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Ubisoft is now sharing engagement levels instead of sales shipment numbers, talks R6

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
Not many holdouts still sharing shipment numbers at this point, especially in the West.

Ubisoft said:
The third-quarter 2015-16 was notably marked by:

-A slower launch than expected for Assassin's Creed® Syndicate, in an exceptionally fierce competitive environment. The game's quality was lauded by the franchise's fans, however, and the Group was particularly pleased with the marked rise in players' engagement compared with the prior title.

-Record player engagement levels for Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, with first-person shooter fans especially appreciating the quality of the multiplayer mode.


-The increasing weighting of digital within Ubisoft's overall sales, with this segment's revenues amounting to €207.7 million for the first nine months of 2015-16 and representing 27.0% of the total, versus 21.2% for the same period of 2014-15.

-A 42.6% jump in back-catalog sales to €280.8 million for the first nine months of 2015-16.
Yves Guillemot, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, stated "Looking beyond our sales figures for the quarter, which have led us to update our full-year targets, our strategy of focusing on player engagement is paying off. For example, Rainbow Six Siege achieved record engagement levels during the period thanks to the success of its exceptional multiplayer mode. These advances are a decisive step in our business development and demonstrate the strong execution of our strategy, which will ultimately translate into regular revenue streams and enhanced profitability. The upcoming releases of Far Cry Primal and The Division should confirm these trends. The Division - whose recent closed beta exceeded all of our expectations - is set to be one of the largest launches of a new brand in the history of the video game industry."

"We are now in a position to take the decision not to release a new Assassin's Creed game in 2016-17, in order to give the brand a new dimension, while still presenting very solid targets for the fiscal year. These targets reflect the measures we have been putting in place over the past few years to transform our business model. Our portfolio of powerful franchises is solid and balanced and our global audience is growing steadily. At the same time, the digital segment is playing an increasingly important role and we are making a strong comeback in multiplayer. We now create experiences that accompany players throughout the year so we can enhance their long-term engagement. Each of these positive factors testifies to the change in Ubisoft's profile and has a favorable impact on our financial performance."

Guillemot concluded by saying "Our medium-term targets - which we will be presenting in a week's time - will confirm our potential for growth, enhanced profitability, cash generation and value creation for our shareholders."
Source: http://inpublic.globenewswire.com/2...s+third+quarter+2015+16+sales+HUG1985569.html
 

Ralemont

not me
I'm glad that Ubisoft is looking at the positives for Syndicate (obviously that's what they'd say no matter what, but still). Unity hurt its sales, but so much of what it did, it did better than any AC has done so far.
 

Fuchsdh

Member
Cynically you can say it's because they're lower sales, which is probably true.... butttt

Software as a service is definitely taking off with games. Having lower launch numbers for Halo 5 doesn't matter much compared to the traditional metrics if Microsoft is making enough of micro transactions for REQ packs that they can afford to up prize pools to $3 million. In that sense, engagement with a game is starting to matter much more.
 
Syndicate underperforming feels like just desserts after the shambles that was Unity, and just the ceaseless milking of the IP in general.
 

AHA-Lambda

Member
Urgh, I really hate this obfuscation ;_;

Why won't they just say how well something sold? Why are video games so secretive where Hollywood is so open?
 

_machine

Member
Not too surprising when you look at the fact that they are focusing more and more on Games-as-a-Service with titles like Destiny, For Honor, Wildlands and even titles like Trials Fusion already had the principle in some effect. That and, it helps group together the fact that mobile will also be portion of their future. I also feel like engagement is a much better factor of quality and sustainability, compared to sales (even over a course of multiple titles, where returning users can be used to measure quality).

That, and as productions still keep climbing in complexity and cost, there will be significant effort in raising the value of a customer.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
Urgh, I really hate this obfuscation ;_;

Why won't they just say how well something sold? Why are video games so secretive where Hollywood is so open?

Because they didnt sell well. Syndicate flopped hard, and Rainbow Six was even worse. Why would the reveal the numbers that could cause their shares to drop.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
Urgh, I really hate this obfuscation ;_;

Why won't they just say how well something sold? Why are video games so secretive where Hollywood is so open?
The unit sales are going down, but frequently revenue and especially profitability is improving because of the amount of DLC and microtransactions people are buying.

They don't want to report declining units so they focus on the part of their business that's working well.
 

Popcicle

Hot Texas Chili
I think you're looking at this the wrong way.

Non-direct ROI; ie engagement (not the assumed microtransactions) is the lifeblood of much of the entertainment industry right now.

To have a major publication acknowledge this above sales for once is a good thing and will only help industry people broach these values with executives.

As a CM I'm particularly magnetized to their call out on sentiment. Don't think of it as an excuse, think of it as an upward trend where organic growth and fan fostered service shows value to the "show me the money" executives. But maybe I'm just being optimistic.
 
Urgh, I really hate this obfuscation ;_;

Why won't they just say how well something sold? Why are video games so secretive where Hollywood is so open?

Because they're trying to show the best light possible on their business. Showing numbers being down is not a good look, so they're focusing on the positive aspect in this case the active user base which might be inclined to use microtransactions.

Because they didnt sell well. Syndicate flopped hard, and Rainbow Six was even worse. Why would the reveal the numbers that could cause their shares to drop.

Source?
 
Siege is fantastic so glad to see its paying off for them.

For those curious about sales numbers Ubi wont give them but we know the game launched at over 1.5 million sold through in December globally.
 

Aces&Eights

Member
The unit sales are going down, but frequently revenue and especially profitability is improving because of the amount of DLC and microtransactions people are buying.

They don't want to report declining units so they focus on the part of their business that's working well.

So just like every other corporation in the world they spin the news in their favor. I, for one, am shocked!
 
Siege is the only Ubisoft game I've enjoyed in quite a while, but I'm worried the takeaway here will be less "make good games" and more "gogo multiplayer microtransactions"
 

joecanada

Member
maybe they can tell me the average wait time to get into a R6 game because I can tell you that the estimated time ":59 seconds" on screen is bullshit, every other game just disconnects after 3:00 plus.

Game is great , they wrecked it with the servers so no it isn't a "quality" mp, but it sure could have been.

worst waste of time , playing like 5-7 minute matches and waiting 5 minutes to get back in to a match, just bad implementation.... just doesn't respect your time so I don't feel it will live long and carry on long term like a bf4

do love it but no dlc for me.
 
Because they didnt sell well. Syndicate flopped hard, and Rainbow Six was even worse. Why would the reveal the numbers that could cause their shares to drop.

Rainbow Six hit 800k in sales its first month--it was #7 on NPD.

It might not hit their (lofty) goals, but it seems to be doing fine.
 

MilesTeg

Banned
So just like every other corporation in the world they spin the news in their favor. I, for one, am shocked!

And I can tell you I'll be shocked when they give actual numbers for The Division

Anyway Siege is great, hope the game does well enough for a sequel.
 
According to steamspy, Rainbow Six Siege is at 394,206 owners. Uplay #s not included.

According to the sales site that is banned on gaf, Rainbow Six has apparently done 2.26 million. These are PS4, X1, PC physical copies.

So POSSIBLY 2.6 million for RB6 . Add in direct uplay, ps store, and xbox marketplace sales. I bet Rainbow Six is sitting around 3.5 million copies.

Word of mouth seems to be helping Rainbow Six's #s grow as well.

Syndicate is almost at a franchise low on steam: 128,530 owners.

According to the sales site it has done apparently 4.11 million in physical copies. Game is probably tracking around 5 million copies in total with direct uplay, ps store, and xbox marketplace added in.

EDIT: So sorry
 

joecanada

Member
According to steamspy, Rainbow Six Siege is at 394,206 owners. Uplay #s not included.

According to the sales site that is frowned upon on gaf, Rainbow Six has done 2.26 million. These are PS4, X1, PC physical copies.

So 2.6 million for RB6 that we know of. Add in direct uplay, ps store, and xbox marketplace sales. I bet Rainbow Six is sitting around 3.5 million copies.

Word of mouth seems to be helping Rainbow Six's #s grow as well.

Syndicate is almost at a franchise low on steam: 128,530 owners.

According to the sales site it has done 4.11 million in physical copies. Game is probably tracking around 5 million copies in total with direct uplay, ps store, and xbox marketplace added in.

how did you get 2.6 million "that we know of"
 
We KNOW it sold at least 1.3 - 1.5 million in its opening month. Thats a pretty fantastic opening. Ubi should have never put that 7+ million estimate out there as it will be looked at for comparison over the life of the title. But it is not by any means a flop or failure. And given the number of players using weapon skins online they are making a killing on micro transactions
 

Crossing Eden

Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
According to steamspy, Rainbow Six Siege is at 394,206 owners. Uplay #s not included.

According to the sales site that is frowned upon on gaf, Rainbow Six has done 2.26 million. These are PS4, X1, PC physical copies.

So 2.6 million for RB6 that we know of. Add in direct uplay, ps store, and xbox marketplace sales. I bet Rainbow Six is sitting around 3.5 million copies.

Word of mouth seems to be helping Rainbow Six's #s grow as well.

Syndicate is almost at a franchise low on steam: 128,530 owners.

According to the sales site it has done 4.11 million in physical copies. Game is probably tracking around 5 million copies in total with direct uplay, ps store, and xbox marketplace added in.
You absolutely should never trust ********.
 

pastrami

Member
According to steamspy, Rainbow Six Siege is at 394,206 owners. Uplay #s not included.

According to the sales site that is frowned upon on gaf, Rainbow Six has done 2.26 million. These are PS4, X1, PC physical copies.

So 2.6 million for RB6 that we know of. Add in direct uplay, ps store, and xbox marketplace sales. I bet Rainbow Six is sitting around 3.5 million copies.

Word of mouth seems to be helping Rainbow Six's #s grow as well.

Syndicate is almost at a franchise low on steam: 128,530 owners.

According to the sales site it has done 4.11 million in physical copies. Game is probably tracking around 5 million copies in total with direct uplay, ps store, and xbox marketplace added in.

Banned site is banned for a reason, so I'm not sure how you can come to the conclusion that we know it's sold 2.6 million.
 
2.6m sounds a little high, but by now, it wouldn't surprise me if it was close or ~2m. There have been a lot of sales and it's gotten great word of mouth.
 

On Demand

Banned
Because they didnt sell well. Syndicate flopped hard, and Rainbow Six was even worse. Why would the reveal the numbers that could cause their shares to drop.

His point is still valid. When a movie fails at the box office the numbers are available for everyone to see.
 

Kill3r7

Member
It's the future. We can't be too far away from the point where companies make more money off micro transactions/DLC than they do from game sales.
 

liquidtmd

Banned
Cynically you can say it's because they're lower sales, which is probably true.... butttt

Software as a service is definitely taking off with games. Having lower launch numbers for Halo 5 doesn't matter much compared to the traditional metrics if Microsoft is making enough of micro transactions for REQ packs that they can afford to up prize pools to $3 million. In that sense, engagement with a game is starting to matter much more.

This is a good post
 

skynidas

Banned
I don't doubt that Rainbow Six Siege has high engagement from users, the game is fantastic and has a very healthy community and people are actually paying for microtransactions
 
Wish we got R6 numbers. But hopefully it's doing well enough for Ubi to support it for a looooooooooooong time.

This game's got me hooked like Halo 3 did back in the day.
 

b0bbyJ03

Member
I didn't even consider syndicate after Unity. seems like im not the only one. I will say tho, im was completely blindsided by R6. That game is beyond awesome and my expectations were so low we can just say they didn't even exist. I only bought it cause of word of mouth.
 

AHA-Lambda

Member
The unit sales are going down, but frequently revenue and especially profitability is improving because of the amount of DLC and microtransactions people are buying.

They don't want to report declining units so they focus on the part of their business that's working well.

I'd take it as obfuscation and so not a good sign but hey I'm no investor! :p
 

_machine

Member
FYI, DAU/MAU is not just for news; it's generally used as a daily metric across most relevant disciplines. And not just on mobile. Not saying it isn't used as a spin as sales dwindle down, but it's also still a very, very relevant metric business- and developmentwise.
 
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