Ubisoft readies biggest ever release

With Modern Warfare now in stores, retail is turning its attentions to the next monster hit: Assassin’s Creed II.

Ubisoft has revealed to MCV that the title is the biggest in its history – with a marketing spend that matches up to the publisher’s ambition.

Assassin’s Creed II will undoubtedly be Ubisoft’s biggest ever launch and will benefit from our biggest ever marketing campaign,” Ubisoft marketing director Murray Pannell told MCV.

We’ve had an overwhelmingly positive reaction. The media coverage has been genuinely fantastic and I’m delighted that the reviews have been nothing other than glowing.”

UK MD Rob Cooper added: The Assassin’s Creed brand is now extremely well recognised. I know we have a blockbuster game on our hands that will deliver a great experience for both hardcore and mainstream gamers alike.”

The sequel to the 2007 hit has received positive scores across the board ahead of its November 20th release. It was awarded 9/10 from OPM and OXM, 94 per cent from GamesMaster and PSM3 and a full score of 5/5 from 360.

I’m very satisfied with the press reaction to Assassin’s Creed II,” said UK PR manager Stefano Petrullo.

The enthusiasm across all of the reviews testifies that we have delivered one of the biggest games of the year.”

Brand manager Jan Sanghera attributed the warm reception to the development team’s attention to consumer feedback from the first game: They used this as a foundation on which to build Assassin’s Creed II,” she said.

This has added huge scope to the overall game structure, and real depth and variety to the core experience.”

Last week, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said pre-orders for ACII were up 80 per cent compared to the release of the original game.

UK sales director Darren Bowen told MCV: Ever since launching the first game all of the retailers have been asking when the sequel will arrive. They knew we had built a great brand and were keen for this to be followed up with the same excitement and sales as the original.”