Assassin’s Creed Slays 2.5 Million
I may have thought that Assassin’s Creed left much to be desired, but that doesn’t mean PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 owners agreed.
Ubisoft announced today that the game has completely surpassed its own sales forecasts, going on to sell about 2.5 million copies worldwide for both consoles in less than four weeks. Consequently, the publisher anticipates it will sell at least five million units in 2007-08, up from its previous estimate of three million.
Yves Guillemot, Ubisoft CEO, was rather pleased:
“With the exceptional performance of Assassin’s Creed, the fastest-selling new video game intellectual property in the US ever, Ubisoft’s teams have once again demonstrated their expertise in creating and promoting major brands. These regular-sequel franchises are a source of very high profitability both in the short and long term. Drawing on its strong internal development capacities, Ubisoft is currently in an ideal position to continue to develop numerous new creations – an essential condition for winning market share and ensuring strong growth going forward.”
With these strong numbers to thank, Ubisoft revised its financial outlook for fiscal 2007-08, anticipating its sales revenue will now top $1.227 billion worldwide, up from $1.206 billion previously, with a little less than half of that from Q3 sales alone.
Feeling rather proud of itself, the publisher went on to outline its initial forecasts for 2008-09, claiming it will achieve sales of approximately $1.425 billion, noting the imminent launch of four new franchises including Tom Clancy’s EndWar and seven soon-to-be released entries in existing series, including Splinter Cell and Far Cry.
Finally, the company revealed that it will be releasing Tom Clancy’s EndWar, Brother’s in Arms: Hell’s Highway, and Far Cry 2 sometime in fiscal 2008-2009 (no earlier than April 2008). Those three games were previously slated for Q4 2007-08 release.
Ubisoft’s marketing machine was in overdrive for almost two years with Assassin’s Creed and it looks like those efforts paid off tenfold. If anyone questioned the development of a sequel, those doubts should be put to rest.