Yesterday Ubisoft released their First Quarter 2009 sales report and unsuprisingly they reported a loss. They had a 51% drop in sales with the Nintendo DS being their most popular console, followed by the Wii and PC.
This loss was going to be obvious. Ubisoft's main market appears to now be the casual market for the Wii and NDS, with game series's like the Imagine series which seems to have the aim of turning young girls into sluts. Most games to come out up to September are casual games for the Wii and NDS with only one, Heroes Over Europe, coming out only on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC only.
Why did they report a loss? Well I blame the lack of hardcore games and the increased focus on the casual market. Based on the earnings report, we are already seeing Ubisoft beign affected by this and if they don't get a real hardcore game out soon then they may lose enough money to force them out of the big-budget market alltogether. The next hardcore game, Assassin's Creed 2, isn't slated to come out until November but they still have the second quarter to go which, as I have said, is dominated by the casual games.
Overall, Ubisoft should change their focus towards the hardcore market and move away from the casual market that is clearly hurting them and turning young people into wannabe models and glamour pusses. By moving this focus they will help their profits and will put their mark on the industry as a whole.
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