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Uplay brings 'confluence' to Ubisoft titles
Ubisoft has just revealed a web-based service called Uplay, set to come out by the end of the year, that will enable people playing their games to connect up and share media, make purchases, and download game information, all through a standardized cross-game interface. It will premiere in their games later this year and will hope to accomplish Ubisoft's stated goal of "confluence": connecting developers with players and gamers with each other completely inside of the game menus themselves.We're skeptical, but they haven't pulled back the curtain on what exactly it will offer Ubisoft fans yet. But we'll find out by the holidays, as the first games to support Uplay will be Splinter Cell: Conviction, Avatar, and Assassin's Creed 2.
Ubisoft leaks 10 second clips from Assassin's Creed 2, Splinter Cell Conviction [update: they're pulled]
Ubisoft seems to have developed two new areas of expertise over the past few months -- accidentally leaking videos to the gaming press, and developing 10 to 15 second teasers for their highly anticipated titles. Today, we get an excellent example of both of these new habits in action -- the massive French publisher recently leaked two 10 second clips from Assassin's Creed II and Splinter Cell Conviction onto their FTP site. Watchful fans grabbed the vids and threw them on YouTube. We've got 'em posted after the jump.Our observations are as brief as the clips themselves. First, Assassin's Creed II protagonist Ezio is made entirely out of springs, as evidenced by his survival following a spectacular dive. Second, Sam Fisher no longer looks like an emo hobo. Maybe -- just maybe -- he's an emo hobo in disguise, walking amongst the world's non-transients, hiding his penchant for My Chemical Romance and malt liquor behind his clean shaven face. We're on to you, Fisher.Update: It appears as though a "copyright claim by Ubisoft" has rendered the videos after the break moot. Sorry, folks, looks like we'll all be waiting 'til E3 this week for more on these titles.
Ubisoft streaming E3 content like Splinter Cell Conviction, No More Heroes 2
We mentioned this earlier, but we thought you might like some more details. So, odds are we won't be seeing you at E3 (you'd recognize us by our rugged good looks and sun-bronzed skin), but that doesn't mean you have to miss out on the feeling of being there. When you're not reading our own earth-shattering, up-to-the-minute coverage, Ubisoft is apparently going to be streaming its content directly to you. As we saw here in a teaser vid for the coverage, it looks like we'll all be laying eyes on Splinter Cell: Conviction, Assassin's Creed 2, No More Heroes 2 and RUSE. Oh AND JOEL McHALE.
Ubisoft gives clearer picture of Splinter Cell, Red Steel release dates
We still have no idea why it's taken Sam Fisher so long to return to us, but at least now we have a better idea of when he'll be back. Ubisoft narrowed the release date for Splinter Cell: Conviction to Q3 of this fiscal year (between November 2009 and December 2009) in a conference call this morning.We also got narrower release windows for games like Assassin's Creed 2 (Q3), Red Steel 2 (Q3) and Ghost Recon 4 (Q4). You can check out the full list right here.
Gamestop expects November release for Assassin's Creed 2
During GameStop's Q1 earnings call (spoiler alert: a lot of earnings happened), CFO David W. Carlson outlined what he believed to be the big holiday lineup this year. Tekken 6 and BioShock 2 will lead off the insanity in October, followed in November by Modern Warfare 2, "a couple of Nintendo titles coming that have not been announced," and Assassin's Creed 2.November is quite a bit sooner than the March 2010 deadline Ubisoft set for the game, but it fits perfectly with the "Holidays 2009" date found in the teaser. The only question is whether Carlson has inside info about the game's release plans, or if he's just speculating.Wait, that isn't the only question at all. What are these secret Nintendo titles? This isn't the first reference a GameStop executive has made to some mysterious Nintendo stuff.
How many people are working on Assassin's Creed 2? A lot.
Ubisoft Montreal's Sebastien Puel, producer on Assassin's Creed 2, is in charge of 450 people (still not confirmed if he drives a Dodge Stratus). Those 450 people, however, are in charge of bringing Ezio Auditore de Firenze to life before the Ubisoft-imposed March 10 deadline arrives. Puel claims the group is roughly three times the size of the original crew of folks employed to create AC1 and that, among those folks, 75 percent have been kept on board from the nascent team. "Making [Assassin's Creed] from A to Z took around four years ... it's a very good thing we are keeping most of the core members who envisioned the first Assassin's Creed," he says, adding that the original team had "thousands of ideas" left out of the original project, ready to be implemented this time around. We've made no secrets about our love for the original and would be lying if we didn't express our excitement over getting to play it in a few weeks at E3 2009. Hopefully not all 450 developers will be demonstrating the game for us.[Via Videogamer]
Report: Halo 3: ODST most desired Xbox 360 game
Research group Gameplan Insights recently conducted a study, which highlighted the most anticipated Xbox 360 games. Its parent company, OTX, polled 1,000 gamers across various demographics every week through March and April, and discovered that Halo 3: ODST is the most anticipated game. Bungie's upcoming spin-off managed to narrowly best Modern Warfare 2 (if you can believe it), according to data Gameplan Insights provided to Gamasutra. Rounding out the rest of the top five are Madden NFL 10, Final Fantasy XIII, and Assassin's Creed 2.What's odd about all of this is that Halo 3: ODST is the only Xbox 360 exclusive to feature in the list. The remainder, as you can see, are multiplatform titles. Perhaps Microsoft will rectify that with its upcoming E3 showcase.[Via Gamasutra]
Assassin's Creed 2 teaser lacks gameplay, oozes melodrama
Following an unveiling in Game Informer and the launch of an official website, Assassin's Creed 2 has spawned its first teaser trailer. This is typically a time of great excitement in the build-up to a highly anticipated game; it's when we usually get a sneak peek -- however brief -- at gameplay. Not so for AC2. How would you like some fancy da Vinci-esque sketches of random objects and a narrator who's been paid by the word in cheese?Here's what we now know, based on the teaser: It's the Renaissance (yep, had that), science is big again, but the real truths? They "lie in the shadows ... written in blood." We're left to wonder if this is some sort of code. Do we need to do something involving shadows (we can handle that) and blood (no way!) in order to see the real teaser? Or, maybe, we simply resign ourselves to the fact we just got handed a heaping plate of letdown.
Dressed to kill: the main character of Assassin's Creed 2 revealed
Click to embiggen. You are looking at the main character of Assassin's Creed 2. According to our tipster, this image was discovered on the official Ubisoft forums before it was taken down. The high-resolution render is definitely authentic, and the character possesses more than a little resemblance to Altair from the first game. Looks like gray hoodies are always in fashion, regardless of the era.Other rumored details have supposedly been leaked in early copies of the next Game Informer. ScrewAttack says the main character is Ezio Auditore de Firenze, a nobleman of Florence from 1476. Ezio is yet another genetic predecessor of Desmond's (y'know, the annoying guy that doesn't kill people?). You'll supposedly be able to swim and access a gliding machine at DaVinci's workshop. And most excitingly of all, you'll play through more mission types. Word of that alone makes us eagerly anticipate our next issue of GI. (Check out the cover, after the break.)[Thanks, Darknessbear!]
Assassin's Creed 2 teaser site launches, includes severed arm [update]
It appears that the ANIMUS has been fired up once again. A teaser site has appeared for Assassin's Creed 2, along with a host of clues about the future of the franchise. While the teaser leaves a lot to the imagination, it does feature Leonardo da Vinci's famous Vitruvian Man quite prominently, lending credence to the rumor that the sequel is set in the Renaissance era. Beyond snippets of 15th century artwork, the teaser site doesn't reveal any other details for the Assassin's second outing. The website does, however, include an interesting bonus: Printing off a logo of an artifact that displays at the end of the teaser video and holding it up to a web cam while on a special section of the website reveals a 3D model of Altair's hidden blade weapon -- which appears to be one of five images available. Spooky ... but, hey, marketing team! Wasn't Altair (and the rest of his assassin brethren) missing a finger?Update: Thanks to our commenters who pointed out a backwards message that says "Game Informer 04.16.09." Expect more Assassin's Creed 2 news soon!%Gallery-49391%[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Rumor: Assassin's Creed 2 details uncovered
A trip to the high street may have resulted in an unexpected focus test for one of our tipsters, who says that he was shown very early footage of the next Assassin's Creed. It apparently looked similar to the first game, though set around the 15th century -- a few hundred years later. After the footage played, there was a Q&A session where it was revealed the story would incorporate a family feud and disguises would play a part in the game.The focus testers were asked to decide on their favorite of three character designs. Each image had different colored costumes and varying numbers of pouches or bags for the main character, though the overall design was the same: Similar to Altair's, but more colorful and fitting for the time period. Under each image was the word "ezio," an Italian name derived from the word for "eagle." Fitting, for the series.Our tipster also told us that he saw the protagonist swimming during the video -- something we've heard that Altair might've learnt since the first game -- and that he can "use gunpowder to propel items at people." The people conducting the focus test indicated that we might be seeing more of the game at E3 and that it will be in our hands late this year or early next. Of course, we've no way of confirming whether any of this is true, but it all sounds fairly plausable.[Thanks, James]
Ubisoft: Assassins Creed 2, new Splinter Cell and Ghost Recon by March 2010
In a recently released Ubisoft sales report, the company revealed its plans for its upcoming fiscal year 2009, which begins in April and ends in March 2010. Seven franchises are to be launched, including the sequel to Assassin's Creed, Splinter Cell Conviction, Anno and a new entry in the Ghost Recon series. Four licensed games are in the works, including James Cameron's Avatar. Finally, the company expects to launch three new brands and expand its casual games library. Of the seven franchise titles, only the four above are explicitly named, leaving the rest a mystery. We're going to hope, along with Joystiq, that one of those is Beyond Good & Evil 2.
Assassin's Creed 2 officially confirmed, with us by March 2010
Ubisoft's third quarter earnings report has finally officially confirmed that the sequel to 2007's best selling assassinate-em-up, Assassin's Creed, will be available before the end of March 2010. While technically impressive, Assassin's Creed was a bit lacking in the gameplay department, we felt. A great proof-of-concept, but without enough fresh content to keep from getting stale after a while. Something we're hoping to see improved in the sequel. Ready for another year of seeing Jade Raymond wherever you turn? The report also mentions that there will be seven franchise titles being released during the fiscal year starting this April, including Splinter Cell Conviction (which we can assume is still 360 exclusive), Ghost Recon and, as we've already mentioned, Assassin's Creed 2. There will also be three new IPs, including I Am Alive. No other games in these categories were mentioned, so no doubt Ubisoft has a few more surprises up its sleeve.
Assassin's Creed 2, Red Steel 2, Splinter Cell Conviction, Ghost Recon coming by March 2010
Straight out of Ubisoft's Q308 earnings call comes news that Assassin's Creed 2 – the not-so-secret sequel to the 6 million plus selling megahit – will be silently leaping onto consoles "by March 2010" according to the Twitter feed of gaming gournalist Geoff Keighley Ubisoft's third quarter earnings report.Ubi's forecasting for its 2009 fiscal year – running from April 2009 through March 2010 – takes "into account ... 7 franchise titles" including Assassin's Creed 2, the mysterious (still Xbox exclusive?) Splinter Cell Conviction, and Ghost Recon. Some quick finger-based math tells us that leaves four unannounced "franchise titles." Beyond Good and Evil 2, maybe? Red Steel 2, perhaps? Throw us a bone here!Update: Ubi's CEO Yves Guillemot "mentioned a game that [he] wasn't supposed to mention" during today's conference call. Guillemot blurted out, "We have lots of products coming for the Wii next [fiscal] year. We have Red Steel" before apologizing for his indiscretion. We imagine a room full of PR reps rolling their eyes. Sacrebleu!PDF – Ubisoft Q308 earnings report
Pachter: Assassin's Creed 2 to assassinate retail before April '10
On the heel's of Ubisoft's release of their Q3 earning, industry analyst Michael "Pac Attack" Pachter is predicting that Assassin's Creed 2 should release prior to the end of Ubisoft's 2010 fiscal year that wraps on March 31st. Pachter goes further in his speculation, mentioning that Splinter Cell Conviction will also see a release before 2010 fiscal year's end. It's funny that Pachter mentions both Assassin's 2 and Conviction releasing during the same time frame, because we have a long standing belief that they'll be so similar, that Ubisoft will combine both games into one. A stealth assassin and an emo-stealth drunkard both in the same space could work ... nevermind.
Ubisoft: 'working hard' on Assassin's Creed 2, no release date
During its first-half fiscal 2008-09 conference call today, Ubisoft parried a question regarding the Assassin's Creed sequel. While an Ubisoft executive would not confirm the game's release for fiscal 2010 (more specifically, holiday 2009), le exec did concede that "we are working hard on the product" -- the first real confirmation of its assumed development. It seems that Ubisoft is sticking to claims that an Assassin's Creed sequel won't be released until there is "more anticipation for it." So let 'em know: You can't wait to get Altair's feet wet ... again! (Only this time, literally.)
Assassin's Creed's Altair learns to swim for future project
Here's a great object lesson in why PR people get so nervous about letting the talent do interviews: While speaking with AusGamers, Prince of Persia animation director David Wilkinson was heaping praise on Alex Drouin, who worked on animations for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, as well as mega-hit Assassin's Creed. When asked what Drouin is up to now at about 14:28 in, Wilkinson said "He's busy making Altair even more beautiful. Last thing I saw him do was getting Altair to swim."This off-handed comment seems to suggest (1) New Assassin's Creed game is in the works (shock). (2) It will at least be partially focused on Altair. (3) He will swim, which, considering his bulky cloth duds, could be the most surprising part of all. [Via TVB]
Ubisoft confirms no stealthy Assassins 2 this year
Filed under both the "frowny face" and "umm, duh?" news categories is confirmation from Ubisoft that there will be no Assassin's Creed sequel releasing in 2008. Laurent Detoc, the uber rich president of Ubisoft North America, told Forbes that " there's no new 'Assassin's Creed' this year, despite its sales success," but that "when we bring it back, there will be more anticipation for it." And even though you're semi-sad about the news, it isn't like you expected to be assassinating in 2008 anyway ... right? Don't kid yourself kiddo. [Via Eurogamer]
