Ubisoft 2000 Annual Report Download - page 32

UBI SOFT / REFERENCE DOCUMENT
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develop games for Playstation®2. Five games were available within
months of its launch, including two at launch time itself: Rayman®
Revolution and Disney’s Dinosaur, followed by Disney’s Donald
Quack Attack, Disney’s Jungle Book Groove Party and F1 Racing
Championship.
In the same way, the version of Rayman® for the Nintendo Game
Boy® Advance handheld console was ready for the launch line-up in
the United States and Europe, and Myst®III will be ready for the
launching of the X-box in Japan. The same was true in the past for
Sega’s Dreamcast® console and the Nintendo 64, which came out in
1998 and 1999.
b) A substantial portfolio of licenses
Ubi Soft regularly signs contracts for licenses to publish and/or
distribute third-party products. Generally speaking, this involves
using a property which already exists, an idea, concept, universe or
theme which is well known to the public. Ubi Soft enters into a licen-
sing agreement when it believes it can add something new, contri-
buting new content by porting it to an interactive entertainment
medium while emphasizing quality at each stage of creating the
game.
Publishing from licenses also means developing graphics which add
value to the subject. This factor is particularly important when it
comes to animating a character which did not originally move (as
was the case with traditional games like Playmobil®), or when using
a 2-D character in a 3-D game (as in the case of XIII, the comic book
character, a five-year license recently acquired from Dargaud).
However, it is important to ensure that the character remains imme-
diately recognizable and has not lost any of its originality. The Group
puts all its know-how to work to bring heroes to life in new interac-
tive adventures.
In addition to game play and graphics, Ubi Soft’s expertise also
involves paying particular attention to music so that it is well suited
to the universe of the license. Each game is tailored to arrive at the
design best suited to the spirit and universe of its hero.
A dedicated team works throughout the year to identify new pro-
ducts. To this end, it studies all existing forms of artistic expression,
from the world of comic books, cinema and television to music and
children’s books, and so forth. The established reputation of certain
characters and universes gives the Group an opportunity to attract a
broad public.
Here too, the Group’s international network helps exploit the com-
mercial potential of a given license.
When a possible license is identified, the rapid response of Ubi
Soft’s teams makes it possible to propose a game design to poten-
tial partners very quickly.
There are three pillars to Ubi Soft’s license strategy:
>“timeless” licenses or the great classics, such as Walt Disney’s
Jungle Book or F1 Racing;
>present-day licenses, basically subjects taken from the world of
cinema and TV;
>licenses for sports and media personalities.
Ubi Soft generally enters into long-term licenses, such as the ten-
year license signed with Largo Winch and the seventeen-year licen-
se with Tom Clancy. Other licenses range from three to five years.
Contracts with the owners of licenses generally provide for guarantees
as to the quantities sold and the payment of royalties per unit sold.
Licenses thus make it possible to boost sales by a factor of two or
three, extend product lifetimes using scenarios and spin-off pro-
ducts, and reduce marketing costs.
For example, the release of a game simultaneously with a film helps
give a leverage effect in terms of product promotion, as will be the
case for the coming release of the remake of ET, the Extra Terrestrial
(NewKidCo license).
The new license agreements for this financial year were:
>Colin McRae Rally, Mike Tyson Boxing Codemasters
and TOCA World Touring Cars
>XIII Dargaud
>Disney ‘s Donald Duck Goin’ Quackers,
Walt Disney ‘s The Jungle Book Groove Party, Disney Interactive
Disney ‘s Tarzan ™
>Largo Winch Dupuis
>Scrabble, Monster Jam Maximum Destruction Mattel Interactive
>Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon ™ Sony Pictures Consumer Products
>Batman™:Vengeance Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment
These beef up a license portfolio that is already very strong: Warner
Bros Interactive Entertainment (Batman, The Powerpuff Girls),
Disney Interactive (Goofy’s Fun House), Sony Pictures Consumer
Products (VIP, for a ten-year term), Sony Online Entertainment
(Everquest®: The Ruins of Kunark™).
In addition, Ubi Soft produces games by third-party publishers, which
in 2000/2001 represented 31% of the Group’s consolidated sales:
>The Powerpuff Girls™ BAM!Entertainment
>Super Street Fighter 2X Revival,
Street Fighter Alpha 3, Mega Man 1 and 2, Capcom
Breath of Fire 1 and 2, Final Fight 1
>Battle Realms, Armored Core, Kengo, Crave
Ultimate Fighting Championship
>Conquest: Frontier Wars worldwide Digital Anvil Holdings
>Disney’s Goofy’s Fun House Disney Interactive
>Grandia II, Evolution II Entertainment Software Publishing
>Conflict Zone ™ MASA (Mathématiques appliquées SA)
>Ministry of Sound Ministry of Sound
>Reel Fishing® II, Harvest Moon®: Back to Nature Natsume
>E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Tom & Jerry NewKidCo