Joystiq

Ubisoft Montpellier artist challenges dismissal over caricatures of management

Xav de Matos — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 20:00:00 EST

After being dismissed for illustrating caricatures of his Ubisoft Montpellier managers, artist Alain 'Gaston' Rémy has decided to challenge the terms of the December 2012 decision.

In a report filed by France 3's news desk, the former Ubisoft employee says that the illustrations were done for humor and notes none of the caricatures were ever made public, according to a translation of the original story. Working with Ubisoft for a total of six years, Gaston's primary focus at the studio was working on the publisher's Rabbids franchise. A French labor court is expected to make its decision on the matter on July 26.

Gaston's library of work includes a slew of comics and animation projects, all with an embellished humorous style, as seen above.

Ubisoft Montpellier artist challenges dismissal over caricatures of management originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 12 Apr 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rayman creator Michel Ancel appears in Legends delay protest

JC Fletcher — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 11:30:00 EST

Rayman creator Michel Ancel and staff from Ubisoft Montpellier have shown implicit desire to have Rayman Legends released. Staffers including Ancel posted with fan Joffrey Babilotte and a banner he made, reading "Release Rayman, Support Ubisoft Montpellier" (in French). Rayman is on the banner saying "SVP" - "please." Babilotte made the sign and brought it "to the gates of Ubi Montpellier."

Rayman Legends was due to be released this month on Wii U, but Ubisoft delayed the presumably finished game, to release it simultaneously with Xbox 360 and PS3 ports in September.

Rayman creator Michel Ancel appears in Legends delay protest originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 12 Feb 2013 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ZombiU co-op shelved early on, over 300,000 survivor deaths logged

David Hinkle — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 01:30:00 EST

We lauded the tense moment to moment survival of ZombiU play in our review, but some have criticized the game's lack of online co-op. Developer Ubisoft Montpellier says the idea was considered but scrapped fairly early into development.

Producer Guillaume Brunier said "we thought we could not deliver it on time," citing the crunch to make Wii U launch in an interview with Nintendo World Report. "How to bring a cooperative experience and still keep fear and tension is a question we would love to address though."

Other topics include potential DLC or even the notion that ZombiU has more games to come - Brunier didn't reveal much but did say that the Ubisoft Montpellier servers have the death logs of 300,000 survivors to draw from. "Who knows what we could do with them," he teased. Our suggestion? Stop scrapbooking our deaths, you monsters.

ZombiU co-op shelved early on, over 300,000 survivor deaths logged originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 22 Jan 2013 01:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Joystiq Top 10 of 2012: ZombiU

Xav de Matos — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 10:00:00 EST

ZombiU had a lot stacked against it before it arrived. It's a launch game for a new Nintendo platform, from a company which famously over-promised and under-delivered with another launch game, Red Steel, for the Wii in 2006. It doesn't help that the Ubisoft Montpellier game is called ZombiU, a name that screams "bland, poorly-executed shovelware." But the survival-focused action of ZombiU does a lot to set itself apart from the horde of Wii U launch games: it features the most interesting use of the console's tablet-like controller, can be punishingly difficult, and returns the survival-horror genre to its roots of surviving on scraps and fearing for your life around every corner.

The premise of ZombiU is a simple, if not overused, one. An outbreak has turned the city - London this time - into a feeding ground for the undead. As you scour the city for the last remnants of weapons and supplies, you start uncovering the mystery surrounding the outbreak.

The real majesty of ZombiU is found within its moment-to-moment progression. There's an internal struggle that continues to boil forward throughout the game, leaving you to question when you should dig in to that valuable inventory. It may seem like a good idea to burn ammo on a small group of brain-munching monsters in one room, but what if the next area poses a greater threat? Could you survive with your trusty, slow-swinging cricket bat for now? Is it worth moving forward an inch now, only to be set back miles later? It's the fear of the unknown, and your potential death, that makes those moments so intense.

Gallery: ZombiU (Gamescom 2012)

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Joystiq Top 10 of 2012: ZombiU originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 01 Jan 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No plans for ZombiU DLC, but it's always good to be prepared

Jessica Conditt — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 20:30:00 EST

Ubisoft Montpellier doesn't plan to add any downloadable content to ZombiU because the team was able to accomplish all of its goals with the game itself, multiplayer director Bogdan Bridinel says. Nintendo Life quotes Bridinel from an interview with Official Nintendo Magazine, where he describes ZombiU's development and editing process.

"A few things that we tried during production ended up on the cutting room floor, but this was because they didn't work out as well as we had hoped, not because the schedule forced us to," Bridinel says.

If ZombiU turns out to be extremely successful, Bridinel does think DLC "could become a possibility." So really, if ZombiU never gets any DLC it's all your fault. Just keep that in mind, zombie killers.

No plans for ZombiU DLC, but it's always good to be prepared originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 19 Nov 2012 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rayman Legends a European Wii U launch title, dropping Nov. 30 [update]

Jordan Mallory — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 10:25:00 EST

We knew that Ubisoft's Rayman Legends would be launching on the Wii U sometime this Christmas season, but now we know specifically when, at least in Europe: November 30. The game was announced as a European Wii U launch title during Nintendo's European Wii U event this morning.

Naturally, the game's heavy WiiPad functionality was shown off, which allows one player to add lums into the world and otherwise assist the other players, but otherwise the real meat of the announcement was the European release date. We're keeping an eye out for its North American equivalent and will update as we know more.

Update: Ubisoft sends us a short video of Rayman creator Michel Ancel explaining why he's bringing Rayman Legends to Wii U, which you can watch above.

Rayman Legends a European Wii U launch title, dropping Nov. 30 [update] originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 10:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rayman Legends is a Wii U exclusive

Jordan Mallory — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 21:30:00 EST

When Rayman Legends launches as a Wii U game this fall, that's all it'll be launching as. According to the last three or so seconds of the game's Gamescom trailer above, Rayman Legends will be a Wii U exclusive.

Considering the amount of touchscreen/Wiipad stuff going in this trailer, it's clear that Ubisoft has been taking Wii U integration seriously - we just didn't think it was that serious. All Rayman titles up until this point have been multiplatform, and since Ubisoft itself said the game wasn't necessarily an exclusive back in June, we kinda expected that to be the case.

We asked Ubisoft for clarification just to make super extra sure, and were told that "yes, Rayman Legends is a Wii U exclusive. It will be releasing in Holiday 2012."

Still, we'd be surprised if the game didn't end up other other platforms eventually, though we imagine quite a bit of rejiggering would be required to make Rayman Legends function on an Xbox. The PS3, however, could handle it quite easily provided there was also a Vita involved.

Rayman Legends is a Wii U exclusive originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 15 Aug 2012 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Running through the snow with Assassin's Creed 3 creative lead Alex Hutchinson

Ben Gilbert — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 12:00:00 EST

Assassin's Creed 3 protagonist Connor introduces more than just unpronounceable names to the AC series. Ubisoft creative lead Alex Hutchinson cheerfully elucidates those additions in the latest gameplay walkthrough, above.

Running through the snow with Assassin's Creed 3 creative lead Alex Hutchinson originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 13 Jun 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Play.com lists 'Ubisoft Triple Pack,' containing Beyond Good and Evil HD, Outland, From Dust [update]

Jordan Mallory — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST

It looks like more downloadable titles will be getting the packaged retail treatment, this time courtesy of Ubisoft. Similar to the various other retail packs we've seen in the past, the "Ubisoft Triple Pack" will contain three previously download-only titles for PS3 and Xbox 360: Beyond Good and Evil HD, Outland and From Dust, according to a listing on Play.com.

Play.com's pre-order price of £14.99 equates to roughly $23, although no listings currently exist for the Triple Pack on any of the usual US retailers' websites. We've contacted Ubisoft for clarification regarding the collection's availability and pricing, but we feel safe in assuming that it'll cost more than $1 and less than $100 million, and that it'll be available in a country somewhere on this specific planet.

Update: Ubisoft has responded in a wholly surprising and remarkably unpredictable fashion: "We have nothing to announce at this time."

Play.com lists 'Ubisoft Triple Pack,' containing Beyond Good and Evil HD, Outland, From Dust [update] originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Best of the Rest: Arthur's picks of 2011

Arthur Gies — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:00:00 EST

Battlefield 3
I love Battlefield 3. I love it almost as much as it seems to hate its players.

At least, that's the way it feels sometimes, trying to get into a game, trying to get correctly squaded up, trying to find a server with room, having to use a server browser on consoles in 2011, downloading 2 GIGABYTE patches ... y u no luv me, BF3?

But when it does love me, it loves me so well ... and there I go, into that cycle of abuse again.

Continue reading Best of the Rest: Arthur's picks of 2011

Best of the Rest: Arthur's picks of 2011 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Adventures of Tintin, as seen on 3DS

JC Fletcher — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 00:30:00 EST

We've seen suspiciously little of Ubisoft's Adventures of Tintin tie-in game, which is due for release on December 6. We've seen absolutely nothing of the 3DS version until today, when Ubisoft sent out this trailer. And, thanks to the convention of putting gameplay footage of handheld games on a tiny (simulated) screen within the trailer, it's pretty hard to see what is there.

But squint hard enough, and you'll see what looks like a ton of variety. There are side-scrolling segments, 3D segments, puzzles, platforming, fights, and, of course, cramming a dog into a vent.

The Adventures of Tintin, as seen on 3DS originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 24 Nov 2011 00:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Beyond Good & Evil 2 concept art spied in presentation, leaked footage authenticated

Christopher Grant — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 11:25:00 EST

Early footage of Beyond Good & Evil 2 leaked out of Ubisoft's porous, Parisian vaults over two years ago, in May of 2009. That was roughly one year after the much-anticipated sequel was announced ... and promptly forgotten again. And now, some three-and-a-half years after that announcement, we've got the first official look at the game and, what do ya know, it's the very same footage from 2009!

During an on-stage presentation at the Montpellier in Game 2011 conference, series creator Michel Ancel discussed the setting for the game, showed some concept art (conveniently screengrabbed at NeoGAF) and at the end, shared the same footage that you saw forever ago, in internet years. At this rate, we'd think the proposed Xbox 720 / PS4 debut would be an aggressive timetable. What's 360 times three?

Continue reading Beyond Good & Evil 2 concept art spied in presentation, leaked footage authenticated

Beyond Good & Evil 2 concept art spied in presentation, leaked footage authenticated originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 22 Nov 2011 11:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rayman Origins review: Everybody loves Rayman

Richard Mitchell — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 12:01:00 EST

When I was a kid, video games didn't have "features," at least not in the way we know them today. There was no online multiplayer, no leaderboards, no persistent character progression. There were no detailed stat tracking services (with social integration, of course). If anything, a game might have had local multiplayer which, in those days, we simply called "two-player."

Like the games of my youth, Rayman Origins has almost no modern features. What it does have is an overwhelming sense of joy that I haven't felt for a very long time.

Gallery: Rayman Origins (GamesCom 2011 - Xbox 360/PS3)

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Rayman Origins review: Everybody loves Rayman originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 10 Nov 2011 12:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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From Dust review: It's hard out here for a god

Justin McElroy — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:20:00 EST

"Why does God let bad things happen?" It's perhaps the toughest question for people of faith to answer. How is it that a loving deity, who cares equally about all his creations, let some of them suffer so terribly?

For whatever strengths or faults it has, From Dust has allowed me to find the answer to this most vexing of issues. I would like to share that answer with you now.

God lets bad things happen because he honestly forgot he put the exploding tree there.

Gallery: From Dust (5/27/11)

Continue reading From Dust review: It's hard out here for a god

From Dust review: It's hard out here for a god originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rayman Origins Comic-Con trailer makes up a bunch of accolades

Griffin McElroy — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 03:00:00 EST

The latest, Comic-Con-targeted trailer for Rayman Origins is toeing a fairly questionable line of truthfulness. Sure, it's probably joking when it says it won an award at E3 for having the "Character With The Biggest Butt," but that's still a lie. That award would obviously go to Cookie Monster.

Continue reading Rayman Origins Comic-Con trailer makes up a bunch of accolades

Rayman Origins Comic-Con trailer makes up a bunch of accolades originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 22 Jul 2011 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ubisoft details Adventures of Tintin: The Game, has Kinect and Move support

Mike Schramm — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 22:55:00 EST

Ubisoft has handed out some details on the upcoming game based on the Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson-produced Adventures of Tintin movie. A trailer and short segment of gameplay was shown at the company's E3 conference this afternoon, featuring both a singleplayer campaign that will take players to famous locations in Tintin's world, as well as co-op and competitive gameplay modes with sword combat, aerial fighting, and driving sequences.

The game is being developed by Ubisoft Montpellier, the same studio currently working on Rayman Origins and Beyond Good and Evil 2, and is set to come out for consoles and PC later on this holiday season.

Ubisoft details Adventures of Tintin: The Game, has Kinect and Move support originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 22:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Xbox Live Summer of Arcade 2011 kicks off July 20

David Hinkle — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 15:23:00 EST

Can't have summer without hot new Xbox Live games, right? Microsoft has announced its line-up for the warmer months, kicking off July 20 -- strangely, in an email and not, you know, during its E3 2011 press conference. Regardless, a total of five games will be on offer. No exact time table for the games was announced nor prices but, hey, at least we know what's coming.

The first game listed is Toy Soldiers: Cold War, a sequel to one of 2010's most lucrative Xbox Live Arcade games. The next game listed is Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, Fuelcell's stylish UFO simulator, followed by Fruit Ninja Kinect, a flail-tastic port of Halfbrick's darling mobile (and soon, Facebook!) title. Next we have Bastion, a game we suggest you all should keep an eye on. Finally, rounding out the list of games is From Dust, Eric Chahi's god game. An impressive list, to say the least.

It's important to know that this is simply how Microsoft listed the games in its press email and not indicative of when each title will launch throughout the promotion.

Xbox Live Summer of Arcade 2011 kicks off July 20 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 15:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ubisoft confirms Rabbids Go Home for holiday season

Justin McElroy — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:31:00 EST

We brought this news to you via Nintendo Power, but just in case you didn't want to get your hopes up until you heard it straight from the horse's mouth: Ubisoft has confirmed that it'll be bringing Rabbids Go Home to the Wii this holiday season.

We know that the game centers on the rabbids building a pile of junk to get to the moon, and that Ubisoft Montpellier will be developing the game with a new engine, but that's about it for the time being. Check out Nintendo Power's May issue for more details.

Ubisoft confirms Rabbids Go Home for holiday season originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ubisoft has a flood coming

Ben Zackheim — Fri, 18 Mar 2005 07:57:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Nintendo GameCube, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox, Microsoft Xbox 360

Ubisoft has released a long list of titles they plan on throwing at us. Let's see what sticks from the following list:

187 Ride or Die ("urban street racer")
Brothers In Arms expansion
Far Cry add on
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 3
Peter Jackson's King Kong
Prince of Persia 3
Silent Hunter 4
Heroes of Might & Magic 5
Splinter Cell 4
The Settlers mission pack
A Might & Magic title

Uh, looks like almost everything sticks. Nice.

[via BluesNews]

[and thanks Fady]

Ubisoft has a flood coming originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 18 Mar 2005 07:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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King Kong returns with power & emotion

James Ransom-Wiley — Wed, 13 Oct 2004 10:03:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Nintendo GameCube, PC, Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox

Growing industry heavyweight, Ubisoft, has acquired the King Kong license. The Peter Jackson (remake of) King Kong license. The game will be released alongside the movie in December of 2005 on "all platforms". There's an impressive staff behind the project, starting with the production team-headed by Michel Ancel-that was responsible for the last year's stellar action/adventure title, Beyond Good & Evil. Working in collaboration with this team will be Ubisoft's Montreal studio (Splinter Cell & Prince of Persia), along with Jackson's own Wingnut Films production company. Ubisoft promises that the game will allow players to "experience all the power, drama and emotion of the film". We'll keep you updated.

King Kong returns with power & emotion originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 13 Oct 2004 10:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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