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WiiU

Nintendo Fans 'Don't Buy Assassin's Creed' According to Ubisoft CEO

by Neal Ronaghan - August 19, 2014, 11:48 am EDT
Total comments: 34 Source: Game Informer

Watch Dogs is still set to hit Wii U, but it will be the "only mature game" Ubisoft releases on the system.

Nintendo fans aren't buying Assassin's Creed games according to Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot.

"It’s very simple. What we see is that Nintendo customers don’t buy Assassin’s Creed," Guillemot told Game Informer. "Last year, we sold in very small numbers. What we see is that they are very interested in Just Dance, very interested by other kinds of games."

However, Watch Dogs, which came out on other platforms in May, is still set to launch of Wii U later this year. According to Guillemot, "it will be the only mature game [they] publish on it."

Around the launch of Wii U, Ubisoft had seven games available, including ZombiU. In 2013, the company released seven Wii U games total across digital and retail, including Rayman Legends and a pair of Just Dance games. In 2014, Ubisoft has only released one game on Wii U so far, the eShop title Child of Light. Watch Dogs and Just Dance 5 are the only other games slated for release later in the year. Ubisoft is also waiting for the Wii U userbase to expand before launching an unspecified amount of completed Wii U games.

Talkback

Ian SaneAugust 19, 2014

Back when the Gamecube was about a year off Nintendo had a reputation, particularly among Playstation fans, as being a kiddy company.  I hated that and I felt it was unfair.  The N64's weak third party support, which at the time I thought was entirely because of its use of cartridges, contributed to that perception because most of the notable N64 games were first party and Nintendo tended to have more 'E' rated games than 'M'.  Of course even that didn't seem fair because Rare had provided titles like Goldeneye, Perfect Dark and Conker and although they received an 'E' rating the Zelda games didn't come across as being aimed at children.  Sony had done a good marketing job in painting Nintendo as a kiddy company and their fans, which was pretty much everyone who wasn't a Nintendo fan, bought into it.  Every fanbase has its braindead stooges that regurgitate company line as their own opinion.  Nintendo had ones that said crap like "quality over quantity" and Sony has the "Nintendo is kiddy" crowd.

I defended Nintendo back then but eventually I couldn't as they seemingly went out of their way to play up to whatever negative image their detractors painted them with.  When Ubisoft says that Nintendo gamers don't buy Assassin's Creed and the underlying message is "Nintendo is kiddy" or even worse "Nintendo is casual" (yes, Nintendo somehow found a way to create an even worse image for themselves) I don't disagree with them.  I don't feel like I'm part of Nintendo's fanbase anymore.  Years of Nintendo's goofy self-sabotage has raised a new generation of Nintendo fan that doesn't buy third party games and doesn't buy mature games because why would they?  Nintendo offers slim pickings in those categories so if you're the age I was when the Gamecube came out why would you ever have become a Nintendo fan in the first place if third party games and mature games mattered to you?  I'm a geezer clinging to this 8/16 bit image of Nintendo that is now so old that the years of crap third party support now exceeds the amount of years where Nintendo had good third party support.  Enough time has gone by that Nintendo has created a fanbase of loyalists that are primarily only interested in Nintendo's own games and those that want more buy two consoles and use their Nintendo machine primarily as a way to get the first party games.  A Nintendo console is like HBO, this extra cost that gets you access to exclusive content.  A Wii U owner either doesn't give a shit about Ubisoft's mature games or they own another console that they would rather play it on.

It all makes sense.  Most of the Nintendo fans of my age group that have the same values as me would have left Nintendo, at least as their sole console, years ago after getting sick of the same nonsense.  I'm this moron that didn't notice that everyone else left and the room is now full of strangers I don't fit in with.  Hell, *I'm* the type with two consoles now.  I bought a PS3 during the Wii era.  If I was interested in Assassin's Creed I would have bought it on the PS3 because the Nintendo versions of games are always compromised in some way.  Last gen I switched to someone that only buys first party titles on Nintendo consoles and I didn't even notice it.  I think it's because my desire is to only have to buy a Nintendo console so last gen was a temporary arrangement out of necessity.  But then there might be a lot of fans like that but we're still not buying non-exclusives on our Nintendo console, though those are exactly the games we need to be there to switch back to just one console.

Nintendo talks about being an "everyone" company.  Well if a major third party is saying "Nintendo customers don’t buy X" then they're not an "everyone" company.  They're either a company serving a specific niche of customers and should be upfront about that or they need to change to become a truly "everyone" company.

leahsdadAugust 19, 2014

I actually bought AC 3 and AC 4 a few months ago (they were WAY cheap) and after having played the first 30 minutes of AC3, my god why is this game so boring.  Why am I spending so much time walking around, why am I shimmying through an opera house during the freaking opera and no one notices that I'm climbing up the fronts of balconies.  Why is this story so stupid and why is do the precursers seem like the stupid man's version of the Ancients from Stargate. 

And conversely, you know that level in New Super Marios Bros Wii U where you're jumping up those flying beetle things while the magic extra large bullets are coming from both sides of the screen?  Awesome sauce.

Stargate was awesome, BTW.  SG1, Atlantis, ALL OF IT.

ShyGuyAugust 19, 2014

After avoiding the Assassin's Creed games because of the lackluster first one, I just bought AC4. I played a little bit of it months ago when my cousin picked it up and it seemed okay. Let's see if the fun lasts.

Hey, I bought Assassin's Creed III on Wii U...a year after it came out...when it was heavily discounted. .

AdrockAugust 19, 2014

To be fair, I didn't buy Assassin's Creed on PS3 either.

Mop it upAugust 19, 2014

I'm more upset that Nintendo fans didn't buy Pikmin 3.

Wait, I didn't buy Pikmin 3 ether...

Oh no!

radracer64August 19, 2014

Konami treats Nintendo the same way when it comes to the Metal Gear Solid games as well. Yet they even release Metal Gear games on xbox in Japan but not Nintendo console's that actually sell well over there?

broodwarsAugust 19, 2014

*shrugs* Well...yeah, if you had the choice, why would you buy the Wii U version of the Assassin's Creed games when you can get a better version of the same game on any other platform (but especially the Playstation platforms)?

On the one hand, I kind of can't blame them for taking this stance, because they've supported the Wii U long after anyone had any reason to do so. But on the other hand, Ubisoft's never really given anyone a reason to buy the Wii U versions of their games.

pokepal148Spencer Johnson, Contributing WriterAugust 19, 2014

They didn't really try to market it or anything, they literally just dropped it off on the eshop for it to die.

CericAugust 19, 2014

Quote from: Mop

I'm more upset that Nintendo fans didn't buy Pikmin 3.

Wait, I didn't buy Pikmin 3 ether...

Oh no!

Your why we won't get Pikmin 4 or any RTS with Little Plant Things.  YOU KILLED A WHOLE GENRE.

Quote from: broodwars

...
But on the other hand, Ubisoft's never really given anyone a reason to buy the Wii U versions of their games.

We have a winner!  Why would you buy AC when your not getting the DLC and you probably by now own a P360 or PC if your interested in the genre to begin with.

We got three iterations of Ubisoft Game, to be fair. And I think I ended up buying three copies of ACIV... ok, one was retailer insanity, one was basically free with trade credit and the third was when it hit $20 on the eShop. And of course, I am clearly an extreme outlier here.

I think the thing that offends me more in this piece GI did was that Ubisoft's looking at EA Access and drooling like mad. You thought the Watch Dogs preorder chart was bad? Wait until they throw Ubi Access into it.

azekeAugust 20, 2014

I enjoyed my 50+ hours of ACIII. And 40+ hours (still going) of IV.

People tend to overlook these titles on Wii U but there is nothing like it (Lego City maybe) on the console. Of course it runs on "console framerate", but if you care about you should have got it on PC. Inferior console ports or not, both still look gorgeous.

https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzROA0kI-Ia5SCY
https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzRPZHxgZFZc7W8
https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzRQH6roKLTtKW2
https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzRRb6uItp5ZEAv
https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzRRb88kx9bjWHW


https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzRsy8IMp0Q7bwL
https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzRyRt0YdvcKLYb
https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/zlCfzR-sdX802tSRMm


Sure, it's formulaic, but if you loved collectathon 3d platformers of old and refuse to give AC series a chance then you're being stupid. Because AC is exactly that.

Get II or Brotherhood, both should be dirt cheap and look gorgeous.

Am i sad that Unity or even Rogue isn't hitting Wii U? A bit. But i am not a baby, so i am not gonna cry about on forums putting blame on someone. I will just play them on PC like i did with most games either way.

ShyGuyAugust 20, 2014

Quote from: broodwars

*shrugs* Well...yeah, if you had the choice, why would you buy the Wii U version of the Assassin's Creed games when you can get a better version of the same game on any other platform (but especially the Playstation platforms)?

On the one hand, I kind of can't blame them for taking this stance, because they've supported the Wii U long after anyone had any reason to do so. But on the other hand, Ubisoft's never really given anyone a reason to buy the Wii U versions of their games.

The vicious cycle. I think the only thing that could change it at this point if one of the other consoles bows out.

Triforce HermitAugust 20, 2014

Quote from: pokepal148

They didn't really try to market it or anything, they literally just dropped it off on the eshop for it to die.

Quote from: Ceric

We have a winner!  Why would you buy AC when your not getting the DLC and you probably by now own a P360 or PC if your interested in the genre to begin with.

Who wants to make a wager this will happen with Watch Dogs? Dropped on Wii U with no support, DLC, or otherwise leaving it vastly inferior to every other version out there has been out for around 7 months.

From a completely anecdotal perspective, I stopped buying 3rd party games altogether because either:

The version released on the other system is vastly superior, with consistent support from the developer, or
The types of games Ubisoft says DOES sell well on Nintendo platforms, I have no interest in.

That said, I don't blame Ubisoft for abandoning ship until evidence says otherwise.  It's a real "chicken or egg" problem Nintendo has....3rd party developers don't want to make Wii U games just to send them off to die, and gamers who aren't Nintendo fanatics don't want to buy the Wii U because there aren't enough games that appeal to them.

The Wii U is getting all the same problems of the Wii without the upside of explosive sales.

roykoopa64August 20, 2014

Quote from: azeke

I enjoyed my 50+ hours of ACIII. And 40+ hours (still going) of IV.

People tend to overlook these titles on Wii U but there is nothing like it (Lego City maybe) on the console. Of course it runs on "console framerate", but if you care about you should have got it on PC. Inferior console ports or not, both still look gorgeous.Sure, it's formulaic, but if you loved collectathon 3d platformers of old and refuse to give AC series a chance then you're being stupid. Because AC is exactly that.

Totally agree. I had never played an Assassin's Creed game before, but I picked up III fairly early on in the Wii U's life and absolutely enjoyed it (I even reviewed it back when I was editor on the other Nintendo fan site). I also bought IV but haven't had a chance to start it. Looking at your Miiverse posts though, I am excited to get into it.

Anyway, it's too bad the games didn't sell that well, but there's not much that I can do about it anyway. If Ubisoft releases more games that appeal to me, they get my sales. If not, I have plenty of other games to play on my Wii U, so in any case it's not a big deal, personally.
Just looking back at my own Miiverse posts:
https://image.miiverse.nintendo.net/a/posts/AYMHAAABAADbUKlPnY_rqw/screenshot
https://image.miiverse.nintendo.net/a/posts/AYMHAAABAABzUKlU6-mgfw/screenshot

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorAugust 20, 2014

One reason I find myself not buying third party games is because I know they drop from $60 to $20 in about four months or so.  Then, by the time they do drop, I'm no longer interested in them.

Yet, I buy first party games at launch - and Nintendo's titles are known for rarely having price drops.

Put two and two together.

Related to this article, I was interested in ACIII at launch.  Never bought it.

StogiAugust 20, 2014

How many people bought Zombi U?

CericAugust 20, 2014

Quote from: Hypotheliciously

How many people bought Zombi U?

I did and regret it.  I knew it probably wasn't my cup of tea to begin with and well... Yeah I barely got anywhere in it.

SorenAugust 20, 2014

I can't wait for Nintendo to hit that magical sales number which will force third parties to support the Wii U again so  gamers can have another go at not buying their games.

StratosAugust 20, 2014

I buy AC games... at 20-30 bucks. I don't like spending over half of my monthly gaming budget on a game no matter the system. It has to be something guaranteed to A) not drop in price immediately after launch B) have a good enough pre-order bonus like a physical goody, not DLC crap C) Be something I will get $60 of value out of over my play time.


I typically rate my money's worth as a dollar per hour of play. Exceptional experiences may increase this rate but it holds true for most games. Some games I get hundreds or thousands of hours in but some games are over after the "story mode" and 10-15 hours from a $60 game REALLY needs to be engaging to make it worth the entry price.


Bummer they aren't releasing these finished games because I would get them for the right price, but the industry really needs to adjust it's price-point and that may mean they need to reduce their production expenses. It has already been shown that the path they are going down in unsustainable. The closed studios and bankrupt publishers are proof enough.


They need to change their business model so that a series is not killed off so fast. If we had a Bond film every year people would stop seeing them. Give the series a rest so people can build hype.

Ian SaneAugust 20, 2014

Can Nintendo actually get out of this third party support rut?  Let's say that next gen they release a console that's virtually flawless with no cut corners or compromises or "please understand".  How do they attract third party support?  No one is going to just ASSUME that a new Nintendo console will sell well enough for it to be worth supporting.  The audience that will buy the third party games likely won't buy the console unless those third party games are there.  But those games won't be there because no third party is going to just jump in right away.  But if they all wait and see then the console won't sell.  This also all relies on any third parties that do give it a go at launch to do so with a proper effort.  No one is ever going to buy a Nintendo console for third party games that are missing this feature or that and are compromised in some way and that seems to be always be the case.

So can Nintendo ever change this scenario?  It seems to rely a lot on enough third parties taking a risk and supporting the new console in good faith right from the start.  Aside from moneyhats how could Nintendo ever attract that?  And even if they did that would that be enough to attract a good enough sized audience that isn't just kids, casuals, first-party-only Nintendo fans, or those that buy it as a second console just to get Nintendo games?  I figure they would need moneyhats to ensure uncompromised multiplatform titles plus some sort of exclusives that target a different audience than the typical Nintendo fare (that would naturally also be present).  I suppose such exclusives could be either first party or third party and you might only need one if it's a strong killer app.  But you could have an amazing console with Mario as the launch title and nothing but multiplatform third party games and I don't think it will attract an audience that will buy third party titles.  It needs something that will attract ALL demographics of gamers that will buy the console with the intention that it will be the only one they own.

Mop it upAugust 20, 2014

Quote from: UncleBob

One reason I find myself not buying third party games is because I know they drop from $60 to $20 in about four months or so.

I'm the same way, except I do buy them when they get cheap, usually. To be fair though, I wait for sales and deals on most games, even Nintendo, so I don't think I'm a typical consumer. And companies would probably hate it if more people were like me.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorAugust 20, 2014

The problem is that these companies are catering to consumers like you by dropping their prices.

COD #23 might have lifetime sales of 300 Billion, but half of those are probably at $20 or less.
Meanwhile, Nintendo can throw out something like Mario Kart or New Super Mario Bros on Wii and sell 20 million copies AT FULL RETAIL PRICE (aside from any retailer promotions, of course).

If I *knew* that GameX I wanted was unlikely to drop, I'd buy it for full retail (or when a particular retailer ran it on sale).

CericAugust 21, 2014

I've mentioned it before.  Most Nintendo games I'm day one or don't bother if I'm really interested.  The big reason for that being I know Nintendo will probably not drop the price or run a promotion I'll actually catch until much later.

Some games I'll buy day one because I want to play the game more for the conversation around it then the game itself or I want to start out when everyone else is also at ground zero, Destiny partially falls in that category.

Then there are the games that I'll get to later when they are on sale.  Their is a very good chance that I will never get to them.  Donkey Kong Country Return was on that list and it took being free for me to remember.

Mop it upAugust 21, 2014

Quote from: UncleBob

The problem is that these companies are catering to consumers like you by dropping their prices.

That doesn't sound like a problem to me. :)

If the prices never dropped then I simply wouldn't buy games. Or I would seek out a cheap used copy, which is an even worse idea for publishers. I have never spent $60 on one game and I don't plan to start.

The inevitability of price drops and people waiting for them is industry-wide, though. You can't blame Nintendo's situation on that when it's just as true on Sony and Microsoft's systems.

Mop it upAugust 21, 2014

I'm not sure who that was directed at, but I'm not blaming anyone for anything.

It wasn't really directed at anyone, I just thought it was odd that this topic became about that when it isn't relevant to the story.

marvel_moviefan_2012August 21, 2014

To be honest I just got AC1 and 2 Bundle on PC like two years ago so these were never big on my radar. the games that I do want on PS3 that seem to skip Nintendo only started doing so last gen, so I am sort of with Ian on this one, I defended the Game Cube to the death, still do it was awesome. I know I had all three Prince of Persia games on Game Cube then I just picked up the HD Remake bundle for PS3 a while back. I don't just wait for bargains when it comes to Nintendo consoles I do it all the way around. Got my SNES the WEEK after N64 came out, got my Game Cube when it dropped to $99 and picked up Zelda Collectors Disk with it, the ONLY console I ever bought day one stood in line for was Wii and consequently its the only one I regret buying at full price which is why I waited till last September to get a PS3 mere months before PS4 launched. I always want to get in early but lack of money and mostly knowing price cuts and better deals are right around the corner usually hold me over. Plus as usual coming into last gen late in the game I am always one step behind most of the time anyways. After I got the Game Cube I did still buy several games at retail full price but mostly I shopped used or I waited for bargain bins.

Manthony ChopkinsAugust 21, 2014

Given the lackluster sales and the stigma that has become attached to Nintendo systems and their fans. I can see why companies would be reluctant to put even their most successful titles onto these platforms.

WahAugust 25, 2014

Just dance!?
O.K hold THE PHONE!!!!!!!
No Sane Person i know plays dancing games! (other then Pokepal)
Screw you Buddy!

pokepal148Spencer Johnson, Contributing WriterAugust 25, 2014

Quote from: Lucariofan99

Just dance!?
O.K hold THE PHONE!!!!!!!
No Sane Person i know plays dancing games! (other then Pokepal)
Screw you Buddy!

No I don't play them, which means you can rule out the insane as well.

Maybe people buy them just as filler for their gaming shelf, or if they need an extra PS/XBOX/Wii case.

StratosAugust 25, 2014

I buy DDR games. Now there are some great dancing games.

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