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6 CommentsUbisoft announces 18 percent increase in annual sales driven by Assassin's Creed and Far Cry
By Dave Tach on May 15, 2013 05.15.13
Ubisoft's annual sales rose 18 percent and its operating income increased by 79 percent, driven in part by strong sales of games in the Assassin's Creed and Far Cry franchises, according to the company's financial report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013. The report highlights "revenue generated from games for core gamers," which was up 60 percent year-over-year. Ubisoft called out Assassin's Creed 3, which sold more than 12.5 million units, and Far Cry 3, which sold more than 6 million units, as driving the increase. Revenue from casual games shrunk 32 percent year-over-year, though Just Dance 4 sold 8.5 million units. "Online/digital" sales were up 86 percent year-over-year and accounted for 11.7 percent of total sales. Ubisoft expects that the first quarter 2013-2014...
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2 CommentsXbox Live Gold free in the UK this weekend
By Emily Gera on Apr 30, 2013 04.30.13
Xbox Live Gold will be free this weekend for users across the U.K., Xbox U.K. officials announced today. The event is slated to begin a 12 p.m. BST on May 3 until 23:59 p.m. BST on May 5. This will unlock multiplayer functionality on games over the weekend for those who are not already Xbox Live Gold members. A number of offers are also scheduled to run alongside the upcoming free weekend, including double XP events for Gears of War: Judgment, Assassin's Creed 3 and Far Cry 3. Netflix and Lovefilm subscribers will also be able to access the service through their Xbox.
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2 CommentsAssassin's Creed 3 design director joins 22Cans for Godus
By Dave Tach on Apr 26, 2013 04.26.13
Jamie Stowe, previously a design director at Ubisoft Singapore, has joined 22Cans as the independent studio's technical designer, according to his LinkedIn profile. Stowe was the level design director for Assassin's Creed 3's naval and Captain Kidd missions and also worked on Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands while at Ubisoft. Prior to joining Ubisoft, he designed single and multiplayer levels for Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising at Codemasters. "Jamie joins 22cans at a very exciting time and takes the role of technical designer on the current Kickstarter funded project Godus," 22Cans' head of production Jemma Harris told Develop Online, who reported on Stowe's new position earlier today. Godus, the spiritual successor to 22Cans founder Peter Molyneux's Populous, is...
Deals
12 CommentsOrigin sale discounts Battlefield 3, Tomb Raider, Assassin's Creed 3, more through April 30
By Samit Sarkar on Apr 25, 2013 04.25.13
EA's Origin is currently running a sale on a variety of action games and their DLC, including Battlefield 3, Tomb Raider and Assassin's Creed 3. The sale includes physical copies on Windows PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 as well as digital copies sold through Origin; the discounts are as high as 50 percent off. Here are some of the highlights: Battlefield 3: $9.99 (PC download), $19.99 (PC, PS3, 360 retail) Battlefield 3 Premium Edition: $29.99 (PC download), $34.99 (PC, PS3, 360 retail) Tomb Raider: $24.99 (PC download) Tomb Raider Survival Edition: $28.99 (PC download) Assassin's Creed 3: $24.99 (PC download) Dead Space 3: $29.99 (PC download), $39.99 (PC, PS3, 360 retail) Darksiders 2: $24.99 (PC download) Saints Row: The Third - The Full Package: $24.99 (PC...
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11 CommentsXbox Live Gold free weekend hits US, Canada, Latin America and Japan on Apr. 19
By Michael McWhertor on Apr 18, 2013 04.18.13
Xbox 360 owners in the United States, Canada, Latin America and Japan will be able to enjoy the online services Xbox Live Gold membership offers for free this weekend, according to an Xbox.com announcement. Beginning Friday, April 19 at 7 a.m. PT, Xbox Live will be unlocked, granting Silver-level members access to online multiplayer and services like Netflix, HBO Go, Hulu Plus and more. The free weekend comes to a close on Monday, April 22 at 10 a.m. PT. In addition to the free Gold weekend, a handful of games will be holding double XP promotions: Far Cry 3, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and Assassin's Creed 3. A Shift key for Borderlands 2 will also offer three Golden Keys that will provide "rare and powerful loot" as part of the promotion. Microsoft held similar free weekends for E...
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10 CommentsAssassin's Creed 3's cross-studio work 'holds the keys to next generation development'
By Megan Farokhmanesh on Mar 28, 2013 03.28.13
Assassin's Creed 3 was a collaborative process that spanned four different studios, Ubisoft developers revealed today during a GDC panel. Ubisoft Quebec game director Marc-Alexis Cote, Ubisoft creative director Alex Hutchinson, Ubisoft game director Damien Kieken, Ubisoft Montreal senior producer Francois Pelland and Ubisoft Singapore senior producer Hugues Ricour outlined their strategy at "Three Years of Collaboration on Assassin's Creed 3." The game was divvied up between the Montreal, Singapore, Annecy and Quebec studios. While Montreal was responsible for the game's core design and main missions, Singapore worked on the game's naval battles. Annecy was tasked with multiplayer, while Quebec "tried to create the sense of the American Dream," Hutchinson said. Breaking the game's...
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19 CommentsAssassin’s Creed 3 is a marriage of narrative and mission design
By Megan Farokhmanesh on Mar 25, 2013 03.25.13
Assassin's Creed 3 blends narrative writing and mission design in equal and cooperative parts to create its final product, according to a recent panel at GDC. Level design director Philippe Bergeron and consultant and scriptwriter Corey May spoke about the combination during "Balancing Act: Narrative and Mission Design in Assassin's Creed 3." The game undergoes several different stages, beginning with basic conception. After details on the era, protagonist and location have been decided, the game goes through several "blueprint" steps. While May begins writing key scenes that take place in the "white room" segments of he game, the mission designers also begin their work. Shortly after, the two elements team up to begin molding the game into a cohesive unit. This match up is so...
Deals
11 CommentsOrigin's Player Appreciation Sale includes discounts on Dead Space 3, Crysis 3 and many more
By Dave Tach on Mar 19, 2013 03.19.13
Origin's Player Appreciation Sale is live, offering discounts on more than 200 games on EA's storefront over the next week, according to the sale's website. The discounts apply to downloads and packaged games available on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows PC, Mac, Wii and Wii U. Front page deals include: Assassin's Creed 3 for $34.99 as a PC download (regularly $49.99) Battlefield 3 Premium Edition for $29.99 (regularly $59.99) Crysis 3 for $29.99 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and on Windows PC as a download or a physical copy (regularly $59.99) Darksiders 2 Deluxe Edition for $18 as a PC download (regularly $59.99) Dead Space 3 for $29.99 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and on Windows PC as a download or a physical copy (regularly $59.99) Hitman: Absolution for $15 as a PC...
Deals
14 CommentsAssassin's Creed franchise pack up to 75 percent off on Steam
By Emily Gera on Mar 18, 2013 03.18.13
The Assassin's Creed franchise pack, containing every PC title in the series, can be purchased on Steam at a 35 percent discount as part of its Ubisoft sale. The full pack includes eight items at a discounted price of $64.99, a drop from its previous $99.99 price tag: Assassin's Creed 3, Assassin's Creed Revelations: The Ancestors Character Pack, Assassin's Creed Revelations: The Lost Archive, Assassin's Creed Revelations: Mediterraneans Traveler Map, Assassin's Creed Revelations, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, Assassin's Creed 2 Deluxe Edition and Assassin's Creed Director's Cut Edition. Titles can also be purchased individually at discounts of up to 75 percent. Assassin's Creed: Director's Cut Edition, Assassin's Creed 2 Deluxe Edition and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood are...
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5 CommentsThe Tyranny of King Washington gave Assassin's Creed 3 devs the chance to explore, 'go crazy'
By Megan Farokhmanesh on Mar 03, 2013 03.03.13
Assassin's Creed 3's episodic downloadable content, The Tyranny of King Washington, was "a blast" for the developers to work on, DLC mission director Hugo Giard told Kotaku. The creators of Assassin's Creed have spoken before about their efforts to stay rooted in reality, even when it's uncomfortable, by backing up truth up with facts. The Tyranny of King Washington, however, completely shatters that pattern. The DLC is set in an alternate reality where George Washington opts for kingship, rather than presidency. According to Giard, this break allowed the team to get more creative with their work. "Once we jumped in there, I mean, as storytellers and as mission designers we were free to come up with any ideas that we wanted to," Giard said. "We could explore, you know, we could go...
