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Is Ubisoft Fucked? Will they ever make another hit?
- Thread starter Thebonehead
- Start date
Omnipunctual Godot
Gold Member
They've had bad PR recently due to low-quality "AAAA" games and the blatant pandering of their last few high-profile projects, and that bad PR has snowballed and brought other issues to the forefront.
The brand is definitely damaged, and they won't be able to coast on the prestige of their name like they used to with the cookie-cutter, soulless game slop they're now known for.
The brand is definitely damaged, and they won't be able to coast on the prestige of their name like they used to with the cookie-cutter, soulless game slop they're now known for.
EverydayBeast
ChatGPT 0.1
FalsettoVibe
Member
What forum are you on...
Jibran#one
Member
Shit on them as much as u want but last gen they came up with siege and that was probably multiplayer game of last gen
Also after a year or so for honor was amazing too
I'll be really sad if there is no siege 2
Also after a year or so for honor was amazing too
I'll be really sad if there is no siege 2
Gamerfan81
Member
They can easily win back the community just by making fun and engaging games again. Just leave the politics and social issues at the door.
Arsic
Loves his juicy stink trail scent
They still make good games. Odyssey, Mirage, the new PoP metroidvania.
They just aren’t able to figure out who a core target audience is and what is most important to that audience. They want AAAA that everyone will buy and that isn’t realistic.
I would recommend a rainbow six siege 2. That’s a safe bet. The game is bloated to shit now.
I would also recommend a new splinter cell game or a remake of the first in the vein of a RE2 remake.
Lastly, AC has run its course in a lot of ways. It’s time to deep dive rebooting the franchise entirely with a 5 year development plan using the studio that made AC2 and or black flag.
They just aren’t able to figure out who a core target audience is and what is most important to that audience. They want AAAA that everyone will buy and that isn’t realistic.
I would recommend a rainbow six siege 2. That’s a safe bet. The game is bloated to shit now.
I would also recommend a new splinter cell game or a remake of the first in the vein of a RE2 remake.
Lastly, AC has run its course in a lot of ways. It’s time to deep dive rebooting the franchise entirely with a 5 year development plan using the studio that made AC2 and or black flag.
Laptop1991
Member
Can't see past option 2 in the short/medium term. i don't think Outlaws can be turned around and i don't think AC Shadows will do anywhere near Valhalla numbers.
TGO
Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Honestly I think they should do a Capcom.
Put a lot of focus on no nonsense Remakes of their biggest hits.
Splinter Cell/Prince of Persia/Assassin's Creed 1
Earn back consumers goodwill.
Splinter Cell & Prince of Persia you can get a trilogy of Remakes while they sort out their studios and the future of new content going forward.
Put a lot of focus on no nonsense Remakes of their biggest hits.
Splinter Cell/Prince of Persia/Assassin's Creed 1
Earn back consumers goodwill.
Splinter Cell & Prince of Persia you can get a trilogy of Remakes while they sort out their studios and the future of new content going forward.
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Edgelord79
Gold Member
Yes. Corporate leadership will change, company will be sold.
Would take a miracle at this point to course correct a ship of that size.
Would take a miracle at this point to course correct a ship of that size.
Hugare
Gold Member
Such easy money
Low cost (compared to their other games) and high profits
They could reuse a bunch of assets from other AC games for AC 1, same for SC and other Rainbow Six games ....
They only need to make sure that they give the IPs to the right team. They wouldnt be dumb to give PoP to Ubisoft India, for example, right?
Right?
TGO
Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Really should be a top priority but for some reason here we are still waiting.
FunkMiller
Gold Member
They fucked harder than a woman trying to sue them for harassment.
Which is what happens when you produce endless, high budget slop for the masses. Eventually, the masses turn on you.
Which is what happens when you produce endless, high budget slop for the masses. Eventually, the masses turn on you.
digoutyoursoul
Member
Remember when it was revealed what the original Watch Dogs really looked like after the initial trailer. They did the same shit with The Division.
Hawking Radiation
Member
Upper management needs to change before you can expect any meaningful change.
digital_ghost
Member
Is Ubisoft fucked? Will they ever take another hit?
DoobieSoft:
DoobieSoft:
Majima Everywhere System
Member
Ubisoft was doing well with unforced diversity. They used pretty progressive locals and had appropriate main characters. They just went bananas with it.
ZehDon
Gold Member
Even if they started yesterday, their projects take too long to develop to see meaingful changes in their titles released this generation.
Ubisoft failed to evolve and adapt and they're paying for it. I imagine it gets worse before it gets better - and I'm not sure they'll survive through the former to get to the latter.
Ubisoft failed to evolve and adapt and they're paying for it. I imagine it gets worse before it gets better - and I'm not sure they'll survive through the former to get to the latter.
HAYA8U5A
Member
The Lost Crown is one of my favorite games this year so they are not completely incompetent but they seem completely incapable of learning. Even before the DEI stuff the UbiBloat was a problem and they would just stubbornly bloat and bloat even more with each game. If they refuse to learn from their mistakes and instead double down then fuck them and let them dig their own grave. And essentially telling Japan they know their history better than them because of the historians they hired sure was something.
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diffusionx
Gold Member
Odyssey came out in 2018. it’s an old game. And lost crown was good but did not do well.
Danny Dudekisser
I paid good money for this Dynex!
Haven't all of the high-profile games they've been talking about (save AC Shadows, obviously) shipped? I'm not sure where they pull something out of. Whatever they have in the works internally is no doubt following the same busted model that led them to this point. They'll probably tweak the business model and launch on Steam to appear more palatable, but in terms of something that audiences latch onto... let alone having multiple such games? I genuinely don't see it, even if I set aside my Ubisoft hate boner. It's really hard to shift the tenor of games with this sort of scale.
Thebonehead
Gold Member
So far the overall consensus is that they are indeed fucked.
Meanwhile Ubisofts board decided to climb the company's tallest building to get a better perspective on their games and the issues they're facing. They made it halfway up before realising they'd forgotten to check their privilege, and went back down to fetch the dei consultants.
Meanwhile Ubisofts board decided to climb the company's tallest building to get a better perspective on their games and the issues they're facing. They made it halfway up before realising they'd forgotten to check their privilege, and went back down to fetch the dei consultants.
leonokarin
Member
If they can’t produce good products, they should be eliminated. I hope they succeed.
MMaRsu
Member
Dont believe their nonsense. They aren't doing that
WhamBamThankYouMaam
Member
*climbs up tower to check the map*
Yeah, the are fucked. Off to catch flying notes, cheers!
Yeah, the are fucked. Off to catch flying notes, cheers!
Thanks I will, however I will levy the EXACT same criticism you levied at me if you truly belive that DEI, not the FUCKTON of other major things that screw developers, workers and gamers majorly in the game industry, some practices going back to it's very inception, is an actual major problem in the gaming industry.
That to me, speaks of ignorance so blistering, it is truly mind-boggling. But if people want to believe DEI is the boogeyman they want it to be and keep getting fucked in the ass by the gaming industry practices, have at it.
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I went a little hot on the first comment, but I'll try to respond to this one better.
So, after all you've seen gaming companies done in the past couple years, and all the messed up shit you see companies do and continue to do, your deduction at the end of the day, is that DEI is the problem?
"gamers first company, not ideology"
Making a statement like this is truly nonsensicaL as well. It's just amazing really. I mean I do assume people know how corporations work, how advertising works, how demographics work, how 'widening demographics' works, how 'salespeak' and 'corporate talk' work, and that people could not seriously be that ignorant as to believe a statement like that as an actual belief from a company. Or that shareholders actually do believe in such things.
Only belief from shareholders is simply this.
MINIMISE RISK. MAXIMISE PROFIT*
(*dependent on the company and type of product)
Spending hundreds of million on a game that you do not own the IP for, will be problematic when you want to do remasters, remakes, when you want to fully capitalise on merchandise opportunities(which I would be surprised if Disney absconds with all sales related to this per their contract), that you expend thousands on manhours on which could have gone to something more profitable, to then fail, is very antithetical to that.
Ubisoft could be making an all black/hispanic/asian/native american, all trangsgender game about cleaning the forest and fighting social injustice and shareholders wouldn't give a rat's ass if it made bank.
But they will care about a company crapping out bombs or underperformers when they see it has a stable of IPs that it could be leveraging to make more money instead.
Ironically enough, the shareholders are probably gonna turn into Ubisoft into what we all thought they were and accuse them of and people are championing them into it.
At the end of the day I don't care what happens to Ubisoft, but man, it would be so funny to me if that does indeed happen. Shareholders push Ubisoft enough into getting Tencent or Saudi PIF into buying them and they just crank out samey, formulaic,(and using your words here) "production line" games until they eventually fold. Well...I guess it wouldn't be that different from today. But an even more risk averse Ubisoft would be ...something to behold. I suppose I could have gone more into corporations and how it relates to anything remotely socially conscious, but this is already a long ass reply and it would be wasted anyway.
BlackTron
Gold Member
Didn't buy a game? Literal Nazi.
thegame983
Member
When they do make great games they don't know to follow up on it.
like where the fuck is the Division 3? Oh right, they decided to make a bland Star Wars game instead. Idiots.
like where the fuck is the Division 3? Oh right, they decided to make a bland Star Wars game instead. Idiots.
captainnapalm
Member
How cool would it be if Ubisoft just said 'fuck it' let's get back to doing what we used to do. Hire all the talented guys they fired and just started making badass games aimed at guys again. They'd get bad press but gamers would love them - including all the fans of their old franchises. They'll never do it but it would turn their fortunes around.
RJMacready73
Simps for Amouranth
Black Flag remake... $$$ roll in
HerjansEagleFeeder
Member
They'll probably be bought once they've lost enough market value. Hopefully by a company that understands how to truly revitalize this operation. Kinda feel bad for the many talented and nice people working there, but it is what it is. I think they have a lot of great IP with tons of potential. Won't be happening, of course, but I'd like to see them a) completely halt any development of products in any way associated with the Assassin's Creed IP (not indefinitely) b) start fresh with either new IP or old IP that haven't been burned to the ground, yet c) replace management with experienced pros from elsewhere in the industry (not outsiders) d) make sure work culture in the dev teams can reboot and heal, killing all DEI/ESG/woke elements
Angry_Megalodon
Member
Yes, DEI is the sole reason the company hires incompetent people for strategic roles, spreading across the whole organization. Good performers make companies thrive, bad performers sink them. It's shocking that we need to remember basic company management in 2024.
This is happening everywhere, one of the reasons why our society is collapsing.
Nikodemos
Member
That was quite disappointing to see, especially since it launched on Switch, where platformers are still reasonably popular.
I suspect the main culprit is a launch price that was $10 dollars too high.
"Yes, DEI is the sole reason the company hires incompetent people for strategic roles,"
Lol, TF. You seriously think DEI is the SOLE reason why imcompetent people get hired? Jesus Christ, you people have jobs and have actually been in the working world correct? You have NEVER seen an incompetent hire that wasn't DEI? Incompetent hires have always been synonymous with the working world, before DEI was even conceived of.
DEI doesn't even guarantee higher up positions or 'strategic roles', and it's not even a mandate(there is no 'DEI law', just your bog standard anti-discrimination laws), just guidelines that companies(or schools, where I'm mostly familiar with concerning one of my jobs) can CHOOSE to follow and each have their own internal targets which they can choose to hit or not. And they can choose to hit it anyway they want to, since they don't actually have to hire X amount of black people, X amount of women, X amount of Native American, X amount of POC etc.
SMALL EDIT: ALso note that DEI encompasses much more than hiring practices.
Man, this is why I stay out of those 'woke', DEI type threads, cause this is the type of stuff that throws me. The type of nonsense people believe in and work themselves up over. They complain about SJWs and SJW rhetoric, and still resort to SJW shit but on their own terms.
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Chuck Berry
Gold Member
Yeah, delete the black lead in the middle of Black History Month. Score!
He ain’t going anywhere. And releasing the game at that particular time I wouldn’t be surprised is part of the business strategy. They probably figure he’ll be shielded from criticism.
Angry_Megalodon
Member
Ok, swap "sole" for "main". Or remove that word altogether. My point still stands. DEI makes companies hire incompetent people for key roles. It's objectively bad for business. There's a direct relation between the implementation of DEI and bad financial results. In the case of Ubisoft, it's a perfect match.
I'd love to see examples of DEI making companies more profitable. Even if we remove the cultural angle, from a business perspective this is nonsense.
RPCGamer
Neophyte
They cornered themselves by spending two generations mostly only producing safe titles that they know will sell millions. Others are just as guilty of this, but they've been able to fall back on nostalgia with a much wider catalogue of games for the remake or remaster treatment.
Now they're in a position of very little to do. What they have is not having the impact it once had, and they need a certain level of money coming in to support the large number of staff they have. Like a lot of triple A, they'll either downsize dramatically or get bought in the end.
Now they're in a position of very little to do. What they have is not having the impact it once had, and they need a certain level of money coming in to support the large number of staff they have. Like a lot of triple A, they'll either downsize dramatically or get bought in the end.
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Johnny Concrete
Member
For starters, they should go back to making 1 game per studio. I don't believe for a second that having 8 studio's all over the world working on the same game is actually manageable or resource efficient.
And those studio's all make new IP's and new ideas. You can still output big quality games, just not the 200 hour, 50 square km open worlds with 20 hours of cinematics.
Like one studio making a platformer, other a turn based RPG, another a FPS game, etc. You cover most genres and not everything will be a big hit, but overall you get a good ROI. And Ubisoft would be seen as a group of creative studio's once again.
And those studio's all make new IP's and new ideas. You can still output big quality games, just not the 200 hour, 50 square km open worlds with 20 hours of cinematics.
Like one studio making a platformer, other a turn based RPG, another a FPS game, etc. You cover most genres and not everything will be a big hit, but overall you get a good ROI. And Ubisoft would be seen as a group of creative studio's once again.
Buggy Loop
Member
Why would you pay money to get cancer?
captainnapalm
Member
We've had DEI scandals go right to the very top of academia, like with the firing of Harvard's president for plagiarism. But by all means, continue to underplay the extent of the problem. At least in the past, not hiring on merit was seen as a bad thing.
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