While there was no Assassin's Creed this holiday season Ubisoft still managed to put in a strong quarter to increase sales with 13%. The company is on track to improve on a very strong 2007 with an even better fiscal 2008 (ending March 31).
Ubisoft report that Far Cry 2 (PC, PS3, Xbox 360) has sold a massive 2.9 million copies so far and Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party (Wii) sold an equally impressive 1.5 million. These blockbusters managed to counter lower than expected sales for Prince of Persia (PS3/Xbox 360) (2.2 million). Shaun White Snowboarding has recorded 2.3 million sales so far and is a new million selling franchise for Ubisoft. Another strong contributor to the increased sales was Ubisoft's line up of Nintendo DS titles - the company now boasts a 13.5% of the DS market in Europe and 12 % of the North American DS market. Sales on Nintendo platforms accounted for 44% of Ubisoft's sales during the quarter.
No mention was made of the sales of Tom Clancy's End War (PS3/Xbox 360) that also saw release last quarter. We suspect they were even more disappointing than the Prince of Persia ones.
Among other news was the delay of Darkworks developed disaster adventure I am Alive (PC, PS3, Xbox 360). It had been listed as a Q1 2009 release for a long time, but is now officially moved to the next fiscal year (starting April).
Ubisoft also made some predictions for the next fiscal year (April 2009-March 2010). During these 12 months they will launch 7 "franchise" titles including Assassin's Creed 2, Splinter Cell: Conviction, a new Ghost Recon, and a new Anno. They will also launch 3 new brands including I am Alive, and 4 movie licensed based properties including James Cameron's Avatar, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the sequel to Arthur and the Invisibles. No mention was made of Beyond Good & Evil 2 in the press release.