Ubisoft 2002 Annual Report Download - page 15

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 15 of the 2002 Ubisoft annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 116

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92
  • 93
  • 94
  • 95
  • 96
  • 97
  • 98
  • 99
  • 100
  • 101
  • 102
  • 103
  • 104
  • 105
  • 106
  • 107
  • 108
  • 109
  • 110
  • 111
  • 112
  • 113
  • 114
  • 115
  • 116

2003
15
ANNUAL
REPORT
Ubisoft in a dynamic market
2
An astonishingly fast start-up for online
console games
Launched in the United States in November 2002,
Xbox™ Live sold nearly 500,000 units in just eight
months (Source: Microsoft). Xbox™ Live gamers devote
an average of 2.5 hours to gaming each day. The online
version of PlayStation®2, launched in August 2002 in
the United States, has also met with very dynamic
growth: 800.000 units were sold in less than a year’s
time (Source: Sony).
The multiplayer mode has long been one of the main
attractions of video games. It first allowed several
gamers to play together on a single console and led to
the creation of LAN video game cafes.The Internet now
makes remote access to multiplayer console games
possible – a technological development that has
tremendously increased the potential of games, giving
them a whole new dimension.
Ubisoft has always believed in the multiplayer mode,
and the Group now enjoys a significant lead in this
domain. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon™ was one of the
best-selling titles on Xbox™ Live and one of the most-
played games on the official Xbox™ Live site in 2002.
Over half of all Ubisoft games currently under develop-
ment have online functionalities. Players are eagerly
awaiting, for example, the online features of two new
episodes – Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon™:Island Thunder™
and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell™: Pandora Tomorrow on
Xbox™ and PlayStation®2 – to be released in fiscal
2003/04.
Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) games
Multiplayer mode takes on a totally different dimension
when it comes to MMO games. MMO games run around
the clock. An unlimited number of participants can
create an avatar and go online whenever they want.
Gamers thus join a worldwide community where they
can share ideas and experiences and play against each
other. A dozen major MMO titles are currently on the
market (including two published by Ubisoft), and the
total number of subscribers has already surpassed
1 million.This is an extremely promising segment.
Published by Ubisoft, EverQuest™ (430,000 subscribers
around the world), Shadowbane (over 120,000 units sold
and 50,000 subscribers) and Matrix Online™ (launch
planned for summer 2004) represent the major headway
the group has made in this new,highly promising market
segment. Indeed, Matrix Online™ received the prize for
the most innovative game at the E3 2003 world video
game exhibition.