Rayman Pirate-Community

Just recently Ubisoft’s third-quarter report was released announcing they expect up to a 10% increase in revenue during the 2009 fiscal year. They expect to achieve this increase by launching games in four different categories: franchise games, new brands or intellectual properties, games based on licensed IPs, and games marketed towards the casual audiences. What core gamers (and by extension, most PS3 owners) will be interested in are the first two categories - franchise games and new IPs. In the later category, UbiSoft has confirmed the development of I Am Alive, a first-person game that challenges the player's will to survive in a post-disaster Chicago. Unfortunately, as they are new brands, it is impossible to speculate as to what the other two could be. However, in regards to the franchise games (games that are sequels to existing titles), we can make some informed guesses as to what these titles may be.

In the report, Ubisoft specifically says that 7 franchise games will hit the market during the 2009 fiscal year. The publisher goes on to name four: Assassin’s Creed 2, Splinter Cell: Conviction, Anno, and a new Ghost Recon title. This leaves three unnamed titles. What could these titles be? Well, PS3Center has done some research and come up with these possible choices.

1. Red Steel 2 (Wii) - This one is pretty much confirmed. During the teleconference, UbiSoft's CEO essentially announced the game, just barely cutting himself off short. Yves Guillemots told investors "We have lots of products coming for the Wii next year. We have Red Steel --". Ms. Cleo told PCN exclusively that the next word would have been 2.

2. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (PS3, 360, PC) - The long running Rainbow Six series has been a revenue generator for UbiSoft for years. They've put out two Rainbow Six titles in the last two years. There was also a rumor that PS3Center reported from CVG that stated a new Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six were being developed for 2009. With UbiSoft's announcement of a new Ghost Recon in the report, the rumor now has even more credibility.

3. Shaun White Snowboarding 2 (All) - This snowboarding title was a bit of a surprise hit. Ranking in as the second best selling sports title of the third-quarter, Shaun White's Snowboarding was another huge moneymaker for UbiSoft, selling over 2 million copies across all platforms. Mr. White later went on record, saying that he was already working on a sequel to the game. UbiSoft, however, was quick to debunk these rumors.

4. Rayman 4 (Wii, DS) - Again, one of UbiSoft's biggest franchises. They have come out with a new Rayman game every year for the past three years. IGN also spoke about a Rayman 4 (unrelated to the Raving Rabbids spin offs) that was in development. Definitely seems like a solid choice.

5. Beyond Good and Evil 2 (PS3, 360, PC) - Announced at the UbiDays Conference in 2008, many gamers were extremely happy to hear that the long awaited sequel to Beyond Good and Evil was finally on its way. The original was a commercial flop, despite being very well received by critics. Still, one has to wonder if UbiSoft is a little cautious about developing this niche title now, during this worldwide economic recession.

6. Driver (PS3) - Though the Driver franchise has been tarnished since the blockbuster PlayStation release in 1999, UbiSoft just recently got the rights to it. At Tokyo Game Show 2006, UbiSoft confirmed a PS3 entry into the main series of the franchise. Though details have been slim since then, the project was never canceled. Don't expect it to remain PS3 exclusive, though.

Those are the top six franchises that PS3Center expects to be of the remaining three (two, considering Red Steel 2 is all but confirmed) UbiSoft franchise games released in the 2009 fiscal year. With all of those franchises, it really is a shame that only two of them will make it out before the fiscal year is over.

The 2009 fiscal year ends in April 2010. Expect more info at UbiSoft's UbiDays conference.

Acarr wrote:I just hope it comes out before a BG&E 2 does, otherwise I'll be really disapointed.

Drolpiraat wrote:- Shaun White Snowboarding only just released.

Acarr wrote:BG&E is terrible