INTERVIEW YVES GUILLEMOT, UBISOFT
UBISOFT VS THE WORLD
The publishing giant has found itself under more scrutiny as ever as it closes the gap on becoming the biggest games company on the planet. Christopher Dring meets European head Alain Corre and CEO Yves Guillemot
C
orrupting journalists. Misrepresenting women. Misleading gamers... even
a bizarre accusation of racism. Ubisoft has been criticised quite a bit lately. Some of the complaints have
been fair, others have been absolute nonsense but regardless, the organisation behind Assassin’s Creed and Just Dance has found itself under intense scrutiny over the last few months.
And for good reason. Ubisoft is no longer that charming European business that likes to experiment with odd games, but a publishing powerhouse with a line-up that comfortably rivals anyone. Suddenly CEO Yves Guillemot’s 2011 comment – where he said Ubisoft could topple EA as the world’s biggest games company – doesn’t seem so ludicrous. “What matters for us is bringing in new creativity, innovation and
taking on EA, but you can’t blame him for pointing at its games. Ubisoft’s 2014 line-up includes new titles in its biggest franchises – Assassin’s Creed, Just Dance and Far Cry – experimental new concepts such as Just Dance Now and Rabbids Invasion, plus an entirely new racing game called The Crew, which is co-developed in the UK at Ubisoft Reflections.
I can’t say now if Watch Dogs will be an annual release. We will see in time how it works out.
Yves Guillemot, Ubisoft
trying to find ways to bring more fun and emotions to our players,” says the company’s European boss Alain Corre, playing down the firm’s previous bullish assertion. “All of our creators
really have that in mind. It also helps that within our creation process we challenge each other to be better – it’s a very virtuous circle. The motto for us is to bring something fresh,
new and surprising. It works particularly well.” Corre may have been
dodging the question about 04
TOP DOG And of course the firm has already launched the biggest game of the year so far in Watch Dogs. The hacking title was generally well received (though it had little hope of living up to its astronomical expectations) and its sales have been enormous. In just over a week the game sold over half a million units in the UK. It’s the fastest selling new IP in history. “Watch Dogs did a lot better
than we expected sales wise,” says CEO Guillemot. “We are still tweaking some aspects of the gameplay. We’ve built some tools and processes that could make it a huge brand for the company. “We are already doing some
extra content and you will see more and more of the franchise’s possibilities quite soon.” Watch Dogs is a decent game filled with experimental new features. It wasn’t perfect – few new IPs are – but it laid the groundwork for what will surely be a major franchise. Comparisons are already being made between this game and the firm’s other smash hit open world series Assassin’s Creed. So can we expect Watch Dogs to also become an annual event?
“To start with we will take time
on Watch Dogs, to make sure – like with Assassin’s Creed II – we can come back with something that takes full advantage of everything we created in the first game,” says Guillemot. “After that, we will see. I can’t say now if it will be an annual release, we will see in time how it works out depending on the overall ability of the very talented teams that look after the brand.” Says Corre: “Each creative team
that we have has different talents and a different way of working. “With Assassin’s Creed we have
several teams working on it on and off, and so far we have been able to go to the next level with each game. But the quality is at the centre; if we feel that we can bring enough innovation and quality every year then we go for it, otherwise we allow more time so that we can deliver something outstanding.”
THE DELAYS Watch Dogs was part of a triumvirate of new IP Ubisoft has been readying for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One – the other two being The Crew and new open world shooter The Division. And all three games have something else in common: they have all suffered significant delays. Did the complexities of the new consoles take Ubisoft by surprise? “It has been harder. There are so
many things you can do, so many possibilities,” explains Guillemot. “With Watch Dogs, we had to
make sure your mobile works with seamless multiplayer for instance, and with all these things going into our games, it is more complex.
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