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Assassin's Creed Anthology detailed in trailer, still EMEA only
Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Anthology for PS3 and Xbox 360 will launch in the UK tomorrow, bundling all the stabby series' games in one package. Ubi used fancy PR speak like "exclusive for now" to the EMEA territory to describe Anthology, so a stateside release isn't off the table. Anthology is priced at £119.99 in the UK (€150.00 on mainland Europe) and is exclusive to Amazon.
Assassin's Creed 3 survey pops the question of co-op in series' future, again
Online poller GMI Surveys recently posted an Assassin's Creed 3 questionnaire which not only asks players to rate that game, but also evaluate potential additions to the next series entry. After dealing with various aspects of AC3, the survey queries expectations of a future Assassin's Creed game on Xbox 360 or PS3, asking respondents to rate potential features as either must-have, nice to have, or not interested. The features include co-op story missions, assassin creation and customization, underwater gameplay, a new present-day hero, and something that sounds a lot like SmartGlass functionality.Next, the survey asks about expectations of Assassin's Creed 3 DLC. It first presents a description of one of the game's future DLCs, one that matches the press release for the upcoming "The Tyranny of King Washington" DLC. According to the survey, the King Washington DLC is split into three parts, each around two hours in length. The survey first asks about general interest in the DLC before gauging a potential price of £18 (around $29), at £6 ($9.60) per part. Before closing, the survey also asks about interest in an Assassin's Creed game released in 2013.GMI Surveys uploaded an Assassin's Creed Brotherhood survey two years ago. Similar to that instance, it's unclear if Ubisoft officially commissioned this AC3 survey, or how much it will affect inclusions in the next Assassin's Creed. After all, the 2010 survey popped many of the same questions, like the addition of co-op, and a new assassin in a new time period. While the second one came true in AC3, it's hard to imagine how it wouldn't have.We've got the survey's full list of potential new features after the break.
PSA: Assassin's Creed 3 takes a stab at Steam today
Assassin's Creed 3 is available on Steam for PC today in the Americas, as reluctantly, eventually promised by Ubisoft. Assassin's Creed 3 runs $50 for the standard edition, $80 for the deluxe edition and $30 for the Season Pass.For those still on the fence about Assassin's Creed 3 on PC, check out our review of the Xbox 360 version, which calls it "just good enough to make you wish it was better." Or, maybe take your chances tomorrow, when we hear the Steam Autumn Sale is scheduled to begin.
Assassin's Creed 3 patch cuts down game-breaking bugs next week
If you've managed to sneak up on a bug or glitch in Assassin's Creed 3, there's a good chance it'll be addressed "by the end of next week." A planned Xbox 360 and PS3 patch rivaling the game's hefty day-one patch will address both multiplayer and single-player issues – that includes a problem on the Fort Wolcott map where players would become stuck in the warm-up screen. Targeting a player with throwing knives will prevent them from contesting kills, which should cut down on cheap escapes.On the single-player side, just about every campaign mission will see an update. Missing NPCs, objects and audio will be returned, and several mission-breaking bugs will be squashed, including a few that would get you stuck in an infinite loop of respawn and death.The descriptions on many of these fixes stray into spoiler territory, so read up on the full list past the break below at your own risk.
Report: GameStop Wii U game pre-orders at 1.2 million, double the Wii
GameStop patrons are more interested in Wii U than they initially were of the Wii, the retailer has revealed. Over 1.2 million individuals have pre-ordered Wii U games at GameStop, in addition to the 500,000 Wii U consoles claimed since opening up pre-orders back in September.That figure comes out to 2.4 games per console reserved, which GameStop has told Gamasutra is roughly twice the attach rate GameStop saw prior to the Wii launch. Top pre-orders include ZombiU, Assassin's Creed 3, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, Scribblenauts Unlimited and New Super Mario Bros. U.The Wii U officially launches in North America on Sunday, November 18. On launch day, 23 different games will be available; a total of 50 games will be available within the Wii U launch window, which runs up to March 2013.
Say 'allo, 'allo to Halo 4 in UK top spot
Halo 4 grabbed the top spot on the UK charts, but it did so showing the hesitancy everyone had about the franchise's new custodian. According to Chart-Track, Halo 4, the first installment by Microsoft's 343 Industries, was the 18th biggest launch in terms of first week sales. Halo 3 and Halo: Reach launched as 15 and 12, respectively. Allow us to be clear, though, the concern that Halo 4 is some inferior product is unwarranted.The prior week's numero uno, Assassin's Creed 3, slipped one spot into second. FIFA 13 is required by law to remain in the top five for its first six months following launch in the UK, so it can be found in third.Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 launches tomorrow. If there's some place you can bet on UK game sales for the following week, we can assure you Black Ops 2 is about as solid as a bet ever gets. The UK top ten can be found after the break.
Assassin's Creed Anthology is 'EMEA exclusive,' not coming to North America 'for now'
Ubisoft today confirmed Assassin's Creed Anthology for PS3 and Xbox 360 in Europe, but for now it's not coming to North America. Reached for comment, Ubisoft told us Anthology isn't currently confirmed for the US, and is only slated as an "EMEA" release, meaning it's only currently releasing in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. We should mention Ubisoft did use hedging language like "exclusive for now" and "isn't currently confirmed for US release" in our follow-up.The collection contains Assassin's Creed 1, 2, and 3, Brotherhood, and Revelations, along with all of those games' expansion packs and other DLC. Ubisoft confirmed that includes Assassin's Creed 3's Season Pass. Also bundled in are five lithographs, one for each game, and an exclusive steel book, all in a chunky-looking collector's box.Anthology is priced at £119.99 in the UK, and €150.00 in Europe. It's exclusive to Amazon in the UK, and is being released there November 30. Based on listings on Amazon Germany and Amazon France (now taken down), it's coming to the rest of Europe November 29.
Samsung bundles Assassin's Creed III with SSD 840 Pro to spark a sales revolution, ships the 840 line
Samsung's experiment with a Ghost Recon SSD bundle must have been a hit with gamers, since it's coming back for a second round the very same year. The upgrade-minded buying 128GB, 256GB or 512GB versions of the SSD 840 Pro can get a free downloadable copy of Assassin's Creed III for a "limited time" to take advantage of those 540MB/s peak read speeds while they skew the fate of the American Revolutionary War. The bundle comes not-so-coincidentally as Samsung has shipped and priced the wider SSD 840 line itself: while we knew the Pro line's impact on our wallets, the regular models are now ready to sell at prices between $140 for a 120GB drive to $700 for a 500GB model. That's a $50 to $190 savings over the Pro models, but we'll leave it to you to decide whether faster write speeds, slightly more capacity and Connor's secret fight with the Templars are worth the premium.
Ubisoft posts 32.3 million euro loss for first half of fiscal 2012, expects big Q3
Ubisoft has released its earnings for the first six months of fiscal 2012, which ran from April 1, 2012 through September 30, 2012. In that time, the publisher garnered overall initial profits of €192.7 million (about $246.8 million), which is a 21 percent increase over the €158.4 million ($202.9 million) Ubisoft had accrued by this time last year.After deducting research and development costs and SG&A expenses, however, that figure drops to a loss of €32.3 million, or $41.3 million. That loss is less substantial than the €37.1 million loss Ubisoft posted at the end of the first half of fiscal 2011, to the tune of 14.8 percent.Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot attributes the year-over-year increase in gross profits to Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (its performance in the digital segment, specifically) and Just Dance 4, while also claiming that the operating loss reported for this period was due to "large-scale marketing campaigns for Assassin's Creed 3 and Far Cry 3."Looking forward, Guillemot predicts a "record" second half for fiscal 2012, based on the anticipated performance of Assassin's Creed 3, Far Cry 3 and Ubisoft's stable of upcoming Wii U titles. As such, the company's year-end target for sales has been increased from a range of €1.16 - €1.20 billion to €1.20 - €1.26 billion. Similarly, Ubi's target range for operating income has been raised slightly, from €70 - €90 million to €70 - €100 million.
Assassin's Creed 3 sells 3.5 million in first week
Assassin's Creed 3 has sold an estimated 3.5 million units, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot announced in the company's earnings release. Guillemot said these sales – specifying sell-through, meaning sales to consumers, not just to retailers – represent "a year-on-year increase of more than 100%."We're quite certain that is a comparison to Revelations' sales, and not to Assassin's Creed 3 a year ago. AC3 sales are up infinity percent over AC3 sales last year.
Assassin's Creed Anthology listed on Amazon France, official unveiling this week
'Assassin's Creed Anthology' is currently listed on Amazon France, possibly representing a collection of all the home console games in the series, along with all the DLC. It's priced at €150.00, which converts to around $191, and is coming to PS3 and Xbox 360 on November 29. There is no North American listing at present. Reached for comment, Ubisoft told us it should be making an official announcement further detailing the anthology later this week.Based on the current Amazon France listing, the collection only includes Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed 2, and Assassin's Creed 3; but not AC2: Brotherhood or AC2: Revelations. However, Russian fan-site Assassin's Creed RU claims it pulled an image from the listing (now apparently taken down) which says the anthology includes all five games, and all available single-player and multiplayer "bonus content." The image also details lithographs for each game and a steelbook case.Given that Amazon France is selling Assassin's Creed 1-3 separately on Xbox 360 for just under €76, a 3-in-1 collection at double the price would seem, to be kind, ambitious. To be less kind, it would be downright crazy, and very odd given the already announced Ezio Trilogy coming to PS3 next week. Once we confirm what's included in the anthology and where it's headed, we'll be sure to let you know.[Image Source: Assassin's Creed Wiki]
Assassin's Creed 3 parkour brings fan-made frolics to the frontier
After conquering the urban jungle, free-runner Ronnie Shalvis steps through time to bring his brand of parkour to the colonies, a la Assassin's Creed 3. As before, the accomplished flips and jumps impress as much they make you wonder if a direct route is sometimes better advised.
Assassin's Creed 3 is second biggest launch of year in UK
Red-coat murder simulator Assassin's Creed 3 is publisher Ubisoft's biggest launch ever in the UK. According to Chart-Track, along with the previously mentioned achievement, AC3 is also the second biggest launch of the year (behind FIFA 13, natch). This fifth installment in the franchise (1, 2, Brotherhood, Revelations, 3) sold double that of Assassin's Creed 2 during its launch week, and 117,000 units more than last year's Revelations.FIFA 13 sits comfortably in second, followed by three new titles and Medal of Honor: Warfighter's quick fall from grace. WWE '13, Football Manager 2013 and Need for Speed: Most Wanted debut in spots three through five, respectively. Kick it on past the break for the UK top ten.
Joyswag PSA: Win Assassin's Creed 3 from Joystiq
Each week on the Super Joystiq Podcast, the staff bundles games and other swag we're sent to give away to you, the lovely reader/listener. What? You didn't realize you were missing out on the free stuff? Well, let's remedy that by recapping what's available this week and what's coming up with the Joyswag PSA.Listen to this week's episode of the Super Joystiq Podcast to win either a standard edition copy of Assassin's Creed 3 for PlayStation 3 or the Limited Edition version for Xbox 360. To enter, you must post within the comments of the podcast.This week the staff discusses Halo 4, Assassin's Creed 3, Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, the latest industry news and more.Tune into next week's show (Nov. 9) to find out how you can win one of two Halo 4 prize bundles. One winner will net a Limited Edition version of the game along with the novel Halo: Cryptum: Book One of the Forerunner Saga, while another winner will take home the novel and the Limited Edition Halo 4 Xbox 360 console bundle.What is Joyswag? Since we don't keep the games and merchandise we receive for review or promotional purposes, it becomes "Joyswag," which is passed along to our readers. Please note that Joyswag may be in "used" condition. All winners of Joyswag are selected randomly.For more info on our policy, along with rules and regulations associated will all giveaways, click here.
Metareview: Assassin's Creed 3
The head of the Joystiq order deemed Assassin's Creed 3 a "bold, uneven, occasionally brilliant, often frustrating action game." Other orders have had their say too. The Escapist (100/100): "Assassin's Creed 3 lets you jump into an intriguing point in history, and it succeeds on nearly every level with nimble combat, fun diversions and the chance to captain your own ship. Connor might not be an altogether likeable hero, but the New World he's fighting to protect is one you won't forget." Game Informer (95/100): "An overwhelming experience in its own right, Assassin's Creed 3 is the crown jewel on an already excellent series, and it sets the mind reeling about the potential for where the story goes from here." IGN (85/100): "Not everything about the game gels together convincingly and the missions' unnecessary prescriptiveness sometimes undermines the sense of freedom that the rest of the game works so hard to create. But it achieves so much that you can't help but respect it; no other open-world game has ever given us a setting that's as impressive to observe or as full of things to do as this." GameSpot (85/100): "Other games stimulate emotion with manipulative music and teary monologues; Assassin's Creed 3 rouses your mind and your heart by giving you a glimpse into its characters' souls and letting you judge them on their own merits." Destructoid (75/100): "Cohesion (or lack thereof) is the main issue with Assassin's Creed 3. There are dozens of secondary elements which make up the content of the game, but they offer little in terms of reward and rarely contribute anything to the Assassin/Templar conflict. While the game is often quite fun, beautiful to look at and empowering to the player, it doesn't offer much challenge beyond the endurance necessary to complete all of the single-player campaign elements."
PSN Tuesday: Assassin's Creed 3, Okami HD
You can buy all the Assassin's Creed you can handle on PSN today. Both AC3 and Liberation are available for download, separately or in a $120 bundle that also includes the AC3 Season Pass. Need for Speed: Most Wanted is also available digitally, as is Sports Champions 2. And Okami HD is ready to dazzle you with new graphics.On Vita, along with Assassin's Creed 3 Liberation and Need for Speed, you can download Lego Lord of the Rings, Ragnarok Odyssey, and Smart As. Find the full listings of new releases, DLC, and sales on the PlayStation Blog. There's kind of a ton.
Assassin's Creed 3 'Sharpshooter' available through NOS energy drink
Assassin's Creed 3's Sharpshooter multiplayer character is going to require a NOS Energy Drink investment. Until January 31, 2013, the only way to obtain the Sharpshooter for AC3 is by purchasing a can of NOS and entering the code under the tab at the drinknos.com site.The Sharpshooter requires only one NOS point to unlock, much like a similar promotion last year for Batman: Arkham City's Batman Beyond skin. Turns out AC3 and Batman have more in common than just their combat systems.
Assassin's Creed 3 day-one patch clears up the past
The good thing about a game that takes place inside a computerized reconstruction of someone's memories is that you can pretend there's a narrative justification for a day-one patch. Take, for example, the Assassin's Creed 3 update that will be waiting for players today.While pre-patch Desmond may have remembered being stuck at the bottom of a waterfall after jumping, a quick kick to the Animus system rectifies that memory simulation. And Connor was not nearly as loud when stealth-killing guards from behind as the still experimental Animus technology would have.Find the full patch notes after the break; we'll warn you that some of the fixes might constitute spoilers, as they name specific missions and mention activities within them.
Assassin's Creed 3 review: Declination of independence
The pig herding segment in Assassin's Creed 3 is probably the best one this year. If you play these games for the thrills of pudgy livestock redirection, it's the number one reason to buy Assassin's Creed 3. For everyone else (is anyone even still reading?), the recommendation must be more reserved.Animal control is an optional activity on your sprawling homestead, but an essential rite in grasping the confused composition of Assassin's Creed 3. As new protagonist Connor mutters to himself about the things he does for his people, it becomes a little too easy to relate to such a banal chore. The things I do for this game, you'll think – this bold, uneven, occasionally brilliant, often frustrating action game.%Gallery-166434%
GameStop cancels Assassin's Creed 3 midnight events in northeast
Listen, we get it, we'd go out in a hurricane too for Assassin's Creed 3, but the simple fact of the matter is GameStop stores in the path of today's storm in the northeast United States won't be open at midnight."Our top priority is the safety of our employees and customers. In compliance with directives issued by state and local authorities, stores in the path of the storm will remain closed until it is safe to re-open and midnight openings for Assassin's Creed 3 have been cancelled in the northeast," a GameStop representative informed Kotaku. "Customers should check with their local stores for details on when we will re-open."And as I sit here, staring out my rain-battered window in Boston, watching the trees wave and the final leaves of autumn be ripped off horizontally, I echo GameStop's concern: if you're also being affected by Sandy, please stay safe tonight.
