Assassin’s Creed is a franchise that has garnered a massive following over the years. Tens of millions of copies have already been sold across all platforms, and according to Ubisoft, in the not too distant future, the game will rival Grand Theft Auto in popularity.
Lofty words.
When asked by Eurogamer whether Assassin’s Creed will be as big as GTA, UK marketing boss Murray Pannell replied, “To be honest, I’m not sure we’re there yet.”
“But I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t get there at some point in the not-too-distant future. That’s about longevity and building decent products, properly marketed, and getting the name out there.
I believe with the success of Assassin’s 2 we have now got an opportunity to position ourselves as one of the true triple-A blockbusters. Are we as big as things like GTA and Halo and things of that nature? Possibly not at this point. But I think we are uniquely poised now as a property, as a franchise, to certainly consider ourselves one of the must-have games whenever a game launches on Assassin’s Creed in the franchise.”
In May Ubisoft said Assassin’s Creed II sold “nearly nine million units” during its last financial year, which ended on 31st March 2010.
In March Take Two revealed that GTAIV had sold over 15 million units worldwide.
So how exactly will Ubisoft accomplish this? According to the publisher, aggressive advertising, and critical success will do the job.
“It’s fair to say Assassin’s 1 promised a lot and slightly under-delivered in terms of gameplay. Assassin’s 2 promised even more and actually this time delivered on it. And I believe quality of the game will be a fundamental part of positioning ourselves in that blockbuster franchise space,” Pannell said.
“As marketing director, it’s part of our role and responsibility to position it from a consumer point of view as one of those big blockbusters through decent marketing campaigns. One thing we’ve been doing already is advertising Assassin’s: Brotherhood on TV this summer, three or four months before launch. That only helps position it in consumers’ minds as, ‘This is a big game I need to consider as one of the true blockbuster franchises’.”
As for the incoming installment, which will be out in November this year, Pannell expects it to exceed sales of Assassin’s Creed 2.
He said: “In terms of expectations, people should certainly see this as a full price product with as much depth of gameplay if not more than the version we brought out a year ago. We’re certainly positioning it that way. We’re investing in the product in that way. And in terms of our expectations from a sales point of view, we’d see it doing at least as well as Assassin’s 2, if not, ideally, better.”
dream on ubisoft, dream on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
lol