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Kim Kardashian, Vida Guerra Test The Wii at 'Rayman' Launch Party [photos]

Posted 12/10/08 3:30 pm EST by in Celebrities, Publicity Stunts We Fell For, ubisoft, Wii

Doing my daily search in the database of stock photo supplier Getty Images, I stumbled on some photos from a the launch party for "Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party" held last night at the Apple Lounge in West Hollywood, California.

Take a look at the pictures from the Ubisoft event showing famous people getting their Wii on, like celebutante Kim Kardashian, model/actress Vida Guerra and "America's Best Dance Crew" judge Shane Sparks.

Only one of them was photographed sitting on a Wii Balance Board. And only one -- hopefully -- played it in high heels: Read More...

Ubisoft Drops Plans For 'Heroes' Game

Posted 11/6/08 1:30 pm EST by in Canceled Games, TV, ubisoft

Those hoping to play a virtual version of near-invincible cheerleader Claire Bennet anytime soon are going to be disappointed.

Ubisoft has confirmed to MTV Multiplayer that the company is no longer publishing the "Heroes" video game based on the NBC television series.

Here's the statement from public relations director Jaime Cottini:

"The rights to the 'Heroes' video game have reverted back to NBC Universal. Ubisoft will no longer produce a video game based on the TV series."

The game was officially announced in July 2007 and slated to release in late 2008. Ubisoft's announcement follows NBC's firing of the program's executive producers, reported by Variety this past weekend.

The series is currently in its third season, and despite being a huge hit and a critical darling in its first season, it has received low ratings. Many fans have soured on the show due to increasingly convoluted plotlines.

Ubisoft has also published other games based on TV shows, such as ABC's "Lost" and CBS's "CSI." The high ratings of both series haven't exactly translated into high Metacritic scores.

Readers, would you still like a "Heroes" console game to see the light of day?

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'Halo Wars' Designer Wants To Play 'EndWar,' Hadn't Considered Voice Control

Posted 9/4/08 11:00 am EST by in Controllers, halo, PAX 08, ubisoft


Microsoft's booth was next to Ubisoft's at PAX. You couldn't help but notice.

So when I had "Halo Wars" lead designer Graeme Devine in front of me, I felt compelled to ask him what he thought of his voice-commanded opposition, "EndWar," across the aisle.

"It's right over there," he said, pointing and laughing. "I really want to go play it. I'm anxious to see it. I've got to admit it's a pretty unique idea and we didn't think of that."

"Halo Wars" is Ensemble Studios' first console strategy game. Devine and his team never considered voice commands for "Halo Wars," but he's okay with that.

"The controller is the one thing that comes with every single unit and people have used that for many, many years," said Devine. "I think it's great that [Ubisoft is] trying a new, different approach and it's always awesome to see that. But I really think the controller is where people will end up."

Sounds like the two can co-exist, according to Devine. What do you think?

Direct From SF: Snaps From 'America's Army' Protest

Posted 8/8/08 5:46 pm EST by in Gaming In SF, Photo Spectacular, ubisoft


Did you forget about our Flickr account? Don't!

Earlier this week, I reported on a protest against Ubisoft and their involvement in the "America's Army" series that took place in downtown San Francisco.

In addition to talking to protesters, I snapped a bunch of pictures. You can check out high-resolution versions on our Flickr page, or look below to see the highlights…

Read More...

Iraq Veteran Joins Protest Against Army Video Game, Publisher Offers Defense [UPDATED]

Posted 8/6/08 7:57 pm EST by in Gaming In SF, Iraq, ubisoft


[UPDATED: We now have Ubisoft's official statement:"Ubisoft is a leading publisher that strives to create the best entertainment experiences possible. Ubisoft worked with the U.S. Army to create America’s Army games for the Xbox and Xbox 360 in order to deliver a compelling experience for our customers. As we discussed with the Direct Action to Stop the War (DASW) organization, our games are created to meet a diverse range of interests and not to express or endorse any political view. We respect DASW's First Amendment rights, and would hope they also respect and recognize ours."]

***

Ryan Lockwood, a 24-year-old ex-U.S. Army soldier and member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, joined dozens of protesters outside game publisher Ubisoft's San Francisco office today to protest the publisher's involvement in the "America's Army" series.

The protest would be answered by the head of Ubisoft itself who met with some protesters in the company's offices to offer a defense of their involvement with the controversial series.

Outside, Lockwood summarized his complaints with the game:

"It's definitely a recruitment tool and the fact that it's put out by the federal government and being funded from our tax dollars, that sounds illegal to me," said Lockwood. " I'm not exactly sure what the laws are, but if it is being funded by our tax dollars, we have the right to say 'hey, stop taking our money and using it for stupid sh**.'"

The protest is part of a long-running controversy about a popular series that the Army describes as "the most authentic military experience available, from exploring the development of Soldiers in individual and collective training to their deployment in simulated missions in the War on Terror." Read More...

Experiment: Did The DS Teach Us To Cook Better?

Posted 7/21/08 1:01 pm EST by in 3DS / DS, Cooking, Food and Drink, ubisoft


I may be a master chef in Cooking Mama's starry eyes, but in real life I can barely boil an egg.

Besides, the recipes in the "Cooking Mama" games can't be followed step-by-step (well, maybe the instant ramen is an exception). They were designed in a way so I could slice, dice and stir with my stylus, and they don't tell me the requisite measurements for actually cooking the food if I wanted to.

So when I saw that "Gourmet Chef" was coming out for the DS, and that it included "more than 70 recipes you can make at home," I just had to try it. After all, I still had France on the brain from my recent trip, so what better way to reminisce than by making some authentic French food?

Read on to see the results (photos and all) of the five dishes I made, and the ratings my hapless, taste-testing boyfriend gave them.

Read More...

Ubisoft Breaks Down Game Sales By Platform -- PS3 Rises And Wii Drops

Posted 4/25/08 12:29 pm EST by in Big Business, ubisoft


Assassin's CreedWhich video game consoles do the people running a giant publisher like Ubisoft like the most?

Possibly the ones on which they can sell the most games.

Yesterday, as part of a sales announcement , the "Assassin's Creed" and "Rainbow Six" publisher released statistics that show just which consoles help move the most games.

Ubisoft didn't disclose raw sales figures but did reveal the percentage of the company's game sales on each platform.

Lessons learned: Given that the PlayStation 3 accounted for 20% of the company's sales last year, it's clearly a meaningful machine to Ubisoft. But maybe not as much as the Xbox 360 and the DS, which contributed 26% each.

And what did the Wii do for Ubisoft last year?

You don't want to know.

Still, you just might learn something about how well Ubisoft is or isn't capitalizing off your favorite consoles. The numbers are below...

Read More...

Ubisoft: Incredible 'Haze' Canadian GameStop-EB Program Nixed

Posted 3/19/08 8:19 am EST by in Game Stores, Haze, ubisoft


hazeLast week I read about an incredible offer for Ubisoft's upcoming PS3-exclusive first-person shooter "Haze." According to a flyer published on blog Dark Zero that I saw on Kotaku, the Canadian branch of EB Games (GameStop) was offering gamers what amounted to a one-week rental.

 The flyer reads: "PLAY HAZE FOR A WEEK: Pre-purchase Haze and get full in-store credit back when you trade Haze in within one week of pick-up!"

Was it real? Yes. Is it still being offered?

A Ubisoft representative told me yesterday: no.

Read More...

'Haze' Finally Lifting On PS3 In May, Multiplayer Tracks The Shooter's Confusing History

Posted 2/26/08 2:29 pm EST by in Delays, Haze, ubisoft


HazeNo one would blame you for being confused about when Ubisoft and Free Radical Design were planning to release "Haze" on PlayStation 3.

Not only has the futuristic shooter changed its platform focus a few times -- something eerily reminiscent of "Assassin's Creed"'s early days -- but the release date itself has shifted over and over and over and over -- you get the point.

Today, Ubisoft announced that "Haze" is coming in May but didn't attach a specific ship date. That's probably because they made that mistake last year and completely missed it.

"Haze" was announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2006 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC for release "sometime" in 2007. For an early reveal, that's common.

That release date was eventually narrowed down to March 2007 before Ubisoft's financial calendar indicated "Haze" would be missing that date and arriving before the end of Ubisoft's next fiscal year, which spans April 2007 to March 2008. Gamers have come to expect delays this generation, so the move was hardly unexpected, but there was already a notable buzz over the game's unique drug-based mechanics. That buzz would have to hold a little longer.

If you've been following "Haze," however, you know that was only the beginning of the release date shuffling. Read on for the rest of the confusing tale.

Read More...

A New, Better Way To Insult Bad Video Games

Posted 2/12/08 12:41 pm EST by in dice, Trash Talk, ubisoft


Yannis Mallat At DICEWhat's your favorite way to insult a bad video game?

Do you refer to it as a "flop"? A "failure"? Or use some language your mother wouldn't approve?

Do you "7.9" it as IGN famously did years ago with "Mario Kart: Double Dash" (though they insisted that was a decent score). Do you declare it a "6.8" as GameSpot once did "Shenume" before re-evaluating that game's merits?

Do you just call it a dud? Or tell others it's time to bail out?

Then you, my friend, are not Yannis Mallat, CEO of Ubisoft Montreal. He's got a better way of trashing junk.

Mallat gave a presentation at the DICE video game summit in Las Vegas last week. Some may have found his discussion about the need for more emotions in games to be the most significant part of his presentation. Others may have been moved by his display of a clip from "Bambi."

Not I. I was taken in by his casual description of bad games. He was comparing them to "triple-A games." He called these lower games, these mediocrities, these wastes of business and time... "triple-C games."

"Triple C."

I hope that is not trademarked by Ubisoft. Because I plan to use it.

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