Ubisoft president speaks about Avatar MMO

Despite the poor condition of the global economy these days, Ubisoft's president and CEO Yves Guillemot is optimistic about the amazing year that 2009 will bring for video game software sales. As he told investors at a BMO Capital Markets conference, "If we look at this industry, one thing to consider is that when hardware sales are peaking, software sales are peaking 18 months later."

One highlight of Ubisoft's expected growth next year is the release of the Avatar MMO. Now, keep in mind that this isn't an MMO based on the Nickelodeon show Avatar: The Last Airbender. This online game will be based on James Cameron's Avatar feature film set to release in December of 2009, and will most likely release in conjunction with the film. The game (and movie) will be based around a plotline where "a man tries to make his way as a miner by combining with an alien during an interplanetary war in which aliens can manifest themselves by possessing human bodies – avatars." Considering the fact that we've heard next to nothing else about this MMO, it should be interesting to see if it will release before or after the film's release.