Ubisoft delays next-gen Ghost Recon title
In a surprisingly upbeat statement from French publishers Ubisoft, the company announced that its forthcoming Xbox 360 title will be delayed until February 2006
French publisher Ubisoft has announced that its forthcoming Xbox 360 Ghost Recon title will be delayed until February 2006, dashing hopes that the hugely promising title would appear alongside the new console in December.
Setting aside the obvious frustration of early adopters who had been eagerly awaiting the release of the latest Tom Clancy game on Microsoft's new console, Ubisoft's official statement trumpets the benefits of allowing additional development time on the game, promising that the company will "continue setting the bar for intense multiplayer action and cutting-edge technology."
Tony Kee, vice president of marketing at Ubisoft North America said: "In Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, players will be able to truly immerse themselves as soldiers of the future. X05 attendees experienced the stunning results of the work Ubisoft's award-winning studios have done in perfecting innovative multiplayer content and taking advantage of next-generation capabilities."
The game was originally scheduled for release as a launch title for the Xbox 360, along with Peter Jackson's King Kong. The delay in release is certain to frustrate games fans looking for a worthy line-up for the release of the first next-generation console, although perfecting the game rather than rushing its release would seem to be the smart move from Ubisoft's point of view.
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter, a largely 3rd person shooter which Ubisoft claims will take full advantage of the processing and graphical power of the Xbox 360, is now scheduled for worldwide release on the new system in February 2006. Ubisoft has stated that the delayed release will not have any impact on its revenue forecasts for the fiscal year.