Core and casual titles push Ubisoft sales to EUR 169m
Games for Everyone brand contributes 33 per cent sales for Q1, but Splinter Cell Conviction delayed until 2009/2010
First quarter sales for Ubisoft have risen by 25.8 per cent to EUR 169 million, driven by dedicated hardcore games and a rise in sales of the Games for Everyone brand.
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2, Assassin's Creed and Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 have been singled out as helping the publisher smash the company's own estimates for Q1 2008 of EUR 154 million.
Sales of the company's casual label Games for Everyone represented 33 per cent of the first quarter sales, a rise of 11 per cent for the same period last year.
"Ubisoft delivered a very robust showing in the first quarter of 2008-09 against a particularly dynamic market backdrop," commented Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft.
"This achievement was especially fuelled by ongoing strong growth for our Games For Everyone range where we are continuing to strengthen our leadership position."
The company expects second quarter sales to come in at EUR 160 million, an increase of 26 per cent on the period last year, with full 2008-2009 sales expected to be approximately EUR 1.02 billion.
The company has also delayed the next title in the Splinter Cell series – Splinter Cell: Conviction – to the fiscal year 2009-2010.
"It is a major product and we want it to be able to catch all the gameplay opportunities it is offering to us today," said Guillemot.
"There are lots of oportunities that we want to take and so that is why we can give him a little bit more time to make sure it can become a huge product."