Ubisoft’s CEO Yves Guillemot is eagerly anticipating the next generation, reminiscing of a time when console cycles only lasted five years. While Guillemot acknowledges that console launches may be expensive for the manufacturers (not to mention consumers), their presence allows developers to take more risks and innovate. Battlefield 3 developer DICE echoed a similar sentiment last year, criticizing dated, current console hardware for limiting developers.
Guillemot stays away from the technology debate, instead making reference to software sales. Developers are more likely to create new IPs in the beginning of a console cycle, as consumers are more likely to purchase new software. Over time however, software sales begin to dip, and it becomes difficult to justify the launch of new IPs.
Ubisoft’s fondness for new hardware can be seen with the launch of the PS Vita, the Kinect and the upcoming Wii U. The publisher was out in full force with the Vita, and have already announced seven titles for Nintendo’s Wii successor. Surprisingly, Ubisoft has kept R&D costs to a minimum while developing for the Wii U, which can be attributed to most games being ports of PS3/Xbox 360 titles.
With the Wii U launching this fall, and EA suggesting the PS4/Xbox 720 are coming next year, we can only hope that Ubisoft’s definition of innovation includes Beyond Good and Evil 2. Please?
For the other five games, you are talking about small budget, I’d say of less than a million Euro to make some of the ports, I would estimate. So together I don’t think we have a huge investment on the Wii U."
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Sources: Gamasutra, Polygon
