Ubisoft: "We won't be showing off any Nintendo games at E3 this year"

[1] US 8th Gen LTD
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[2] US Handheld TTM HW
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Not sure what exactly is baffling.

Probably because I'm not just looking to cherrypick numbers from the United States, thanks for sharing though.
 
You're right. They're not equivalent at all. The Sony drop off lost Sony more money in a year than they made in the previous four. Meanwhile, Nintendo hasn't even lost one year of Wii profits after three years of losses.

Nintendo made more money and retained more profits than Sony, sure, but Nintendo's market-share disappeared quicker and faster than Sony. like i said in a previous post, money is irrelevant, if you have no market-share whats the point is releasing consoles. obviously Nintendo has some semblance of market-share, but how long is that even going to last considering the trend of console sales declining every generation. at worst Sony has a red vs black issue but has market-share to redeem itself in terms of profitability, i see Nintendo's issue of relevance a much tougher issue to reconcile.

In terms of profit, Sony's drop off was worse. But I think he was referring to PS2 -> PS3 unit sales, for which PS3 sold ~50% of PS2's install base. For reference, Wii U will likely sell ~10% of Wii's install base when it's all said and done.

thanks, that's exactly what i meant.
 
you caught me.. im part of the Nintendo conspiracy...
and of course console publishers have peaks, but it's not realistic to expect either Nintendo or Sony to hit the Wii and PS2 type sales again any time soon. but to say that Sony's drop off is equivalent to the sort of decline Nintendo's seen is disingenuous. and while i think it's unlikely that PS4 will reach PS3 lifetime sales, it's not guaranteed Sony wont come very close.
lol

It's possible that some miracle game could propel the PS4 towards PS3's LTD in the contracting young male market, but it's not likely(Just like MK8 giving WiiU some sort of miraculous resurrection for the rest of it's life cycle isn't very likely)

Also the PS2 to PS3 drop off is equivalent to the SNES to N64 drop off. That's a pretty big decline. I don't understand how it's disingenuous to point out that information. :/
 
I actually really really do think many publishers do indeed see that audience as "beneath them." Even Nintendo has demonstrated across both 3DS and Wii U that they only really go after the non-traditional market when they need to save face.

I mean, for every one really good effort on Wii from a major publisher, there were at least 4-5 on other platforms. Development culture is pretty fundamentally skewed in that way, and I think we're going to wind up seeing that intensify with these new platforms.

No one is going to say no to profits, but they tend to only reluctantly say yes. (Notice how we don't really find out about big hits from these publishers' mobile teams?)
 
Unless it isn't coming out for Wii U, which is a big possibility.

The comment said Nintendo games. Just Dance for the Wii is still the best selling sku. No Just Dance 2015 for the Wii would be death to the franchise. And a simple port of to the Wii U isn't hard.

Yeah, you guys are just reading to much into this comment.
 
I disagree on the doomed part. You can't lose practically all of the money you made on the Wii in a few years and not be in line for major, major changes.

That's nonsense. They've yet to even lose one year's worth of Wii profits in the past three. Don't exaggerate to push a narrative. It weakens said narrative.

Unless it isn't coming out for Wii U, which is a big possibility.

You're trying too hard. Ubi isn't this stupid. The Wii version of JD 2014 outsold all others combined I'm pretty sure. And the Wii U SKU was at least competitive with the other platforms if not beating some of them.

Ubisoft would only completely drop Nintendo from JD if they hate money.
 
Well, less third party support like always. At least we'll have new Nintendo games....Right?

I sure am enjoying mine. While I can only speak for myself, I don't want a third console doing the same thing as the other two that are available, while sharing most of the same games. Being the odd man out has ironically made Nintendo more than relevant to me again.
 
I sure am enjoying mine. While I can only speak for myself, I don't want a third console doing the same thing as the other two that are available, while sharing most of the same games. Being the odd man out has ironically made Nintendo more than relevant to me again.
I can respect where you're coming from

However, I'd personally love for Nintendo to communicate with 3rd party companies(Western or not) who are interested in creating 2D/3D platformers, Zelda-like action games, and kart racers(Believe it or not, they actually exist). it would give their console a lot of momentum, and we'd get even more "Nintendo-like" games from different companies. It would sort of be equivalent to what's going down on SONY/MS's consoles, but with games that Nintendo fans and casuals/families/kids really love to play.

I can always get a Playstation for Mass Effect n stuff.
 
As long as they release games like Child of Light and Rayman on Wii U I'll be happy. I don't really care for their core games (Assassin's Creed, Watch Dogs,etc) and they are avaible on PC anyway.
 
Has anyone pointed out that Nintendo skipping their E3 press conference this year may weigh in this decision? Even if Ubi has some stuff coming for the Wii U, Nintendo not making it a focus during their usual press conference may be an issue.
 
Has anyone pointed out that Nintendo skipping their E3 press conference this year may weigh in this decision? Even if Ubi has some stuff coming for the Wii U, Nintendo not making it a focus during their usual press conference may be an issue.
I don't follow. Is this a thinly veiled "lol Nintendo is skipping E3" post? Lol
 
I'm sorry, are you asking how it's cherrypicking to show hardware sales results from only one country, or were you unclear on the fact those are U.S.-only numbers?

Japan isn't relevant to Ubisoft's business model so Wii U sales there don't matter for this discussion, and we don't have exact sell-through numbers for Europe. So no, it is not cherry-picking. Especially when you consider huge the American market it for the industry as a whole. It isn't like we're talking about sales in Lithuania here.
 
I don't follow. Is this a thinly veiled "lol Nintendo is skipping E3" post? Lol

That's really what you got out of that?

But anyway, Nintendo skipping their E3 press conference means that all their publishing partners miss a chance at a guaranteed spotlight during a major press conference at arguably the largest gaming event of the year.
 
Probably because I'm not just looking to cherrypick numbers from the United States, thanks for sharing though.

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Feel free to provide these expansive numbers you're privy to showing the massive market for Western publishers' games on the 3DS/handhelds or the runaway success of the Wii U relative to the PS4 and XBO.
 
Not necessarily you, but some people do characterize it as something personal or irrational.

Just Dance was a project well-aligned to the audience on the Wii though, even if it was a low budget/risk affair. Skylanders is probably another example. EA tried to modify their titles in ways they thought would appeal to the audience, and I think that was roundly rejected. Mixed success.

With regard to indies, I'd say they typically want to be on as many platforms as is possible given limited resources. They're not really looking at opportunity cost in the multi-millions etc in terms of ROI. They don't really have to answer to investors for growth and profitability etc. A lot of the time they have a guaranteed market through the likes of Kickstarter to confirm their platform choices. Visibility is probably better on the eShop given limited competition.

Some larger publishers are exploring mobile as an avenue to reach those gamers. Square-Enix wants its own Puzzles and Dragons. EA spent a 3/4 of a billion acquiring PopCap and I doubt EA would be unhappy had it made Candy Crush. They want those dollars, but haven't had the best success in gaining them.
I think to a degree developers themselves don't want to make certain types of titles, even under publisher mandate. But I don't know if it's right to characterize it as seeing such gamers as "beneath them."
They're generally having better luck from this angle too.

DQM:SL is doing well, and EA's mobile revenue has hit $500 million a year.
 
DS software beating out the Vita, WiiU, and X1?

What the hell are those britbongs buying?
Bargain bin/catalog titles.
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They're generally having better luck from this angle too.

DQM:SL is doing well, and EA's mobile revenue has hit $500 million a year.
Ubisoft seem to be trying to do the same in terms of software like their CSI licensed games, assuming "other" refers to those revenues. But they've a long ways to go in terms of filling the void left by the decline of the NDS.

Code:
Rev (Euros)	FY14	FY13	FY12	FY11	FY10
Handhelds	10.071	37.686	42.452	62.328	156.78
"Others"	30.213	25.124	42.452	31.164	17.42

EDIT: Although, I imagine the Others revenue is higher margin.
 
Colour me surprised, no one on their right mind would keep pouring money and effort into such a lost cause, and even less when the HW maker you're supporting doesn't give a shit about it.
 
Nintendo, step yo game up! You have to learn from this gen. I fear they are taking the wrong lesson from this situation though. It's great they are combining architectures so they have greater output on both handheld and home console but I hope they don't pull away from third parties further thinking their internal output is all that is needed. As a gamer it's hard to see how far Nintendo has dropped...

Still love my Wii U and think it has some amazing exclusives.
 
Japan isn't relevant to Ubisoft's business model

I don't understand. Ubisoft sees small sales on the Wii U, and that means the Wii U is a disaster. Ubisoft sees small sales in Japan, so that "isn't relevant."

In a world where Grand Theft Auto can chart in Japan, maybe the issue isn't Nintendo but "Ubisoft's business model," as you put it.

Feel free to provide these expansive numbers you're privy to showing the massive market for Western publishers' games on the 3DS/handhelds or the runaway success of the Wii U relative to the PS4 and XBO.

So are we talking software units in the U.K., or are we talking hardware units in the U.S., or are we talking cash from operations on handhelds in the U.S.? These charts are all apples-to-oranges and, to finish the fruit salad, you're still cherrypicking.

We have global hardware unit estimates and any number of comprehensive sales metrics from quarterly numbers recently released. They show some pretty bad news in the industry all around, and by last estimates, the Wii U and PS4 have sold a congruous number of units worldwide and the Xbox One has sold less. All three of those hardware manufacturers are also doing pretty poorly on the balance sheet, regardless of whatever torqued figures go at the top of their press releases.

But keep posting a bunch of unrelated graphs, please, because the sobering reality won't elicit many LOLOLOLOLOLs.
 
Feel free to tell me what exactly you are talking about, and then go ahead and provide whatever information you deem necessary to validate what it is you're talking about. Because you haven't done anything of the sort yet. You stated some sort of astonishment that people think the Wii U is selling poorly relative to the other two platforms, and some sort of perplexity at the idea that publishers aren't targeting the declining handheld market.

Clearly the decline of handheld sales in the US market which comprises roughly 40% of the global market, and more-so for Western publishers like Ubisoft is entirely irrelevant to Ubisoft's decision making regarding release platforms.

And clearly the decline of handheld software in the UK market, which comprises around 10% of the global market and roughly a quarter of the European market is entirely irrelevant to Ubisoft's decision making regarding release platforms.

Yes, clearly the time frame of sales has no bearing on how well a product is doing. Selling 2M units in 19 months is obviously the same thing as selling 2M units in 2 months.

None of these figures remotely explains any of the rationale behind the thinking that apparently baffles you.

In a world where Ubisoft sells 620K copies of Assassin's Creed IV at launch, with only 6K of those coming from the Wii U - it's clearly Ubisoft's not Nintendo's problem.
 
Probably because I'm not just looking to cherrypick numbers from the United States, thanks for sharing though.

Worldwide sales isn't that far off with regards to the sales gap and number of months either.

Didn't you know Nintendo only expects to ship 3.6m units in a year now?

that's awful and doesn't bode well with third parties too.
 
Yes, clearly the time frame of sales has no bearing on how well a product is doing. Selling 2M units in 19 months is obviously the same thing as selling 2M units in 2 months.

What matters to Ubisoft is how many hardware units are out in the six months following one of its releases, because as anyone who has been to a video game store knows, after the launch period they whittle the prices of their games away to nothing. If you said Ubisoft pursues some sort of long-tail software strategy and the Wii U is just not going to have the sales to accommodate that, while I might disagree with the point in specifics, that is certainly an clear argument. However, Ubisoft does not pursue sustained software sales, at least not at anything resembling full prices.

And that's the contradiction I find baffling -- the idea that what these consoles will have sold in 2016 or 2017 is of any interest to one of the most myopic publishers out there.

This is an odd statement in a post complaining about cherrypicking and comparing apples and oranges

I'm just saying

Fair point, but the larger statement I was trying to make is that any company that writes off a wealthy and interested market of 125 million people because of what they believe is the status quo is not the sort of company that should be lauded for its direction.

If I have to look like a hypocrite to clearly make that point, so be it.

Didn't you know Nintendo only expects to ship 3.6m units in a year now?

that's awful and doesn't bode well with third parties too.

Last year they overestimated, stuck to it quarter after quarter and caught a lot of flak.

This year they reactively lowballed, are clearly looking to beat their estimate and impress investors, and they're catching flak.

I'm not saying that's not fair as it's their job to sell the thing, but I think it's a bit disingenuous to say Nintendo only expects to move 3.6 million Wii Us.
 
I know Wii U isnt selling gangbusters, but have ubisoft released any meaningful games for Nintendo systems that arent Ghost Recon 3DS, Zombi U and Rayman Legends?

Sales figures arent much to write home about, but theyre going to be skewed in platform comparison charts when they arent releasing anything else.
 
I know Wii U isnt selling gangbusters, but have ubisoft released any meaningful games for Nintendo systems that arent Ghost Recon 3DS, Zombi U and Rayman Legends?

Sales figures arent much to write home about, but theyre going to be skewed in platform comparison charts when they arent releasing anything else.
Chicken or the egg.

Publishers don't release games because of low hardware sales, and hardware sales are low because publishers don't release any games.

Same problem as any struggling platform. A slow start is basically an anvil around the neck of any console not named PS3.
 
I know Wii U isnt selling gangbusters, but have ubisoft released any meaningful games for Nintendo systems that arent Ghost Recon 3DS, Zombi U and Rayman Legends?

Sales figures arent much to write home about, but theyre going to be skewed in platform comparison charts when they arent releasing anything else.

Some ports that are missing DLC and/or key features, and are often outsourced.

I'm not saying sales would've knocked anyone's socks off otherwise but treating the Wii U as a nuisance is going to dissuade people from buying the games on the platform.

They also delayed Rayman Legends within what, two months of the console's launch? Ubisoft just has not acted in good faith on the system, regardless of their total releases on Wii U.
 
I agree. Wii U versions have pretty much been given the shaft from day one - the only exception being the exclusive Zombi U which sadly sold poorly.

If the publishers have no confidence in the versions they release, why should I hand over money for them?
 
I know Wii U isnt selling gangbusters, but have ubisoft released any meaningful games for Nintendo systems that arent Ghost Recon 3DS, Zombi U and Rayman Legends?

Sales figures arent much to write home about, but theyre going to be skewed in platform comparison charts when they arent releasing anything else.
I thought Splintercell Blacklist Wii U version was well made, I own that version. It is a dam shame no one else on Wii U bought that or CoDGhost another excellent Wii U 3rd party title.
 
What matters to Ubisoft is how many hardware units are out in the six months following one of its releases
What matters to Ubisoft is both how many units are sold and how much content they can sell on the hardware units of a platform.

You were already given an example in the last post, regarding the US market.
On an installed base of 1.4M Wii U units, ACIV sold 6K units at launch.
On an installed base of 1.1M PS4 units, ACIV sold 270K+ units at launch.
On an installed base of 900K XBO units, ACIV sold 115K+ units at launch.

The Wii U isn't accommodating any sales strategy for these titles, long-tail, short-tail, prehensile tail.
And that's the contradiction I find baffling -- the idea that what these consoles will have sold in 2016 or 2017 is of any interest to one of the most myopic publishers out there.
How many will they have sold? What exactly makes you think Ubisoft doesn't have internal projections? What exactly do your projections that are apparently superior to theirs say that make them "one of the most myopic publishers."
 
What matters to Ubisoft is both how many units are sold and how much content they can sell on the hardware units of a platform.

You were already given an example in the last post, regarding the US market.
On an installed base of 1.4M Wii U units, ACIV sold 6K units at launch.
On an installed base of 1.1M PS4 units, ACIV sold 270K+ units at launch.
On an installed base of 900K XBO units, ACIV sold 115K+ units at launch.

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that's quite the sales gap between Wii U and the new consoles.
 
I'm sorry, are you asking how it's cherrypicking to show hardware sales results from only one country, or were you unclear on the fact those are U.S.-only numbers?

You're right, he should've used European numbers instead, even though they're far worse than the US ones... The Wii U did so terribly in Europe that Nintendo reported negative shipped units in one quarter last year.
 
It's irrational to suggest that Ubisoft did themselves no favors on the Wii U? And again, Ubisoft doesn't have to bother, but if they do, they may as well try in earnest to provide worthwhile content at a reasonable rate comparable to other platforms. Why bother at all if you're not going to try to maximize your profit potential and growth potential on the platform?

Give me a break. Ubisoft was the only third publisher who put a lot of efforts into the WiiU. They made a core exclusive game for it.
 
Give me a break. Ubisoft was the only third publisher who put a lot of efforts into the WiiU. They made a core exclusive game for it.

Activision arguably have put more effort into Wii U as far as making multiplatform parity releases. Ubisoft have made one exclusive and a few multiplatform games have been given the shaft via delays (Rayman, Watchdogs).
 
Activision arguably have put more effort into Wii U as far as making multiplatform parity releases. Ubisoft have made one exclusive and a few multiplatform games have been given the shaft via delays (Rayman, Watchdogs).
Activision will place their licensed shovelware on a banana if they could.

At least Ubisoft has put some quality games on the WiiU such as Rayman and Child of Light
 
Nintendo thought they could get core-targeted multiplatform titles to sell on Wii U without actually doing anything as a first party to cultivate an audience for that type of software. Sorry, that is both a bad strategy and extremely stupid.

I'm kinda weary of repeating myself all the time, but you're not correct in your perspective. Recognize what Nintendo is first. They do not have the mission statement or in house talent to make what you're calling "core targeted games," so they do things like publish Ninja Gaiden RE, pay for and announce Bayo 2, pay marketing for games like zombiu, add clicky sticks to controller because third parties ask for it, incentize development for things likr WD and the titles I mention in the last post. Did it work? Ultimately no. Was it extremely stupid? Maybe in hindsight since it failed but its not like they were winging it. They made some bad bets and the Wii u failed to take off, and Nintendo will re evaluate and try again
 
Activision arguably have put more effort into Wii U as far as making multiplatform parity releases. Ubisoft have made one exclusive and a few multiplatform games have been given the shaft via delays (Rayman, Watchdogs).

Assasins Creed 3, Assasins creed 4, Splinter Cell, Zombi U, Child of Light.

UbiSoft have given Wii U more support than any other major 3rd party dev.
 
You've got to be kidding me.
The NES, SNES, GB, and GBA were all exclusively aimed at kids. The Wii/DS was exclusively aimed at casual gamers, kids, and families. When ever Nintendo ignores the young male audience they tend to be pretty successful.
The N64, and NGC saw their largest loss in market share and it makes sense when you consider who Nintendo's key demographic is.



It really isn't
The PS3 was a pretty big drop off from the PS2, and you better believe the PS4 isn't gonna get anywhere near PS3's LTD. Plus, the Xbox one isn't looking like it's going to be reaching 360's LTD any time soon as well.
That argument ignores so many different factors just for the sake of getting across an agenda.

The PS4 is outpacing every other console ever.
 
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