People are certainly excited about the new generation of gaming. We are currently right in the middle of the next-gen releases, with the PlayStation 4 hitting last week and the Xbox One hitting on Friday. The PlayStation 4 has already flown off the shelves selling over a million consoles in just its first 24 hours. While predictions are lower for the Xbox One, there is little doubt that it will have trouble moving units either. That launch combined with holiday sales is likely to lead to some monster numbers by both companies.
None of this surprises Ubisoft, who has some pretty lofty expectations for the new consoles.
Speaking with Game Industry International, Ubisoft's senior vice-president of marketing and sales, Tony Key, thinks that the number of people with an Xbox One and PlayStation 4 will be vastly greater this generation.
"Our feeling is the installed base of these machines will be much faster to take hold than previous generations. Our feeling is the installed base of these machines will be much faster to take hold than previous generations," he says. "In the first couple of years, we expect double the installed base of previous generations [during that same time period]. ... The reason why is: the last cycle was longer, so there's a lot of pent up demand."
For those of you who like hard numbers that would be around 160 million units for each console.
Whether that is at all likely is something only time will tell but one thing is sure, many gamers will have certainly missed Watch Dogs from their launch library. Key went on to explain the delay of Watch Dogs and that the choice was "heart-breaking" but "not a difficult decision."
He continued by outlining the future for series and how that played into the decision.
"Watch Dogs is designed to be a long-term brand for Ubisoft. We won't launch it until we know it's equaling the vision it can achieve. ... We're playing the long game - and as a company, we know how important it is to get it right."
Ubisoft is well known for trying to churn out franchises from all of its IPs, with yearly sequels for Assassin's Creed often being lamented (but then purchased in mass numbers). Watch Dogs is one of the most anticipated games in the coming year and has been since the E3 before last. Once it is here though, it will certainly be interesting to see Ubisoft's future plans for the series, how frequent any sequels might be, and how long the demand will be as high as it is now.
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Source: Games Industry International