Ubisoft 2007 Annual Report Download - page 6

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boost the games for everyone line
We are now a reference in this sector, which represents almost 25% of our
annual turnover (€230 million). Our aim is to increase this source of revenue
to €300 million in 2008-09.
continue to pursue our strategy
of building strong brands
In 2008-09, we will launch five new brands, including Shaun White
Snowboarding, Tom Clancy’s EndWar™ and Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X™.
Moreover, our successful franchises will be further strengthened by the high-
ly-anticipated sequels to Prince of Persia®, Far Cry®and Brothers in Arms®.
Finally, the casual games market will not be overlooked with the release of
titles such as My Health Coach: Weight Management. These multiple launch-
es will flesh out our brand portfolio even further.
increase investments
in the production of digital images
Characters and virtual worlds created for video games are now being adapt-
ed to other media platforms, such as books, films, TV series, the Internet
etc. Ubisoft foresaw multimedia convergence back in 2006, investing in a CGI
studio in Montreal. The recent acquisition of Hybride, a production studio
specialized in special effects for cinema, is in keeping with our investment
strategy in this domain. The purchase of all the intellectual property rights
related to the Tom Clancy name for video games and derivative products
such as movies, books or television, will further consolidate our efforts.
Bringing our creations to other media forms will allow us to pool our
resources in production, whilst enriching our franchises, and will represent a
substantial new source of income.
make headway in the mmog market
and social networks
Ubisoft plans to develop its own online gaming communities on PCs and con-
soles. With Heroes of Might and Magic®Kingdoms and the long-awaited
Tom Clancy’s EndWar™, this year Ubisoft will be present on the web-based
segment of the market. Moreover, some of our hit brands are already in the
pre-production phase in the MMOG (4) sector. Experts in the domain have
joined our team in China, and will help us to quickly get our feet off the
ground with an operational structure dedicated to online games.
2008-09 looks like it’s going to be another record year, both for the video
game industry and for Ubisoft. The challenges are sizeable, but we’ve got
some spectacular titles, developed internally and in association with partner
studios, that have the potential to become big hits. We plan to continue sur-
prising gamers, by offering them ever more innovative titles. I am very con-
fident we’ll reach our objective of €1 billion sales figures this year, with an
operating margin of at least 12%.
I would like to thank the gamers, our shareholders and all our partners for
the trust they place in us. I would also like to thank the Ubisoft teams whose
passion, talent, creativity and enthusiasm has made the company what it is
today and will enable us to overcome the challenges that lie ahead.
yves guillemot
chairman & ceo
FORESEEING
MULTIMEDIA
CONVERGENCE
,,