A year ago, as Ubisoft reported net losses of €43.671 million for its 2009–10 fiscal year (ending, March 31, 2010), CEO Yves Guillemot brushed aside concern, saying, "We forecast a return to profitable growth in 2010–11." Well, here we are -- and Ubisoft isn't exactly basking in the sun.
For the 2010–11 fiscal year ending March 31, 2011, the publisher's net losses slumped further to €52.120 million (about $74 million). Yet Guillemot again played the role of the optimistic fortuneteller as he looked to the company to "post further growth in both sales and current operating income in 2011–12 and 2012–13." (Notice how he didn't drop the P-word this time.)
He put a positive spin on the 2010–11 fiscal year, too, observing "a sharp upturn in revenue." Indeed, sales were up 19 percent over the previous fiscal year to €1.039 billion. In addition to "another success" with Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Guillemot attributed much of the sales growth to a rebounding casual market, which Ubisoft dominated with its (just) dance game segment, as well as strong support for the Kinect and 3DS launches. Notably, 38 percent of the publisher's game sales over the 12-month period came from Wii titles.
Ultimately, Ubisoft's bottom line suffered from reorganization costs, which amounted to €95.9 million in non-recurring charges, including unspecified project terminations (so, Am I Alive?). Presumably, if Ubisoft is now appropriately restructured, it can focus more effectively on making successful products again. "For example," Guillemot offered, "we plan to launch a free-to-play world based on our highly popular franchise for young girls, Imagine."
Reader Comments (22)
Posted: May 12th 2011 2:22PM ansalon929 said
is it just me or is like every company reporting losses in the video game industry..................................quick someone blame someone else
Posted: May 12th 2011 3:18PM SuperWoody64 said
@ansalon929
I know Ubi's problem though. Have you looked at the DS section of any game store lately? Between imagine and Petz they're killing us. Meanwhile not one of those games say "From the makers of assassin's creed!"
Reply
I know Ubi's problem though. Have you looked at the DS section of any game store lately? Between imagine and Petz they're killing us. Meanwhile not one of those games say "From the makers of assassin's creed!"
Posted: May 12th 2011 5:06PM Hunter141072 said
@ansalon929
I know!!! piracy!!! and second hand market!!!!!!!! see?????????? it´s easy!!!
Reply
I know!!! piracy!!! and second hand market!!!!!!!! see?????????? it´s easy!!!
Posted: May 12th 2011 2:24PM noobtube said
Ubisoft needs to die
Posted: May 12th 2011 2:35PM baby sea tuna said
@noobtube
That's such a blanket statement. They may have a ton of shovelware and sequels to sequels to garbage, but they also make some quality games. They just haven't made a ton of them in the past year or so.
Reply
That's such a blanket statement. They may have a ton of shovelware and sequels to sequels to garbage, but they also make some quality games. They just haven't made a ton of them in the past year or so.
Posted: May 12th 2011 2:44PM koehler83 said
@baby sea tuna Totally agree. Though I understand the sentiment. As a publisher and a "brand", Ubisoft kinda sucks.
Their Montreal studio is a powerhouse though. And their new Toronto studio looks to be coming together well too. That seems to be where Splinter Cell is headed, with Montreal likely to continue focusing on Assassin's Creed and continue trying to successfully reboot Prince of Persia.
It's hard to stomach one of your favorite developers putting out all the pandering crap that they do.
Reply
Their Montreal studio is a powerhouse though. And their new Toronto studio looks to be coming together well too. That seems to be where Splinter Cell is headed, with Montreal likely to continue focusing on Assassin's Creed and continue trying to successfully reboot Prince of Persia.
It's hard to stomach one of your favorite developers putting out all the pandering crap that they do.
Posted: May 12th 2011 2:57PM baby sea tuna said
@koehler83
Yeah, AC, GRAW, and R6:Vegas are among my favorite franchises this gen (and PoP and SC from last gen) but I guess I have to come to terms with the fact that Ubisoft isn't in business to make 100% high-quality products, they're in business to make profits for their shareholders. That's fine, I'll just ignore all the Rabbids, Babiez, and sub-par dance games clogging up the shelves and y'all can wake me up when a new Rainbow Six game gets announced (E3, PLEASE?!)
Reply
Yeah, AC, GRAW, and R6:Vegas are among my favorite franchises this gen (and PoP and SC from last gen) but I guess I have to come to terms with the fact that Ubisoft isn't in business to make 100% high-quality products, they're in business to make profits for their shareholders. That's fine, I'll just ignore all the Rabbids, Babiez, and sub-par dance games clogging up the shelves and y'all can wake me up when a new Rainbow Six game gets announced (E3, PLEASE?!)
Posted: May 12th 2011 4:14PM SynthOno said
@koehler83 I think Ubisoft is just too big. There's no coherent brand behind it, there are a ton of studios involved all sort of doing their own thing. I think what they should do is spin off the different divisions into separate companies but under the same distribution network. Give the Imagine guys their own brand, have a casual brand, a brand for core gamers, and so on. It would give consumers some idea of what to expect from each badge, and give the company some focus that it desperately needs, since given what's released it's clear Ubisoft has no focus at all.
Reply
Posted: May 12th 2011 2:34PM R Planteer said
At this rate, Activision-Blizzard will be the only major gaming company left alive in 5 years...
Imagine a year where the only 2 major releases are CoD 8 and WoW: Catalysm of the Lich King's Wrath.
Imagine a year where the only 2 major releases are CoD 8 and WoW: Catalysm of the Lich King's Wrath.
Posted: May 12th 2011 2:36PM baby sea tuna said
@R Planteer
Uh oh, did something happen to EA while I was at lunch?
Reply
Uh oh, did something happen to EA while I was at lunch?
Posted: May 12th 2011 2:46PM R Planteer said
@baby sea tuna
No news on EA yet, but given that Mirrors Edge 2 was canceled and that they have Bioware churning out sequels at a breakneck pace, my confidence in them is dropping steadly.
Reply
No news on EA yet, but given that Mirrors Edge 2 was canceled and that they have Bioware churning out sequels at a breakneck pace, my confidence in them is dropping steadly.
Posted: May 12th 2011 2:58PM baby sea tuna said
@R Planteer
But Dead Space 2 and Bulletstorm were soooo good!
Reply
But Dead Space 2 and Bulletstorm were soooo good!
Posted: May 12th 2011 3:12PM (Unverified) said
Hopefully their timely exploration of the rhythm gaming market will be well rewarded with Rocksmith.
Posted: May 12th 2011 3:28PM dak4 said
Beyond Good & Evil port to Nintendo 3DS will fix that!
Posted: May 12th 2011 3:39PM MRL3G3ND said
Ubi stupid...these bafoons are sitting on two high grossing triple A titles, and they are scratching their heads as to why they are loosing millions...next thing you know they'll be blaming it on the economy...friggin morons...
Posted: May 12th 2011 3:56PM SynthOno said
An open online world from the Imagine series, which is marketed to little girls? What are they going to call it, "Imagine: Sexual Predators"?
Posted: May 12th 2011 4:28PM (Unverified) said
just dance 3 for PS3 move please. I would seriously pick that up instead of some other games this fall like Resistance or arkham city.
Posted: May 12th 2011 5:48PM (Unverified) said
And things won't get better until they get to crackin with Beyond Good & Evil 2.
I highly doubt that's actually the case, that's just the only thing I want to hear about from Ubi right now. Not their woes, or info on the latest yearly installment of Assassin's Creed. The more they sit on it (BGE2) the more awareness and buzz will fade. Show some faith in the title, stop acting so scared!
I highly doubt that's actually the case, that's just the only thing I want to hear about from Ubi right now. Not their woes, or info on the latest yearly installment of Assassin's Creed. The more they sit on it (BGE2) the more awareness and buzz will fade. Show some faith in the title, stop acting so scared!
Posted: May 12th 2011 5:59PM BoBsS said
This isn't news really, Ubisoft, like EA, are very big and have studios and ongoing projects around the globe, its hard to manage and things move around a lot.
If it weren't for their successful franchises, and ridonculous sales, then they'd be on the verge of bankruptcy.
If it weren't for their successful franchises, and ridonculous sales, then they'd be on the verge of bankruptcy.
Posted: May 12th 2011 7:22PM BFBeast666 said
Ubi needs to do three things to get back up again.
First: Stop releasing ungodly amounts of DS/3DS/Wii Shovelware. Nobody buys that crap.
Second: Invest the money saved from not paying shovelware developers into either good new IPs or new installments of existing ones.
Third: Forget that stupid "always on" copy protection crap on PC and concentrate on making good games instead.
Its a fact that the "core" gamers are the guys that consistently buy games on a regular basis (as opposed to the casual demographic, they follow trends and abandon them quickly if "the next big thing comes around) and therefore core gamers are the ones that should be courted like there's no tomorrow.
First: Stop releasing ungodly amounts of DS/3DS/Wii Shovelware. Nobody buys that crap.
Second: Invest the money saved from not paying shovelware developers into either good new IPs or new installments of existing ones.
Third: Forget that stupid "always on" copy protection crap on PC and concentrate on making good games instead.
Its a fact that the "core" gamers are the guys that consistently buy games on a regular basis (as opposed to the casual demographic, they follow trends and abandon them quickly if "the next big thing comes around) and therefore core gamers are the ones that should be courted like there's no tomorrow.
Posted: May 12th 2011 7:24PM BFBeast666 said
@BFBeast666 And to make myself clear, I'm not hating on DS/3DS/WIi in general, only all that "Sophie & Friends"-, "Petz" and other casual stuff. The casual market has imploded, but none of the bean counters seems to have realized that yet.
Reply





