Ubisoft expects next-gen to double previous generation uptake

The pace at which consumers will buy PS4 and Xbox One will vastly outperform what was seen with the current generation of machines.

That according to Ubisoft’s senior VP of sales and marketing Tony Key, who told Games Industry he is expecting impressive things.

"Our feeling is the installed base of these machines will be much faster to take hold than previous generations," he said. "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."

Key also touched on the relatively lukewarm reception that has so far greeted the vast majority of next-gen launch software.

"Right now, all publishers are transitioning their development resources," Key added. "For a game like Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, most of the sales are still going to be on current generation platforms. We can’t make a version for PlayStation 4 or Xbox One that’s so wildly different that we can’t market them together.

So, for now, developers and designers are focused on making a game that works really well on all of the systems – but as we transition resources to the next gen, it’s going to be more difficult to do that because the power of these machines is going to allow so much more creativity."