Ubisoft targets 30% share on 3DS

Ubisoft wants 30 per cent market share on 3DS when the platform hits retail, the publisher has told MCV.

Speaking at the recent Ubisoft Summer Fair event, UK sales director Darren Bowen said the firm expects to account for a significant portion of sales when Nintendo’s highly anticipated handheld is released.

We will have six to eight of the key launch titles on
3DS, so we are expecting anywhere between 25 and
30 per cent share on that platform,” he said.

In the wake of the 3DS’ E3 unveiling, Ubisoft confirmed it was working on five new titles for the handheld from some of its biggest selling brands.

These games include Assassin’s Creed: Lost Legacy, Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, Battle of Giants: Dinosaur Strike and a new Driver game.

The firm has previously championed the potential of 3D technology with titles such as James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game and the upcoming Shaun White Skateboarding.

Ubisoft reiterated that it will fully support the 3D movement – although its focus will be on motion control until the installed base of 3DTVs improves.

Marketing director Murray Pannell said: 3D will certainly come but it will come slowly and in time.

The technology is spectacular but at the moment it’s relatively expensive for true 3D in the living room. It’s tricky to understand how it can become a social experience, since gaming is now so focused on families and multiplayer.

The Wii has already proven that motion control can exist now, it’s fun and you can enjoy it with multiple people at the same time. Clearly, Microsoft and Sony have identified this as a brilliant way of maximising their sales opportunities and that technology will have the most impact in the short term.”

As such, Ubisoft will also have a strong presence at the launch of Move and Kinect, with Your Shape: Fitness Evolved and Motion Sports for Xbox 360, and Racket Sports on PS3.