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Pachter: Ubisoft was worried GTA V, COD & BF4 would hurt Watch Dogs
- Thread starter shinobi602
- Start date
AHA-Lambda
Member
Pachter really seems to think Halo 5 is next Summer, doesn't he? =/
As for the cannibalisation of Watch Dogs with AC4, I thought that myself and so Watch Dogs should have been a Spring '14 game in the first place, imo. Then again now it's competing with Destiny and TitanFall...
As for the cannibalisation of Watch Dogs with AC4, I thought that myself and so Watch Dogs should have been a Spring '14 game in the first place, imo. Then again now it's competing with Destiny and TitanFall...
BruiserBear
Banned
What?
JustinBbad
Member
Makes sense to me. Always seemed odd that they were releasing both assassin's creed and watch dogs at the same time.
shinobi602
Member
I'm pretty sure I remember an interview with someone at Microsoft saying late next year, which should be obvious as all Halo games release in the Fall. Can't find the interview though.
entremet
Member
Not exactly the same target audience.
Dance Inferno
Unconfirmed Member
I don't think you understand how disposable income works.
I think everyone expected GTA V to do really well. Ubisoft probably just underestimated how well it would do, considering it ended up being the #1 entertainment launch of all time. What would be more surprising to me is if they didn't realize they were going up against BF4 and COD, because those seem to be the games that launch in the same window that Watch_Dogs does. Those games do well every year, so you would expect Ubi would have accounted for that.
IdreamofHIME
Member
I think he's got it wrong. They were worried it was gonna cannibalize AC4's sales. I'm not sure how it took them so long to realize, but they did finally work out that they were about to release 2 extremely similar AAA mega budget games at the same time.
No way were they worried about BF4 or COD, Ubi releases an AC against those games every year and AC's sales are always on the up year on year.
No way were they worried about BF4 or COD, Ubi releases an AC against those games every year and AC's sales are always on the up year on year.
I assume that you have unhappy retailers who have to deal with handling all those bundles that they sold that included Watch_Dogs, as well as unhappy customers complaining to retailers about the delay.
Then you have Sony, who seemed to be leaning hard in promoting Watch_Dogs, beyond planning a boxed tie-in bundle with it and the PS4. I'm sure that quite a few PS4 ads probably had to be changed up to remove Watch_Dogs footage.
I'm simply saying, why piss off these important partners by making this decision at almost the last minute simply because you're worried that Watch_Dogs is going to cannibalize the AC4 audience.
Sorry, I thought you were talking about a Q1 release. I definitely see it releasing next year for better or worse.
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
But it would've been releasing at a time when everyone is putting out their big guns, and gamers can only buy so many games.
Sadly even good games can and do get trounced.
I think that post is talking about the official Watchdogs_ bundles that were announced previously.
If it came out in September I think that would technically make it the first half of the fiscal year.
A good game sells more than a bad one regardless. And, seeing as how there is a discretionary component to disposable income, no one is going to put Watch_Dogs at the top of their list if it's turning in bad reviews. I can understand avoiding cannibalizing sales of your own game (AC4) but being scared of the competition is generally not a good sign for your game.
People will be desperate for next gen titles. I don't buy it at all. The type of person who buys CoD or BF buys that as a scheduled thing regardless. Watch Dogs is more of a "is it any good?" type of purchase. Playing against big guns is fine so long as you aren't limping into the fight with a weak game.
SkullplateMurray
Member
As others have said, the game was clearly not done. Look how many times Ubisoft let the public go hands-on with it...
It's called Watch Dogs. for a reason.
Cornbread78
Member
Jan/Feb launch would be perfect, so all those that open their shiney new consoles durign teh holidays can go looking for it right after the new year.
AHA-Lambda
Member
Besides, as much as what Pachter says may be true, Watch Dogs has been tracking very well with pre orders and I don't think they'd piss off Sony and retailers by delaying it just for strategy.
And even then a Spring window isn't necessarily any better when it'd be up against Destiny, TitanFall and a rumoured next gen GTA V.
And even then a Spring window isn't necessarily any better when it'd be up against Destiny, TitanFall and a rumoured next gen GTA V.
DistortionOfReality
Member
Yeeeeeeaaaah... still don't buy it. A month before, delaying a highly anticipated launch title, after a massive marketing budget and announced bundle packs? Something about the game itself was unsatisfactory to prompt a panic button move like this. No way that it's just a knee-jerk 'Shit lots of people bought GTAV 2 months ago, so noone will buy our next gen launch game now!'
BruiserBear
Banned
I don't think those problems are considered a big deal by Sony and Microsoft. An inconvenience, sure, but I doubt they'd consider themselves highly upset at Ubi for delaying it.
I think they're worried that people might notice that it's basically Assassin's Creed with hacking and decide that it's not worth bothering with.
There are some neat features, but the demo I saw at EG was one I'd seen before, and a guy I was with came to the same conclusion about the core game mechanics.
There are some neat features, but the demo I saw at EG was one I'd seen before, and a guy I was with came to the same conclusion about the core game mechanics.
TetraGenesis
Member
People are canceling their PS4 preorders over it, man.
darkside31337
Tomodachi wa Mahou
And I don't really think Sony or Microsoft care all that much. They will sell through all their stock with or without the game. The delay could be beneficial for all parties as its a blockbuster title that will be shipping when there is traditionally a post launch lull. There doesn't look theres going to be much of a lull for the two new consoles.
It is a bigger loss for Sony because you can clearly tell people associated the game with the PS4. People always laugh about the exclusive 60 minute DLC Ubisoft does with Sony games but its pretty clear that stuff actually works.
Sapphire Dreams
Member
Halo 4 started development in 2009 and was released in 2012 so it was a 3 years cycle plus I wouldn't call anniversary a new game.
Oh good, you have cancellation numbers. How bad is it?
Also, how many of those cancellations will translate into actual lost sales come launch?
I think it's an inconvenience for Microsoft.
However, Sony seemed to be positioning it as a major launch game. Coupled with a potential delay of DriveClub, and you begin to have a storyline of the PS4 not being ready.
I think Sony is probably a bit more than annoyed at Ubi.
GravityMan
Member
Watch Dogs flat-out looks nowhere near finished. Game needs another 5-6 months in the oven.
That said, Ubisoft would have been much better off making the decision to delay several months ago instead of now. I suspect the actual development team has felt for a long time that there's no way the game could be in a polished state by mid-November. And I'm sure they communicated that to Ubi mgmt a long time ago. The Ubi suits didn't listen and act until now.
That said, Ubisoft would have been much better off making the decision to delay several months ago instead of now. I suspect the actual development team has felt for a long time that there's no way the game could be in a polished state by mid-November. And I'm sure they communicated that to Ubi mgmt a long time ago. The Ubi suits didn't listen and act until now.
Sigh...
Yeah, it'd be as if EA put out Battlefield and Titanfall right next to each other, different games, but no one is helping each other in that situation.
Too bad the interesting one got pushed back.
Different people are more dedicated to gaming as a hobby, have different amounts of free time and have different income levels. If it's released against GTAV and AC4 a gamer who only has enough money to buy two games will have to skip one of them and the chances of it being a Ubisoft title are high considering the competition.
There is word of mouth as far as quality goes and I do agree that a good game will find it's audience over time in most cases, however when you are launching an expensive AAA title you want the market conditions to be right and I think not launching the game within the Holiday Window isn't a bad call, particularly if the game still needs some polish as I believe they have stated elsewhere.
However this is a call that should have been made a while ago, the fact that it's been pushed back at this point looks really bad and screws pretty much everyone involved to some extent.
Kabuki Waq
Member
Ubi needs to bring back a hardcore Ghost recon or rainbow 6 game. I think gamers like myself are waiting for an alternative to the COD formula.
It's probably related to those things, but only tangentially.
Release dates have been on the board for months at this point. Ubi knew what was coming when they announced the Watch_Dogs release date. A delay this late in the game almost has to be due to the fact that they internally decided the game wasn't ready to be released (not fun, buggy, whatever).
Point being, a bad game won't sell well in a market with the titles Pachter mentions. So the delay is because it'sa bad gamenot ready for primetime, not because of AC4, BF4, GTA5 etc..
Release dates have been on the board for months at this point. Ubi knew what was coming when they announced the Watch_Dogs release date. A delay this late in the game almost has to be due to the fact that they internally decided the game wasn't ready to be released (not fun, buggy, whatever).
Point being, a bad game won't sell well in a market with the titles Pachter mentions. So the delay is because it's
Suzushiiro
Banned
There's definitely a lot more competition for "wallet-share" this holiday than last, between GTA5, next-gen console launches, and other big franchises (Batman, Battlefield) hitting. That's also a big reason why they're expecting AC4 to sell less than AC3 did, I'm sure.
Still though, as others have said, they wouldn't have waited this long if it was a "strategic" delay, unless maybe they underestimated how well GTA5 would do.
Still though, as others have said, they wouldn't have waited this long if it was a "strategic" delay, unless maybe they underestimated how well GTA5 would do.
Goldenmoney
Member
Watch dogs was bundled with the PS4 though. Surely they weren't worried about sales right? The game just isn't ready.
Galactic Barret
Member
It sure would have. That, and I don't think Watch_Dogs looks all that great, anyway.
FreedomFighter
Member
lol! This.
KillerDark
Member
Not to mention AC4...
Wrong. Halo CE and Halo 2 were released in November.