NEWS - Monday, January 30, 2006
Ubisoft Enjoys Record Sales
Ubisoft posted record third-quarter financials today, while revising its full-year forecast to reflect a slowing games market. The company says the strong numbers came largely from the success of titles like Peter Jackson’s King Kong and Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones during the holiday season. Sales for the company’s third quarter were a record 250 million euros ($305.7 million), a 35% increase from 185 million euros ($226 million) in the same period last year. Sales for the first nine months increased 29 percent 403 million euros ($492.7 million). "2005 was another successful year," commented Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot. "We gained additional market share and further strengthened the Ubisoft brand: Prince of Persia is increasingly recognized as the reference for action/adventure games and Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie set new standards of quality, making Ubisoft a must-have partner for license holders. With years of continuous progress behind us, we ranked third independent publisher in Europe in 2005 and fifth in North America. Ubisoft is now established as one of the major players in our industry with highly valuable assets." In the midst of the cheerful news, however, Ubisoft also announced it will delay the release of Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Double Agent from spring to September 2006. The company said the title is being pushed back not only for more development time, but so that the game is released simultaneously across platforms -- and at a time when more Xbox 360s are on the market. The company also lowered its guidance for its full 2005/2006 fiscal year, citing slow game sales during a transitional period in the industry. Ubisoft now predicts net revenues of 530 million euros ($648 million), down from the previously expected 600 million euros ($733.6 million).Source: http://xbox360.ign.com/
