:01 29/09/2006

Increased competition will benefit everyone, argues Guillemot

Ubisoft president Yves Guillemot has hailed Microsoft's X06 showcase, warning that the growing strength of 360 is putting market leader Sony under pressure to react with its rival PlayStation 3 console.

Speaking exclusively to GamesIndustry.biz at the aftershow to the glitzy Barcelona event, Guillemot, whose firm significantly pledged an exclusive Splinter Cell title to the next-gen Xbox, said increased competition will benefit everyone in the market.

"What Microsoft is showing is that even if Sony has a lead in market share, Xbox is going to get better penetration in Europe," he said. "It's good to have many players on the same battlefield; I think it will push Sony to react, and also Nintendo to look at how they position themselves to make their machine a success. When the manufacturers are making great games and pushing each machine hard it can help everybody make the videogames business a better business."

But Guillemot refused to be drawn on whether Sony's market-leadership was now under seriously under threat, adding: "Sony is very far ahead in terms of market share so it's not possible to say today - we will see how Sony reacts. But there is more competition, which we think is good."

Ubisoft proved one of the biggest third-party 360 cheerleaders on the night, with the announcement of the Splinter Cell exclusive and an on-stage demo of the stunning Assassin's Creed proving one of the highlights of the conference.

On the decision to hand the next instalment of the lucrative adventures of stealth operative Sam Fisher to Microsoft, Guillemot explained: "Splinter Cell was created on the first Xbox, so we thought it was important to come back for one volume with Microsoft to create a very good quality title focused on using the full power of the system.

"And especially for next year when the big guns will be out, it's very important to have a game that will use 360 to the full, because you will need that to fight against all the other games that will be there. For us it's a good way to win the next-gen battle. We love Xbox 360 because it's easy to develop on and that's why we want to put great quality products on it."

Elsewhere, the French publisher boss also praised Microsoft's partnership with movie director Peter Jackson as vital to the development of interactive entertainment.

"I think this was a great presentation not just because it showed great games, but also great future games," Guillemot insisted. "The most important thing was the alliance between the movie industry, the CGI industry and the videogames business. I think that's a good move in creating games that will bring more emotion to the experience - those guys know how to create emotion so they are going to help us as an industry to deliver that."

Ubisoft worked with the Academy Award-winning filmmaker on the chart-topping Kong Kong videogame in 2005, and has previously expressed an intention to make film tie-ins account for 20 per cent of the publisher's overall business in the future.

http://gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=20001

also seems like Splinter Cell 5 is not a timed exclusive

 

[Ghost]

Guy who just signed an exclusive deal for one of his biggest franchises thinks Microsoft is cool.



Well Im shocked.




Was he wearing A HAT MADE OUT OF MONEY?

 

[mrklaw]

all of these comments, just like the one from square-enix, are just business posturing.

Of course they don't want one dominant force, because they want to keep license fees down and do deals for exclusives etc.

 

[Jonnyram]

Guy who just signed an exclusive deal for one of his biggest franchises thinks Microsoft is cool.

Well that's no less than Mark Rein saying PS3 is awesome either, right?

 

[Ghost]

Well that's no less than Mark Rein saying PS3 is awesome either, right?

Was that possibly, sorry let me just tap into the ether and pull the information from the spirit world; at or just after an event showing off UT2k7 on PS3?


oh man my nose is bleeding again, i should just google this stuff.

 

[Shadow Moses]

Was that possibly, sorry let me just tap into the ether and pull the information from the spirit world; at or just after an event showing off UT2k7 on PS3?


oh man my nose is bleeding again, i should just google this stuff.

fission mailed

 

[macksplack]

He's right if it wasn't for ms people would be playing ps2 till 2010.

 

[Deleted member 1235]

He's right if it wasn't for ms people would be playing ps2 till 2010.

I heard there was also another company that sold consoles. N something.

 

[X360FanBoyLOL]

M$ is stubborn. They could have had Tom Clancy games exclusive a loong time ago

 

[hadareud]

I heard there was also another company that sold consoles. N something.

Nantom?

 

[CosmicGroinPull]

Damn, I was going to say you forgot to highlight the important bits. I even had it ready:

"Under-pressure Sony must react to 360" - Ubi boss
Illustration
Johnny Minkley 09:01 29/09/2006

Increased competition will benefit everyone, argues Guillemot

Ubisoft president Yves Guillemot has hailed Microsoft's X06 showcase, warning that the growing strength of 360 is putting market leader Sony under pressure to react with its rival PlayStation 3 console.

Speaking exclusively to GamesIndustry.biz at the aftershow to the glitzy Barcelona event, Guillemot, whose firm significantly pledged an exclusive Splinter Cell title to the next-gen Xbox, said increased competition will benefit everyone in the market.

"What Microsoft is showing is that even if Sony has a lead in market share, Xbox is going to get better penetration in Europe," he said. "It's good to have many players on the same battlefield; I think it will push Sony to react, and also Nintendo to look at how they position themselves to make their machine a success. When the manufacturers are making great games and pushing each machine hard it can help everybody make the videogames business a better business."

But Guillemot refused to be drawn on whether Sony's market-leadership was now under seriously under threat, adding: "Sony is very far ahead in terms of market share so it's not possible to say today - we will see how Sony reacts. But there is more competition, which we think is good."

Ubisoft proved one of the biggest third-party 360 cheerleaders on the night, with the announcement of the Splinter Cell exclusive and an on-stage demo of the stunning Assassin's Creed proving one of the highlights of the conference.

On the decision to hand the next instalment of the lucrative adventures of stealth operative Sam Fisher to Microsoft, Guillemot explained: "Splinter Cell was created on the first Xbox, so we thought it was important to come back for one volume with Microsoft to create a very good quality title focused on using the full power of the system.

"And especially for next year when the big guns will be out, it's very important to have a game that will use 360 to the full, because you will need that to fight against all the other games that will be there. For us it's a good way to win the next-gen battle. We love Xbox 360 because it's easy to develop on and that's why we want to put great quality products on it."

Elsewhere, the French publisher boss also praised Microsoft's partnership with movie director Peter Jackson as vital to the development of interactive entertainment.

"I think this was a great presentation not just because it showed great games, but also great future games," Guillemot insisted. "The most important thing was the alliance between the movie industry, the CGI industry and the videogames business. I think that's a good move in creating games that will bring more emotion to the experience - those guys know how to create emotion so they are going to help us as an industry to deliver that."

Ubisoft worked with the Academy Award-winning filmmaker on the chart-topping Kong Kong videogame in 2005, and has previously expressed an intention to make film tie-ins account for 20 per cent of the publisher's overall business in the future.

 

[Brashnir]

should have bolded this part too:

But Guillemot refused to be drawn on whether Sony's market-leadership was now under seriously under threat, adding: "Sony is very far ahead in terms of market share so it's not possible to say today - we will see how Sony reacts. But there is more competition, which we think is good."

I happen to agree with him 100% on the last sentence.

 

[SpacLock]

Ubisoft says: "Don't buy the PS3 version of Assasins Creed. The 360 one is waaaay cooler!"

They've turned into fanboys. They must be reading NeoGAF too much.


I agree with them though. Nothing wrong with some healthy comp. to give the consumers some great software.

 

[macksplack]

I heard there was also another company that sold consoles. N something.

N-cage by N-okia

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

Ubisoft says: "Don't buy the PS3 version of Assasins Creed. The 360 one is waaaay cooler!"

They've turned into fanboys. They must be reading NeoGAF too much.


I agree with them though. Nothing wrong with some healthy comp. to give the consumers some great software.

They, of all third party developers had better. Most of their games outsold the PS2 version straight up.

 

[pswii60]

Was that possibly, sorry let me just tap into the ether and pull the information from the spirit world; at or just after an event showing off UT2k7 on PS3?


oh man my nose is bleeding again, i should just google this stuff.

Something wrong, Ghost?

 

[Mr. Pointy]

Was he wearing A HAT MADE OUT OF MONEY?

A beret of money, in fact.

 

[hadareud]

UBI seems to more supportive of the "underdogs" than other big publishers, that's for sure.

They saw last gen that they could get big sales out of exclusives for Xbox (if timed) and they are trying it again this gen for the 360 and also Wii.

Of course most of their stuff will stay multiplatform, but I do appreciate that they are trying to mix it up a bit.

 

[psy18]

Guy who just signed an exclusive deal for one of his biggest franchises thinks Microsoft is cool.



Well Im shocked.




Was he wearing A HAT MADE OUT OF MONEY?

Your words makes me think MS always buy their way into anything with money... do they?

 

[Gattsu25]

OMG :lol :lol

 

[X26]

"Increased competition will benefit everyone, argues Guillemot"

Since MS has entered the market...

- Console prices have increased
- Game prices have increased
- More than one SKU has become the norm
- Microtransactions

So...when do we start seeing the benefits?

 

[kaching]

So does Mr. Guillemot have a better idea of what Peter Jackson was talking about? He certainly seems excited about it...almost EA-like in his excitement over the Hollywood+games synergy :lol

 

[jjasper]

"Increased competition will benefit everyone, argues Guillemot"

Since MS has entered the market...

- Console prices have increased
- Game prices have increased
- More than one SKU has become the norm
- Microtransactions

So...when do we start seeing the benefits?

While all those are bad Sony themselves started the dual SKU thing with the PSP.

 

[Luckyman]

How can Sony be a market leader without shipping a single PS3? :lol

 

[jjasper]

How can Sony be a market leader without shipping a single PS3? :lol

Because the market includes the PS2 right now.

 

[hadareud]

So does Mr. Guillemot have a better idea of what Peter Jackson was talking about? He certainly seems excited about it...almost EA-like in his excitement over the Hollywood+games synergy :lol

it's probably not the "games" of Peter Jackson he is excited about, but the mainstream publicity and the sales that could come with it.

If MS market this correctly and the "games" are easy enough to get into it could be really big. If it ever materialises that is.

 

[Mojovonio]

this thread is going places.

going places like bobby brown.

 

[mckmas8808]

While all those are bad Sony themselves started the dual SKU thing with the PSP.

Didn't MS start microtranactions, Dual Skus, and higher game prices? Hold on and higher console prices?

 

[WarLox]

While all those are bad Sony themselves started the dual SKU thing with the PSP.

*cough* Gcube dvd... PSX... *cough*

 

[Prine]

"Increased competition will benefit everyone, argues Guillemot"

Since MS has entered the market...

- Console prices have increased
- Game prices have increased
- More than one SKU has become the norm
- Microtransactions

So...when do we start seeing the benefits?

Xbox Live, unified system, gamertag, voice chat STANDARD

The wait from NTSC to PAL is MUCH SHORTER

All games on Xbox gave the option to display games in 60HZ (we suffered so many 50HZ games with black borders on PS2)

XBOX360 was cheaper at launch than PS2, Saturn, PSX!

HDD standard!

Pushing Broadband only network gaming! (people were crying about not including dialup into XBL service, what are they to say now??)

Same people crying about HD gaming (give it 2 years)

They've done alot for EU.

 

[Dahbomb]

I give this thread a "Moneyhatt'd/10".

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Why is Microsoft putting Sony under pressure?

Sony is intelligent enough do to this by themselves..

 

[WolfgangK]

"Increased competition will benefit everyone, argues Guillemot"

Since MS has entered the market...

- Console prices have increased
- Game prices have increased
- More than one SKU has become the norm
- Microtransactions

So...when do we start seeing the benefits?

Since MS has entered the market...

-a real online console-gaming community...Xbox Live(which Sony and N will try to copy –to the best of their ability anyway...)

-combination of the hardrive and the console allow you to customize your experience with your own music, images, download demos + many other benefits

-Game prices may have increased, but they also drop in price much faster than they used to.

-Have made everybody else work harder w/increased competition

 

[jjasper]

Didn't MS start microtranactions, Dual Skus, and higher game prices? Hold on and higher console prices?

Yeah but I was just talking about the 2 SKU thing

*cough* Gcube dvd... PSX... *cough*

I meant at launch.

 

[PepsimanVsJoe]

Since MS has entered the market...

- Console prices have increased
- Game prices have increased
- More than one SKU has become the norm
- Microtransactions

Can you guarantee that none of this would have happened if MS had not introduced it?
You know if you guys want a single console future so bad feel free to say it. Sony will listen and a week later Microsoft will go under and Nintendo will explode in grand fashion.

After that everything will be better right? Hmm

Spoiler

Sorry I love being skeptical...and stupid.

 

[Dahbomb]

Wasn't the PSP the first to make 2 SKUs the norms or am I just imaging that?

 

[Mark Gonzales]

all of these comments, just like the one from square-enix, are just business posturing.

Of course they don't want one dominant force, because they want to keep license fees down and do deals for exclusives etc.

Excactly. All these companies want all the systems to be succesful so they can sell games on all platforms. Especially multiplatform games. Rather common sense if you ask me.

 

[kaching]

it's probably not the "games" of Peter Jackson he is excited about, but the mainstream publicity and the sales that could come with it.

So he doesn't actually care what kind of games PJ might make? That's wonderful - sounding even more like EA!

 

[Mojovonio]

someone post a picture of Jade quick!

 

[X26]

Can you guarantee that none of this would have happened if MS had not introduced it?
You know if you guys want a single console future so bad feel free to say it. Sony will listen and a week later Microsoft will go under and Nintendo will explode in grand fashion.

After that everything will be better right? Hmm

Spoiler

Sorry I love being skeptical...and stupid.

Beats me, my time machine is on the fritz. I don't know if a one console future would be better or worse, all I'm saying is unlike in most other markets, competition in regards to game consoles doesn't seem nearly as beneficial as it should be

 

[DarienA]

Since MS has entered the market...

-a real online console-gaming community...Xbox Live(which Sony and N will try to copy –to the best of their ability anyway...)

-combination of the hardrive and the console allow you to customize your experience with your own music, images, download demos + many other benefits

-Game prices may have increased, but they also drop in price much faster than they used to.

-Have made everybody else work harder w/increased competition

Yup it's a good thing every MS console comes with a HD... oh wait.

#1. Yeah, #3... wha?, #4? everybody? EA is stil schlepping along...

 

[rastex]

Yup it's a good thing every MS console comes with a HD... oh wait.

It's funny how people talk about the Core like it has an impact on anything, in anyway whatsoever. It's about as insignificant as 1080p in the grand scheme of gaming.

 

[PipBoy]

Ubisoft is dependant on Microsoft platforms performance, they grew up with the Xbox. the more X360 sell, the better for them.

Ubi last two quarters revenues by platform:

Q1 2006/2007:
PC/DVD-ROM 43%
XBOX 360 30%
PSP 9%
PS2 8%
GBA 8%
DS 3%
XBOX 1%
G-CUBE -2% (yes right, it's negative, they probably had to refund retailers who couldn't sell their games)

Q4 2005/2006
XBOX 360 46%
CD-ROM PC 15%
PSP 14%
PS2 12%
XBOX 7%
GBA 5%
DS 1%

 

[PepsimanVsJoe]

It's funny how people talk about the Core like it has an impact on anything, in anyway whatsoever. It's about as insignificant as 1080p in the grand scheme of gaming.

Oh No!

 

[DarienA]

It's funny how people talk about the Core like it has an impact on anything, in anyway whatsoever. It's about as insignificant as 1080p in the grand scheme of gaming.

Does the Core exist?

Yes, therefore it has an impact, regardless of how small or large anyone wants to theorize. It's mere existence means it has SOME impact one way or the other.

So go defend a statement that needs defending... run along now.

EDIT:

What a minute! 1080p... I see what did there... where is that owl picture when I need it...

 

[Willy Wanka]

Splinter Cell 5 should look amazing. The Splinter Cell games on Xbox weren't the best looking games from an artistic POV but from a technical POV they were right up at the top last gen.

In Ubisoft Montreal we trust!

 

[kaching]

all I'm saying is unlike in most other markets, competition in regards to game consoles doesn't seem nearly as beneficial as it should be

It really isn't, it's just that console gamers have been conditioned to accept it, by and large.

(card-carrying member of the One Console Future Organization - OCFO)

 

[X26]

It's funny how people talk about the Core like it has an impact on anything, in anyway whatsoever. It's about as insignificant as 1080p in the grand scheme of gaming.

As 'insuignificant' as they may be, they still exist, and developers still need to keep that in mind and develop accordingly

 

[Luckyman]

..

 

[BorkBork]

Europe going well for MS? Doubtful.