I rather enjoyed Ubisoft’s open world hackathon Watch Dogs, even though it completely failed to live up to the hype and expectation surrounding it. It also had one of the dullest protagonists; a boring white middle-aged male swimming in a sea of boring white, middle aged males. None of those complaints have stopped it from being a roaring success.
According to Ubisoft’s latest financials, the fabulous French have sold-in over 9 million copies of the game. That’s shipped not sold though, putting conservative estimates of actual retail game sales closer to the 6 million mark. That’s not at all bad for a brand new IP.
That , coupled with the success of other games in its catalogue like Assassin’s creed IV: Black Flag, South Park: The Stick of Truth and Rayman Legends, saw the company’s sales for the first half of the 2014-15 financial season soar to €484.2 million. That up by up 65.1% compared with the €293.3 million they earned in the same period the year previous. During the second quarter of that financial year end, Ubisoft’s seen a 42.9% decline, with a reported €124.1 million in sales as opposed to €217.7 million for the same period last year. That’s down to release times though, and with Far Cry 4 and Assassin’s Creed Unity and Rogue on the way, the company can expect an influx of cash.
On that note, Ubisoft expect Far Cry 4 to sell though 6 million copies in its first year, which is a reasonable target for the franchise. They also expect The Crew to move 2 million units in its first year, though I think they’re maybe being a little optimistic on that one.
“Our performance in the first half of the fiscal year has strengthened our confidence that we will reach our annual targets,” says Ubiboss Yves Guillemot. “It demonstrates that our strategy of creating strong brands and investing in digital is paying off. This strategy is underpinned by a creative force of an unrivalled scale as well as constantly enhanced execution. It has positioned us at the forefront of the new console cycle and will be a determining factor in creating value for our shareholders in the short, medium and long term.”
Interestingly, Ubisoft revealed that the PlayStation 4 now accounts for 21% of their income, with the PlayStation 3 coming in second. The Xbox One is only responsible for 9% of the company’s income. PC games sit in the middle, accounting for 17%. It’s also easy to see why they’ve abandoned the Wii U, which is only responsible for one whole percent of its earnings.
Last Updated: October 31, 2014
Ranting Raptor Llew
October 31, 2014 at 12:06
Boring and white? http://www.s2ki.com/s2000/uploads/gallery/1276059028/gallery_62023_32293_17637414584c1261dc98a80.jpg
Lord Chaos
October 31, 2014 at 12:23
Like rice.
OVG
October 31, 2014 at 12:24
on white.
RinceThis
October 31, 2014 at 12:09
They also said that they have recently hit the 10 mil mark on sales for Far Cry 3, well done boys!
MakeItLegal
October 31, 2014 at 12:09
well , i see its on special , but got alan wake instead
FoxOneZA
October 31, 2014 at 12:13
One of the best games of last gen, Alan Wake.
MakeItLegal
October 31, 2014 at 12:15
i have only herd good about it , very keen , like remedys old games ie max payne
Brandon van Reenen
November 1, 2014 at 14:34
Why has a sequel NOT been made?
DiscoBiscuits
November 2, 2014 at 10:16
Alan wake had one sequel. American Nightmare. I would like to see them make more.
RinceThis
October 31, 2014 at 12:13
You did well. Brilliant game!
MakeItLegal
October 31, 2014 at 12:15
am hoping so :0
Jivesh Hanoomaun
October 31, 2014 at 12:42
Scary as phuck
WitWolfy
October 31, 2014 at 12:13
I never even finished WD, Still at Chapter 3 I think?
Who cares Aiden was as interesting as a week old bread.
OVG
October 31, 2014 at 12:21
Gamers love eating week old bread. I can understand why Ubisoft know they can cut corners by charging next gen prices for 900p/30fps games.
Their marketing team should have kept quiet about revealing their future work model of releasing 7th gen standard games for the 8th gen.
Gamers would never have known the difference and many have no clue who pixel foundry is.
We vote with our wallets.
RinceThis
October 31, 2014 at 12:28
It explains why I have non wallet left…
RinceThis
October 31, 2014 at 12:33
Nah, at least with week-old bread you can make medicine.
Admiral Chief 0
October 31, 2014 at 12:14
Still have to get back into it, hopefully it performs better
OVG
October 31, 2014 at 12:17
SPOT QUESTION GEOFF. You have 5 seconds to answer.
What was the name of the Watchdogs Protagonist?
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 31, 2014 at 12:21
Aiden. I got it after a second, and I don’t even have the game. What does that mean?
OVG
October 31, 2014 at 12:23
You are a white middle aged man with a SAM FISHER beard?
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 31, 2014 at 12:31
…………… I am 🙁
OVG
October 31, 2014 at 12:34
Boring bastard. 😛
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 31, 2014 at 13:33
No need to rub it in lol
OVG
October 31, 2014 at 13:35
Thats what she said.
Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim
October 31, 2014 at 12:26
WhiteFace Mcdullpants
OVG
October 31, 2014 at 12:28
YOU GOT IT!!!
He came from a working class Irish family. But I bet not many Watchdogs fans give a shit about back story. As long as one of the most un-memorable characters gets his own DLC.
I thought T-DOG or T-BONE was in Fallout 3.
RinceThis
October 31, 2014 at 12:33
I thought he was in Prison Break 0_O
CAE9872
October 31, 2014 at 12:21
Interesting that new-gen/now-gen/whatever we calling it, accounts for 47% of sales in 6 months to 2014/2015. Not bad going for new consoles.
I assume “Other” is mobile games (IOS, etc) which is a lot lower for 6 months than I would expect.
OVG
October 31, 2014 at 12:25
THE 900P/30FPS NEXT GEN 2012 WATCHDOGS BLEW MY EYEBALLS OUT OF THEIR SOCKETS.
Then I played The Last of Us. I now have no penis left.
Admiral Chief 0
October 31, 2014 at 12:29
O-nopenis-VG
OVG
October 31, 2014 at 12:29
It got stuck in Joel’s back pack. That gap where he puts the arrows.
Admiral Chief 0
October 31, 2014 at 12:30
…misread as “got stuck in Joel’s back” and had some lolz
Lord Chaos
October 31, 2014 at 12:30
You have some weird fetishes…
OVG
October 31, 2014 at 12:31
Dont tell me you never thought about banging a hot clicker.
Lord Chaos
October 31, 2014 at 12:35
I prefer keeping my junk fungus free.
OVG
October 31, 2014 at 12:46
Just take a shower after. It cures Ophiocordyceps unilateralis. The South African President said so.
Ryanza
October 31, 2014 at 12:34
Oh god when last did I buy a Ubisoft game. Anno 2070. The last time I bought a Ubisoft game. What was it limited to a 3 machine installs. So if you replace a graphics card or CPU 3 times in your life time then you can’t install and play the game. Yeah. No wonder I don’t support this fucked up DRM company.
Don’t support DRM.
OVG
October 31, 2014 at 12:47
Child of Light is the only proud Ubisoft Game that I own.
veggiesaurus ZA
October 31, 2014 at 12:40
Glad to see PC sales are healthy, even though it was a nerfed port
OVG
October 31, 2014 at 12:54
suckers
OVG
October 31, 2014 at 12:55
Please delete the header. Thats false advertising.
Ryanza
October 31, 2014 at 13:02
Yeah. This is more like it.
http://static4.gamespot.com/uploads/screen_kubrick/536/5360430/2540162-trailer_watchdogs_ql_20140527.jpg
OVG
October 31, 2014 at 13:03
There we go 🙂
WitWolfy
November 3, 2014 at 11:32
Night and day….
vicky john
November 3, 2014 at 11:32
Exacty.. It doesnt match with inner content..
Tulipdame
October 31, 2014 at 16:20
I must say: O enjoyed the game quite a lot on Xbox One. It wasn’t as awesome as Wolfenstein (I know they are two different genres), but it wasn’t bad at all. I have generally lowered my expectations when it comes to games, so I am entertained and satisfied easily
Marc O Polo
November 1, 2014 at 16:08
there were also a lot of copies of Watchdogs sitting on the 2nd hand rack at bt games the other day
Sandra
June 10, 2015 at 23:40
Thank you for share you experience.
Was pleasure to read.
palma babes