Ubisoft: Annual Releases "Keeps The Brand In People's Minds"
Assassin's Creed IIISome people aren't big fans of the "annualization" of video game franchises, arguing that rapid-fire releases can impact product quality.
Well, Assassin's Creed developer Ubisoft says that yes, in fact, it's all about quality, but there's still a definite upside to launching a new series iteration on an annual basis: It keeps the brand "in people's minds."
Ubisoft Montreal creative director Alex Hutchinson spoke at GDC Europe about the subject and as reported by Eurogamer, he says if the quality is there, why shouldn't they release a new entry every year? Said Hutchinson:
"I find it strange we've decided yearly is too often. If Radiohead put out an album every month, I'd buy it. It's about the quality."
They can also "keep telling the story," which makes the franchise feel more continuous, and he likened the difference between Assassin's Creed II and Assassin's Creed III to the gap between Call of Duty and Medal of Honor. Basically, he says his team treated this year's AC as an "entirely new franchise," which we don't necessarily doubt. Also, it's important to note that if a brand name lingers too long and doesn't remain active, popularity can take a nose-dive...
Anybody recall the lower-than-anticipated sales of Max Payne 3 and Twisted Metal just this year...?
Tags: ubisoft, annual game releases, assassins creed, assassins creed sequel
8/15/2012 8:54:11 PM Ben Dutka
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Comments (17 posts)
WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, August 15, 2012 @ 10:27:22 PM
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5 up, 0 down
kraygen
Wednesday, August 15, 2012 @ 11:24:54 PM
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Not a fan, but apparently I'm in the minority because all these annual games seem to sell more than any others. Call of Duty for instance.
0 up, 0 down
BikerSaint
Thursday, August 16, 2012 @ 12:30:32 AM
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Gamers may forgive but we don't forget(or at least I'm one that doesn't forget).
0 up, 1 down
Fane1024
Thursday, August 16, 2012 @ 6:56:26 PM
1 up, 0 down
Beamboom
Thursday, August 16, 2012 @ 12:41:23 AM
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He compares it to music - something I think is ridiculous cause they are not comparable. Music is something you can play in the background while doing other things. Games are not like that at all.
Games should rather be compared with movies. And if there was a new James Bond movie every single year, no matter how good they were I *would* grow tired of them.
Last edited by Beamboom on 8/16/2012 12:43:24 AM
2 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, August 16, 2012 @ 1:15:50 AM
2 up, 0 down
Rogueagent01
Thursday, August 16, 2012 @ 1:27:42 AM
He used music in his example, I think that was a mistake as many bands choose to take long breaks in between albums and guess what, they still have their fans. Tool is a prime example they release an album normally around every 5 years and their fan base has done nothing but get bigger.
I'm starting to really wonder what Ubi is thinking in this last year, and I am nervous that they are starting to go down a very slippery slope that is very hard to climb out of once you reach the bottom. I just hope they catch their mistakes before it is to late.
2 up, 0 down
Beamboom
Thursday, August 16, 2012 @ 8:30:02 AM
But not even my absolute favourite game franchises, like anything from Bioware or Fallout or Bioshock, would survive an annual release. It would be way too much!
@Rogue: Ah, "oversaturation" is the word of course. Yeah.
I like Ubisoft and think most of what that babe is saying is worth listening to, but I don't see this statement here as more than plain marketing speech to back their release plan.
Last edited by Beamboom on 8/16/2012 8:31:45 AM
0 up, 0 down
Lawless SXE
Thursday, August 16, 2012 @ 3:40:50 AM
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Seriously, you bring out a new entry every year and things have to get tired sooner or later.
As for AC3 being treated as a new franchise, does this mean that we'll be subject to a continuation of the story of Connor for the next two or three years? Joy...
1 up, 0 down
bigrailer19
Thursday, August 16, 2012 @ 9:22:01 AM
Although I did hear that AC3 is meant to be the last for Desmonds story, so...
Last edited by bigrailer19 on 8/16/2012 9:22:51 AM
0 up, 0 down
___________
Thursday, August 16, 2012 @ 4:12:56 AM
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half life 3 has not been out for centuries, yet the brand is still "in gamers minds"!
every year is too short for a game like AC, you cant create the experience you need to deliver in a single year!
theres a reason why brotherhood was pretty crap, and revelations was awesome!
the team who did brotherhood had 1 year to make it!
the team who did revelations was actually the team who did 2 so they had 2 years to work on it, the team who did brotherhood was a different team within ubisoft montreal.
0 up, 1 down
Ultimadream
Thursday, August 16, 2012 @ 4:43:36 AM
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1 up, 0 down
wackazoa
Thursday, August 16, 2012 @ 9:42:54 AM
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Last edited by wackazoa on 8/16/2012 9:43:03 AM
0 up, 0 down
Beamboom
Thursday, August 16, 2012 @ 9:53:39 AM
;)
0 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, August 16, 2012 @ 1:12:05 PM
0 up, 0 down
bigrailer19
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Wednesday, August 15, 2012 @ 9:33:05 PM
CoD on the other hand is slowly getting worse. Not rapidly as the series is still great in my opinion. But none of the games compare Modern Warfare so case in point. The online is always good don't get me wrong, it's fun, and exciting but again the developers keep going for over the top, when Modern Warfare succeeded with simplicity.
Keep the quality up or increasing and annual releases can be a great thing to look forward too.
Last edited by bigrailer19 on 8/15/2012 9:33:37 PM