Watch Dogswas heralded at the show and afterwards. Corre says that the media and consumers are just hungry for something a bit different – and that this signals some way forward for market recovery. “There have been too many ‘me
too’ games in recent years. Our industry has to get some fresh new innovation all the time. It’s in our DNA at Ubisoft to try to go to the next level, to try new technology and find other ways to please consumers.
“Give consumers something fresh, new and exciting and they will go on being interested in what we do. They will repay passion with passion. Our market has phenomenal potential for growth. But all the creators have to take risks regularly to go on building up the market in the future. I was very pleased to see that after all these conferences; there are a lot of things from other publishers that will excite everybody. I think the market can then start going up again.” And in a departure of what other publisher may tell you – that audience spending is low, that boxes are on the way out – Corre has a different answer for why the market is depressed. It’s because gamers are bored.
Ubisoft’s headline titles –from established blockbuster Assassin’s Creed (top) to new title ZombiU –try to offer something new to the core gamer set
than developing hardcore games, which can appeal on 360, PS3 and PC. It’s a dedication and a skill.”
WATCH AND LEARN
But core games are more important than ever in this market, and Ubi learned that loudly at E3.
And while every other publisher is cutting back or entrenching around known brands, Ubi turned heads in LA with its new IP Watch Dogs. Although clearly influenced by Assassin’s Creedand Splinter Cell, it’s pitched as being of the moment, about the encroachment of surveillance in our lives, and the rise of the Big Brother state.
Gamers haven’t had as many good or fresh new products in the last two years and I think the excitement is going down as a result of that.
“ Alain Corre, Ubisoft
“But when you play something fresh, people say ‘I will buy this console just for this game’ and that’s what we have to do to go and excite people. Otherwise, they will go and do something else. They haven’t had as many good or fresh new products in the last two years and I think the excitement is going down as a result of that. There are not enough reasons for them to get into the store to buy these days.” Ubisoft has always, when you look back through its history, stood out from the crowd with real variety. And it reaped the financial reward because of that. Corre says his gut instinct, not his spreadsheet, tells him this is the way forward to grow the market and reverse the trend of people buying less games. “You need to be unique, original and to surprise.
“If you can surprise people, inspire them, they will be excited to take risks in buying your product. “Otherwise they buy two or three games per year that are the same. And that’s it.”
FREE FOR ALL
UBISOFT’s strong vein of console games is now paired with a growing portfolio of free-to-play PC games. The firm is also announcing new games for this space at a Gamescom press conference. Corre is aware of the growing tide towards free amongst all consumers. “Maybe one day,” he says, those kind of games will open an E3 press conference. For now, though, it’s a market that Ubisoft is active in, but is learning a lot about as it grows. “There are so many people playing on PC today so there’s a huge potential market for products which are trying to gather them together in a softer way rather than pushing them to pay €60 or €15 per month “This trend will grow, but it’s completely different world from high- end product. I think both will go on growing but the high-end emotion you have in playing Assassin’s Creed on your sofa in front of your big TV with Dolby, you can’t compare it with playing a free-to-play game, it’s a different emotion. “We believe the two markets will
grow. Ghost Recon Onlinelaunched a few weeks ago now, and we feel it can capture a lot of lapsed PC gamers. We feel that with our IPs, technology and graphics, we can create very good quality free-to- play that is equivalent to certain PC games. What is good also with these products is that it takes us to countries we were not touching because there are a lot of regions that cannot afford consoles.”
Free PC title Ghost Recon Online can challenge console shooters, says Corre