Ubisoft not expecting Assassin's Creed IV to outperform Assassin's Creed III

Ubisoft is not expecting this year's Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag to perform better than last year's Assassin's Creed III. CEO Yves Guillemot said today during a investor conference call that the French publisher is not modeling year-over-year franchise sales to increase.

"To come back to Assassin's Creed IV, in our numbers we have…we expect less than last year," Guillemot said today in response to an analyst question.

Assassin's Creed III has shipped and digitally sold 12.5 million copies to date.

Though Ubisoft is not forecasting Black Flag to outsell Assassin's Creed III, Guillemot said the potential for the game is greater compared to last year. He said this is due to the game's pirate theme being more relatable than last year's American Revolutionary War setting.

[Eldyraen]

Not a big surprise and smart of them--they accepted that eventually it would have to plateau after yearly releases. Plus multiple other open world games are coming out (GTA, Watch Dogs, Infamous: SS, SR, etc and there is a good chance something else will end up announced at E3 by someone for next gen as well) which are likely to cut into their sales.

I'm still watching it though as I like the setting in particular and hope it brings something new to the table. I'm more interested in the next big 3 though (GTA, WD, Infamous and hopefully even something for next gen Xbox).

[BALLARD32]

That says a lot about their confidence in their own product.

[LOGICWINS]

They ARE confident in their product, but they aren't stupid either. When your launching a game around GTAV and the launch of not one, but TWO next-gen consoles, you need to accept that most consumers arent rich and that there are other compelling choices on the market.

Ubisoft knows that Watch Dogs will be their heavy hitter this year, not AC. They WANT Watch Dogs to do better than AC because they need a new yearly franchise to replace AC with.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

I'd like to think or hope rather that Watch Dogs doesn't turn into a yearly franchise or else this upcoming Watch Dogs game may very well be my first and last Watch Dogs game I buy in the series.

[LOGICWINS]

Same here. I'm not buying Watch Dogs for the foreseeable future, at least until I get confirmation that it won't be a yearly release.

[R_aVe_N]

"I'm not buying Watch Dogs for the foreseeable future, at least until I get confirmation that it won't be a yearly release."

That makes no sense at all... If the game is good who really gives a crap.

[LOGICWINS]

I don't care how good the game is, I'm not supporting yearly franchises.

[sardaukarghola66]

"I don't care how good the game is, I'm not supporting yearly franchises."

I don't see the logic in this

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

***"That makes no sense at all... If the game is good who really gives a crap."***

True, but I don't see how you can make a good game within a year only. Look at AC. The last couple of games have taken a hit in their quality. I definitely don't want Watch Dogs going this route.

[solidjun5]

it's not like you buy games anyway.

[Hicken]

It says they're realistic about their product.

And maybe they're starting to realize they don't need to release an iteration every year.

[ironfist92]

I'm hoping after AC4, they stop, and give the series a break until next gen.

[Legion21]

@ironfist92 do you realize next gen starts this fall basically. So it wouldn't be much of a break. But I do agree they need to take a break from AC for awhile.

[Simon_Brezhnev]

Naw because people saw how much of a shit game AC3 and will not be fooled again. lol

[BeZdaBest]

wow i dont no what to say...

its going to be on five console...
dont know about any side games for the psv/3ds

do they know that ass creed is a sinking ship an are riding it into the ocean... i hope not i wanted to play a pirate themed game for a while... this type of game should have probably been a new ip..

[Jek_Porkins]

I would think the mediocre reception the game got led to this thought. Although, AC4 has a chance to sell even better because it's on so many consoles, PS3, PS4 , Xbox 360, Xbox Next, Wii U..... AC3 kind of ruined the franchise for me to be honest.

[Monkeysmarts]

12.5 million copies sold is not mediocre... at all. Opinions don't really matter in light of this fact.

There are many factors that work against AC4 selling 12.5 million copies. A ton of great games are coming out this holiday season, with the PS4 and (we assume) the new Xbox as well. There is only so much money to go around. So while AC4 may be a much better game than AC3, I can definitely see where they don't expect it to sell as well.

[Jek_Porkins]

I said mediocre reception, not sales. The game they showed at E3 looked amazing and fun, the game I brought home and played was the complete opposite. The fact that the game was mediocre in my eyes makes me hesitate on buying the next game in the series.

[Monkeysmarts]

Fair enough. I do agree it was the weakest in the series, but with the setting and lead character being totally different I can see AC4 being a lot better. Edward Kenway seems a lot more interesting than Connor was. Connor was dreadful.

[musashiden]

I hope AC4: Black Flag to outperform AC3, Ezio saga is the best until now...

[shivvy24]

yea but theres huge ips coming out at the same time like GTA, WatchDogs, Infamous and many more

[FRA85]

strange statment, maybe they think they lost alot of fans due to AC3.
this game looks more interesting with the pirate setting and since the desmond arc is over (disappointing, would've been better not bothering if thats all they did with it) they might be going a different way with the present timeline story.

american revolution era was pretty bland and the historical character's weren't very well known outside of the US.

[Skate-AK]

"Though Ubisoft is not forecasting Black Flag to outsell Assassin's Creed III, Guillemot said the potential for the game is greater compared to last year. He said this is due to the game's pirate theme being more relatable than last year's American Revolutionary War setting."

Haha what? Pirates are more relatable than the civil war?

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

I guess they mean more appealing?

[Monkeysmarts]

Yeah I'm not sure if relatable is the right word there, but despite AC3 selling really well a lot of folks outside the US hated the setting.

Also, the American Revolutionary War is not the same thing as the Civil War...

[jeremyj2913]

A lot of the people in the US hated the setting.lol That was one of the reasons I didn't buy the game.

[CEOSteveBallmer]

Yeah I find the american revolution era quite "Boring". Now pirate setting, thats exciting!! I expect ACIV to be better than AC3. what could be better than treasure huntin', island hoppin' and always say "Aaaaaaarrrrr, shiver me timbers!!

[Baka-akaB]

Well it is , the US American war , while an interesting subject , isnt as good a fit for the world than Pirates

[gamernova]

AC3 was the worst of them all, that's why.

[Tatsuya]

Smart move by them, AC3 was sh1t.

[DivineAssault]

dual gen release & its predecessor came out less than a yr ago.. The game is big enough to still do very well i think.. I would buy it on PS4 if i had nothing left to play after KZ, Destiny, Knack, Watchdogs, Infamous, & GT6.. Wow, thats a good launch right there

[GrumpyOla]

I only play action adventure, RPG and very few FPS games. So my choice is limited and the number of decent games in these genres is small. That's why I really don't mind a yearly release of any game if the quality is not affected.
Personnally, I would love a yearly Demon/Dark souls, a GTA, or an AC game.

[bumnut]

Just slow down releasing your games and they will sell better! Everyone is bored of AC now because you bring them out too quickly.

[CEOSteveBallmer]

They are just being humble I guess? But I think ACIV would of course be better visually and game play-wise than AC3. Because if not then whats the use of releasing a new installment without new additions aside from new character and story. Pirate Era is better than that boring american civil war. you could go treasure hunting and explore uncharted islands. now thats exciting!!

[isyourhouseonfire]

I was excited for AC3 and it turned out great but the thought of AC4 just makes me feel tired.

[maxgamehard]

I see a lot of hate for AC3. I actually enjoyed it a lot. It was definitely rough around the edges but overall it was a great game.

I also thought Connor was a great character. Ezio and Connor are both great characters but have different personalities. Connor isn't charismatic like Ezio but he was still a good character.