Ubisoft - Wii U hasn't done as well as expected, still has a chance to succeed
A portion of a CVG interview with Ubisoft's Yves Guillemot...
CVG: We should also include Wii U in the next-gen conversation. How do you reflect on the decision to back the console so early on?
YG: I would say that it didn't do as well as we expected. But if Nintendo comes with good brands this year and takes advantage of the yen, then maybe they have a chance to have a machine that has high quality games and at a reasonable price.
Because we believe a lot in the second screen and the touch possibilities, the fact that you have a different way to play. We learned a lot in doing that and we are already reusing that knowledge using companion apps on tablets, telephones and so on.
What I see is we will be able to use a lot more of those devices on the big games we will create. The companion is going to step-by-step become another device to play that will be adapted to a larger audience and still be very interesting to gamers.
You will be able to play with friends from outside of home and still have a big impact on what's happening in the game. We will see a big increase in terms of that possibility over the next few years.
CVG: Can the full Wii U experience be recreated on other platforms using those companion apps?
YG: You can do a lot. What the Nintendo GamePad has is the speed of communication between the two devices, but if you manage to cope with higher latency [on other devices] you can still do many things. So you don't want players to have to react too fast... it's complementary to the experience.
So when we add all of those possibilities, plus graphics and AI, we think that the [next-gen] games will be of a fantastic quality and give us a chance to deliver something different from what you had in the old generation.
CVG: We should also include Wii U in the next-gen conversation. How do you reflect on the decision to back the console so early on?
YG: I would say that it didn't do as well as we expected. But if Nintendo comes with good brands this year and takes advantage of the yen, then maybe they have a chance to have a machine that has high quality games and at a reasonable price.
Because we believe a lot in the second screen and the touch possibilities, the fact that you have a different way to play. We learned a lot in doing that and we are already reusing that knowledge using companion apps on tablets, telephones and so on.
What I see is we will be able to use a lot more of those devices on the big games we will create. The companion is going to step-by-step become another device to play that will be adapted to a larger audience and still be very interesting to gamers.
You will be able to play with friends from outside of home and still have a big impact on what's happening in the game. We will see a big increase in terms of that possibility over the next few years.
CVG: Can the full Wii U experience be recreated on other platforms using those companion apps?
YG: You can do a lot. What the Nintendo GamePad has is the speed of communication between the two devices, but if you manage to cope with higher latency [on other devices] you can still do many things. So you don't want players to have to react too fast... it's complementary to the experience.
So when we add all of those possibilities, plus graphics and AI, we think that the [next-gen] games will be of a fantastic quality and give us a chance to deliver something different from what you had in the old generation.
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