Ubisoft doubts Move or Kinect can extend console cycle
Publisher positive on short-term motion control boost, but 3DS is next year's big hardware success, say Corre
Ubisoft, Europe's number two publishing company, has said that it doesn't expect either Move or Kinect will be able to extend the life-cycle of the current generation of home consoles.
European MD Alain Corre told GamesIndustry.biz that he expects the peripherals from Sony and Microsoft will help lift the market in the short-term, but next year's big hardware success story is likely to be Nintendo's 3DS.
"I don't think so, no," said Corre when asked if either peripheral can stretch the current cycle beyond another 24 months.
"Yes, it's a good extension of the lifecycle for a certain length of time and it's also a good way to capture some consumers they didn't have on the casual side, because Microsoft's 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 do not have the casual customers. So it will bring in a new category of customer for them.
"Now, will it prevent them from releasing brand new technology in the next five years? I don't think so," he added.
Any lack of long-term support will be a blow to the format holders, who have both invested significantly in extending the life of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this generation.
However, the desire to keep current consoles breathing for another five years - a plan expressed by Microsoft’s European boss Chris Lewis - doesn't seem realistic to Ubisoft.
Instead, the publisher expects both companies are already marching on with the development of new hardware.
It's Nintendo's release of a 3D handheld system that has really captured the publisher's imagination, with Corre suggesting the 3DS can be a "monster success" next year.
"We're very confident that the machine will lift the handheld market, which is what we need," said Corre.
Ubisoft is working on six titles for the as-yet unannounced launch of the system, and Corre detailed that even though the company has been working alongside Nintendo for a long time on new products, the 3DS was still able to hold surprises during development.
"They surprised us even in the end, even though we had a lot of information and were able to get ahead in the development of our games, they still surprised us each time they bring a new feature that we didn't know about."