Ubisoft: The New Leader

Navneet Prakash, Dec 12, 2006 1700 hrs IST

Let's have an overview of the exceptional work that Ubisoft has done and continues to do in the realm of games.

EXPERT REVIEW

Ok! let's play a little game that I like to call, "Guess who". Let's start then; guess who has some of the biggest gaming titles in the world? Guess who hires some of the biggest names in the industry? Guess who has industry favorites like Rayman, Prince, Sam Fisher, and Jack Carver on their side? Well, if you haven't guessed it yet, you better go play another game I call, "You-are-dumber-than you look". I am talking about Ubisoft, one of the most celebrated publishers in the history of gaming. This feature will try to give you some insight on the exceptional work that Ubisoft has done and continues to do. Read on to know more about Ubisoft.

The Untold Story

Ubisoft is a game publisher and developer with their headquarters in France, although they operate in more than 20 countries. The company came into existence in 1986 and collaborated with many major publishers. During that time, the character of Rayman was created, remember Rayman, the legless, armless, funny-looking character? The game based on Rayman was a major success; it was the dark horse that said the Ubisoft has arrived.

What makes Ubisoft so unique is the fact that they have great vision; the company has set standards that can be rivaled by only a few. A company is made by its product, in Ubisoft's case it's games. But when you have titles like Prince of Persia, Splinter Cell, FarCry, you need not worry. All of the above mentioned games were released in and around 2003, making that a very special year for Ubisoft and for gamers. The gamers world over were overwhelmed with these mind-boggling titles. Not only did the company make new friends in gaming but also made major bucks.

Ubisoft's revenue for 2002-2003 was 453 Million Euros; for fiscal year 2003-2004, this grew to 508 Million Euros. As of 2004, Ubisoft employs more than 2,350 people, of which over 1700 are classed as working in production. Ubisoft also bought the Driver franchise from Atari in July 2006, for a sum of 19 Million Euros (USD$ 24 Million) in cash for the franchise, technology rights, and most assets. Let's briefly read about a few of the major success that Ubisoft can boast about.

USER COMMENTS

somehow i think Id software is the leader. Nobody beats Doom and Quake. And Valve - neither Half life

by gamer_guy, mumbai, on Jul 01, 2009 11:59 AM, Report abuse Reply

I think you have missed some very important facts here. Ubisoft is also working on a new Prince of Persia (POP4), a new Splinter cell (called Splinter cell conviction), Far Cry2, a Naruto game and some others. Although Ubisoft never announced about some of these games, pictures of concept are and many other images were leaked from Ubisoft server and I also have most of the pics. As far as I can tell by looking at those pics, these games look great. And ya, if someone wants, i will send them to ur mail.

by kamalIITB, mumbai, on Dec 14, 2006 03:59 PM, Report abuse Reply

Is there any "official" info that they ARE working on POP4..?? If so, please share the link. 'Coz I loved that game... It was so immersive that whenever I played, I got the real feeling of being IN the game as a real Prince. I hope UBI doesn't let fans like me down...

by Chandra, Chennai, on Dec 14, 2006 09:33 PM, Report abuse

As I said, they never officially announced. But due to their own mistake, approximately 2GB of data was leaked from their FTP server and it cantained many pics and vids. Ubisoft issued some statements, saying that such processes could hinder the development of those games. I have uploaded these here- http://hosted.filefront.com/kittoo4202004/ I think now u do believe that they are working.

by kamalIITB, mumbai, on Dec 14, 2006 11:30 PM, Report abuse

Hi that was really nice.Can u send me the pics u hv on the new games under hammer from Ubisoft server.

by darkforce13, GHaziabad, on Jan 03, 2007 12:19 AM, Report abuse

My name is parikshit.I want to save in my computer.This game is available in free or not.

by parikshit, surat/India, on Dec 24, 2006 08:35 PM, Report abuse Reply

XII is my favourite from ubisoft... But it is missing in this article :-(

by Nik, Bangalore, on Dec 20, 2006 10:04 AM, Report abuse Reply

hellloo....Crytek opted EA as their publishers for theit upcomming Crysis!! instead of Ubisoft

by lakka, del, on Dec 17, 2006 05:39 PM, Report abuse Reply

The major title for UBISOFT is gonna be CRYSIS which is gonna be on DX10 technology and that game really looks amazing.......

by Vineet Nayar, New Delhi, on Dec 17, 2006 04:48 PM, Report abuse Reply

Nice Article though! Good Work..

by Gdn | TD, Chennai, on Dec 16, 2006 07:27 PM, Report abuse Reply

In my opinion, ChessMaster 10th edition is also a quite popular product by Ubisoft. Hence it deserves highlight in the article which it didn't get.

by Prafulla, Pune, on Dec 13, 2006 09:50 AM, Report abuse Reply

Yes. BGE was a great game.

by kamalIITB, mumbai, on Dec 14, 2006 03:52 PM, Report abuse

the best game i have ever played in PC is Prince of Persia Series

by pra_06, Delhi, on Dec 13, 2006 05:33 PM, Report abuse Reply

DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDEEEE assassins creed is gonna be friggin brilliant cant wait for it.... ubisoft has nicely so far i guess... with the splintercell , pop, farcry n brother in arms series... all in all good job

by Kamdar, Mumbai, on Dec 13, 2006 03:19 PM, Report abuse Reply

Do they hire in India

by DesTinY, Bangalore, on Dec 13, 2006 11:33 AM, Report abuse Reply

ever heard of will rock it will rockl u guys

by vafasf, asdsa, on Dec 13, 2006 10:19 AM, Report abuse Reply

IMO, Will rock was a disgrace!!! A poor SS clone!!! and yeah, Beyonf good or evil should be on that list....

by Nikhil, Delhi, on Dec 13, 2006 11:21 AM, Report abuse

Though it sold very poorly Beyond Good and Evil made by Ubisoft was another brilliant game brought to us by Michel Ancel

by Shantesh Patil, Pune, on Dec 13, 2006 08:18 AM, Report abuse Reply

Yes, i agree with you, they should have included that game in this article.

by Prasath, Chennai, on Dec 13, 2006 08:47 AM, Report abuse

wow..good one Navneet