Note: this post contains rumors which are unsourced, because they’re rumors. While I wouldn’t post about them unless i was fairly certain they had some credence, they should not be taken as fact, and should be approached with the appropriate amount of skepticism. The exception to this is the fact that the three studios in question did blackball EGM/1UP (as well as a number of other publishers in Europe as well), and Sony did fuck up last year and try to bully Kotaku into pulling a story.

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At least, that’s how I’m reading into Yves Guillemot, head of Ubisoft’s comments on his Studio’s goals for Nintendo’s white money dispenser for next year:

“[Nintendo’s mass market strategy] is very profitable for Nintendo, and very profitable for all third-party publishers,” he said. “…Because [the strategy] is working, we create more product [for Nintendo platforms] and this will actually bring more people into the industry. The Wii is going to continue to do extremely well with no limit to growth.”

Guillemot said Ubisoft currently has 400-500 people who are dedicated to the Wii platform right now, and believes that next year, Ubisoft will have “Nintendo-like quality” on the Wii.

I’m a little late to talking about this, as honestly, Ubisoft has faller further toward disappointments this gen than happy time, and when I say Mr. Guillemot speak about something, I imagine a french used car salesman. Something about this caught my attention though. Why, in the name of all that is right and sane in this world, would you admit to your product not being as good as Nintendo’s? Are you asking people not to buy it? There’s not even any Ubisoft game on the system that’s competing directly genre-wise with a Nintendo game, so reminding people that your game is crappier than other content seems… stupid. It’s also more or less acknowledging that the games they’ve released on the platform have been sad excuses for content (because in a lot of ways they have been). Now you’re making the poor people who convinced themselves that Red Steel was awesome feel even dumber, because you’re admitting your games are bad.

I guess I just don’t see the logic here. The next Splinter Cell game better be fucking fantastic.

-Aegies

A couple of days ago, Ubisoft caused a stink by releasing then quickly (we’re talking hours here) pulling their Black Pack from the Xbox Live Marketplace. There was a lot of conjecture as to why this was, with some, like Penny Arcades Jerry Holkins, going so far as to theorize that:

Here’s what I think: The PS3 version of Rainbow Six comes with both map packs pre-loaded, extra content that currently costs Xbox 360 owners an additional twenty dollars. In the future, when such releases are synchronized, this sort of thing won’t happen - but the precedent can’t be allowed to stand. Gamers are already sensitive about the pricing on these things, and the idea that owners of a competing system not only play for free but also get the content for free is almost overwhelming in its rhetorical power.

He’s right of course. I’m inclined to allow Ubisoft the slightest bit of wiggle room on the previously released content due to the traditional early adopter tax: the game came out last November, and only now finally is debuting on the PS3 after a lengthy series of delays. With that in mind (and because I’m charitable), a downloadable content pack that came out earlier this year being free with the much later PS3 version makes sense to grease the consumer wheels, so to speak. I could also kind of understand charging for the new content as well for that same reason, but I can’t see the community reacting well in the long run to that kind of gouging.

With that said, it’s a pleasant surprise to see that the content was indeed meant to be free, at least according to Microsoft’s community representative, Major Nelson:

Ubi has send me the official word on the RSV Black Pack (which went MIA earlier this week) and it is good news:

‘Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas Black Pack Downloadable Content for Xbox 360 Live was originally intended to be free content for the fans of Rainbow Six Vegas. We apologize for the error. All players who purchased the Black Pack will be reimbursed automatically.* The Black Pack will be posted Saturday June 30th and will be free of charge. Also, as a token of our appreciation for the Rainbow Six community, we are making the Red Pack free as of Friday July 6th as well. Thanks for playing and we hope you enjoy this free content.’

Make sure your account information is up to date so we can properly apply the credit!

As I understand it the content should go out after 0300 PT.

I think this is the first time I’ve seen Ubisoft eschew the easy money for goodwill in months. It’s something I’d certainly like to see more often in the future as well, and from more companies. Now if only we could EA to start doing the same thing.

-Aegies

You might remember that recently we posted about the mega-shit-ton amount of games that were releasing in September. You might also remember that Ubisoft was scheduled to release Assassin’s Creed on the same day as Halo 3. Like me, you also probably can remember thinking to yourself, “why the fuck do they not want Assassin’s Creed to sell?”

Don’t get me wrong. Assassin’s Creed would sell a lot of copies. But it wouldn’t have the amazing launch numbers that it could have if it was releasing in a month where it would be the title to buy. However, this is exactly what Ubisoft has chosen to do.

Ubisoft, being the marketing assassins they are, is now going to release Assassin’s Creed in November. It is also releasing with a very cool special edition box that includes some totally shameful things like a plastic figurine of the character. Like I needed another fucking toy to put on my shelves. Arthur has already informed me that my current Star Wars display is, for all intents and purposes, birth control.

While I am sure this news sucks for those of you who have the vast amounts of disposable income to purchase multiple 60$ games a month, it is a good thing overall for the success of the franchise. Quit being so selfish and just be happy that you’ll at least have Halo 3 to play.

Chufmoney

[via Kotaku]