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Ubisoft mum on THQ Montreal plans, 'looking forward' to working with Patrice Desilets

Richard Mitchell — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 14:30:00 EST

The dust is beginning to settle after the pieces of THQ were sold off one-by-one last week. Among those pieces is THQ Montreal, which was acquired by Ubisoft. CEO of Ubisoft Montreal and head of Ubisoft Canada, Yannis Mallat, spoke to the Financial Post about the publisher's plans for the studio. First of all, regarding the two IPs acquired in the sale, 1666 and Underdog, Mallat didn't offer concrete details, saying that both are still unannounced projects and "we don't talk about that." For now, Ubisoft is conducting a "thorough analysis" of the studio in order to decide what to do with it going forward.

Mallat said that Ubisoft plans to keep the existing studio space, as well as the "possibility" for existing employees to stay with the studio. When asked explicitly whether any staff would be let go, Mallat said only "we had and we still have very ambitious plans in terms of growth even before this acquisition," adding that Ubisoft is "thrilled" to be working with the studio on future projects.

Of course, one of the most interesting notes of the sale is that THQ Montreal's creative director is none other than Patrice Desilets, who previously served as creative director on both Assassin's Creed and its fantastically received follow-up, Assassin's Creed 2 (pictured). Desilets left Ubisoft in 2010, later signing on with THQ in 2011. "I've known Patrice for 13 years and I know him very well, he's a great talent and I respect him as a creator," said Mallat, though he did not directly confirm whether Desilets will remain with the studio. Mallat did note, however, that the team is "very happy to look forward to working with him again" and that there are "definitely" plans to discuss Desilets' return to Ubisoft.

Ubisoft mum on THQ Montreal plans, 'looking forward' to working with Patrice Desilets originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 28 Jan 2013 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ubisoft: Assassin's Creed 2 is 'awesome' -- there's no room for bad games

James Ransom-Wiley — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EST

Fittingly, there is only one big-name, multiplatform game comfortable in the shadow of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's release next month: Assassin's Creed 2. While it's not the only game willing to test its selling power against the potential "bestselling title of all time" -- Left 4 Dead 2 seems aptly titled; and New Super Mario Bros. Wii should collect coin on its platform -- Assassin's Creed 2 is easily November's second-most significant multi-console release.

When pressed for comment about AC2 going up against MW2 and the possibility of his game (ha!) surpassing Infinity Ward's shooter in sales, Yannis Mallat, CEO of AC2 developer Ubisoft Montreal, admitted to VideoGamer.com that he was not "pretentious" enough to predict a sales outcome, but added, "I can certainly say there is no room any more for average or bad games, but there is still a lot of room for awesome games, and that's what Assassin's Creed is."

Internally, Ubisoft has set its standards high -- two years ago, the first Assassin's Creed moved 2.5 million units in its first month at retail to become the fastest-selling new game IP in U.S. history. Of course, two years ago, Call of Duty 4 was claiming records of its own. Ubisoft would not dare pit AC2 against MW2 in an outright sales challenge, but, in embodying its franchise's ethos, with a little patience, Ubisoft will almost certainly enjoy successful sales of AC2 over the course of the holiday season. After all, who among us has ever been content to settle on just one awesome game when there are many to enjoy?

Ubisoft: Assassin's Creed 2 is 'awesome' -- there's no room for bad games originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jade Raymond to head up Ubisoft Toronto, focusing on AAA games and new IPs

Christopher Grant — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:15:00 EST

While the whereabouts of Beyond Good & Evil 2's Jade are still - frustratingly - unknown, the whereabouts of Ubisoft's other Jade - that would be Jade Raymond, of Assassin's Creed fame - are quite known. Though she's been somewhat out of the limelight after initially trumpeting up the still-not-out-yet I Am Alive, Ms. Raymond is still alive and has been chosen as the head of the recently announced Ubisoft Toronto.

But hey, we know you're worried about Yannis Mallat, CEO of both Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Toronto, who told us last month that he would be "handling both" studios. Well, don't fret - Ubisoft's press release says that while "Raymond will oversee day-to-day operations of the Toronto studio's work on video game project," she will do so "under the governance of Yannis Mallat." Ubisoft Toronto is scheduled to open its doors by the end of the year and begin "work on AAA games and new intellectual properties," according to Raymond.

Jade Raymond to head up Ubisoft Toronto, focusing on AAA games and new IPs originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Interview: Ubisoft Montreal & Toronto boss Yannis Mallat

Xav de Matos — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:00:00 EST

Earlier today, Ubisoft announced its continuing Canadian expansion, with a new studio being established in the province of Ontario's capital city of Toronto. In a joint announcement with the Premier (his actual title) of Ontario, Ubi revealed the studio will have about 800 employees, while the government is committing $263 million in funding over the next decade. We spoke with Ubisoft Montreal CEO (and newly formed Ubisoft Toronto boss), Yannis Mallat, about his plans for the company why Toronto was "culturally" the right place for Ubisoft to expand its development reach.

Continue reading Interview: Ubisoft Montreal & Toronto boss Yannis Mallat

Interview: Ubisoft Montreal & Toronto boss Yannis Mallat originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ubisoft totally hearts MotionPlus

Chris Greenhough — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: News, Interviews, Peripherals

Nintendo kept the Wii MotionPlus a secret from everybody for as long as possible, a move that resulted in grumbling from certain third-party developers.

That hasn't diminshed enthusiasm for the tiny add-on, however. During an interview with Gamasutra, Ubisoft Montreal CEO Yannis Mallat couldn't praise the MotionPlus enough (even though he admitted having some doubts at first), enthusing about how the peripheral would make gaming feel "seamless," and arguing that it could only lead to a more immersive experience. "It's one thing to have your brain interpolating what you're doing," gushed Mallat, "[but ] it's another thing to not need that interpolation work."

Elsewhere in the interview, Mallat expressed his view that Shaun White Snowboarding was a "must-try" and described developing Dogz as "psychologically very exciting." Hmm.

Ubisoft totally hearts MotionPlus originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ubisoft: We've got some Wii games in the works

David Hinkle — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: News, Interviews

Game | Life managed to grab a little face time with Yannis Mallat, the head honcho at Ubisoft Montreal (Prince of Persia, Splinter Cell). They grilled him about all manner of subject in the gaming industry, but what we care about mainly was his words in regards to Nintendo's Wii console, and if we would be seeing any new Wii games from the company.

"And right now, we are developing some other Wii titles that we are going to be able to talk about soon," Mallat commented. When asked further about big budget titles having a chance to thrive on the console, Mallat said that those titles are possible for the Wii, but developing for the console is something that needs to be heavily considered. "That console specifically has to be thought of in the same way that it's been produced and designed," he said, adding "when it comes time to make games. And when you hit the right balance, success will just follow."

We don't know about you, but we're excited to hear more about these mystery games.

Ubisoft: We've got some Wii games in the works originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 11 Feb 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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