Ubisoft has learned a valuable lesson from Watch Dogs‘ downgrade fan backlash and that forced them to reassess how they present their pre-release games.
Speaking with The Guardian, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said, “With E3 2015 we said, ‘OK, let’s make sure the games are playable, that they’re running on the target machines.’
When we show something, we ask the team, make sure it’s playable, make sure gamers can immediately see exactly what it is.
That’s what we learned from the Watch Dogs experience – if it can’t be played on the target machine, it can be a risk.”
He goes on to talk about their open world action-adventure stealth game, Watch_Dogs: “It’s a real challenge to create those types of games.
When they come out, especially the first iterations, they are not perfect on everything.
We think we launched a good quality game for a first step in a new brand with a new technology.
It’s just so complex – seamless multiplayer, connectivity with mobile and tablets, so many things – it was maybe a bit too much for a first iteration.”
Guillemot also talks about internal development, Accoriding to The Guardian, he says that the “company would continue to accompany its triple A releases with experimental projects pitched to him and chief creative officer Serge Hascoet by small teams.
The process has seen offbeat titles like Valiant Hearts and Child of Light come to fruition. Apparently, developers have even started skipping the official pitching procedure. Newcastle-based studio Ubisoft Reflections started creating its botanical platformer Grow Home in secret.”
“[Managing director] Pauline Jacquey said ‘we’re going to do a game that’s so cheap we don’t need your approval – we have something that’s already good enough’.
When I saw it for the first time it was 60% done. I like that approach. When a project costs more than $5m we need to look at it because it can go wrong. But when it’s €200,000 to €300,000, they can make all the decisions they need to to make it happen.”
We all know Ubisoft is currently working on a sequel for Watch Dogs, when asked if about a sequel, Guillemot said, “We are continuing to work on everything we created so we can get to the next level.”
Watch_Dogs was released worldwide in May 2014. As of December 31, 2014, Watch Dogs has shipped over 10 million copies.
Do you think Ubisoft’s upcoming titles – Rainbow Six Siege, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, The Division, Ghost Recon: Wildlands & For Honor will launch without noticeable downgrades? Let us know in the comments below.
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Source: The Guardian