Ubisoft

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Ubisoft Entertainment
Type	S.A.
Founded	1986
Headquarters	Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis, France
Key people	Yves Guillemot, CEO Yannis Mallat, CEO of Montreal Studio Michel Ancel, Game Designer
Industry	Interactive entertainment
Products	FarCry Ghost Recon Rainbow Six Brothers in Arms Myst Prince of Persia Rayman Splinter Cell Red Steel
Revenue	€538 million sales FY2004-05
Operating income	€41.4 million
Net income	€27.2 million FY 2004-05 (before goodwill amortization)
Employees	over 3500, 1760 in production tasks at the 1/20/2005
Website	www.ubi.com www.ubisoftgroup.com

Ubisoft Entertainment (formerly Ubi Soft) is a computer and video game publisher and developer with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has facilities in over 20 countries, including development studios in Montreal, Canada; Barcelona, Spain; Shanghai, China; North Carolina, USA; Düsseldorf, Germany; Sofia, Bulgaria and Milan, Italy, amongst other locations. As of 2004, it is the third-largest independent video game publisher in Europe, and the seventh largest in the US. The "Ubi" in Ubisoft is sometimes pronounced [juːbi] or more often [u'bi], in French it is pronounced [y'bi]. (See IPA phonetic notation.)

Ubisoft's mascot is Rayman.

Contents 1 History 2 Starforce Controversy 3 Upcoming games published by Ubisoft 3.1 2006 3.1.1 December 3.2 2007 3.2.1 March 3.3 Unknown 4 Games developed/published by Ubisoft 5 External links

[edit] History

The five brothers of the Guillemot family founded Ubisoft as a computer game publisher in 1986 in France. Yves Guillemot soon made deals with Electronic Arts, Sierra On-Line, and Microprose to distribute their games in France. By the end of the decade, Ubisoft began expanding to other markets, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

In the early 1990s, Ubisoft initiated its in-house game development program which led to the 1994 opening of a studio in Montreuil, France, which later became their headquarters. That same year, Michel Ancel created the Rayman character, a character which still stars in new video games as of 2006. Ubisoft became a publicly traded company in 1996 and continued to expand to offices around the globe, opening locations in Shanghai and Montreal.

In 2000, Ubisoft acquired US-based Red Storm Entertainment, the game development studio founded by techno-spy novelist Tom Clancy, famous for games based on Clancy's books. In 2001, the company purchased Blue Byte Software, known for the Settlers series. By 2003, Ubisoft reported operations in 22 countries, nine of those containing production or design offices. Ubisoft had a number of successful and award-winning games that year, including Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, XIII, Rayman 3, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield and Beyond Good & Evil.

Ubisoft's revenue for 2002-2003 was €453 million; for fiscal year 2003-2004, this grew to €508 million. As of 2004, Ubisoft employs more than 2,350 people, of which over 1700 are classed as working in production. Yves Guillemot, a founding brother, is the chairman and CEO.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Ubisoft committed itself to online games by getting behind Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, The Matrix Online, and the European and Chinese operation of EverQuest. The publisher established ubi.com as its online division. But in February 2004, Ubisoft cancelled the online portion of Uru and backed out of the publishing deal on The Matrix Online. Regardless, only a week later the company announced its acquisition of Wolfpack Studios, developers of fantasy MMORPG Shadowbane, and in July 2004, its Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow was released for the Xbox and PlayStation 2 with what some considered a revolutionary online multiplayer feature.

On December 20, 2004 Electronic Arts (EA) purchased a 19.9% stake in the firm. At the time, Ubisoft released a statement saying they considered the purchase "hostile" until they had further information on EA's intent.

Ubisoft also bought the Driver franchise from Atari in July 2006, for a sum of €19 million (USD$24 million) in cash for the franchise, technology rights, and most assets. Additionally, though Ubisoft is not acquiring the studio outright, the 80 members of Driver developer Reflections Interactive will become employees of Ubisoft.

[edit] Starforce Controversy

Ubisoft is known to use Starforce copy protection that installs drivers on a system and is suspected to cause problems with some hardware and compatibility issues with certain operating systems, starting with the game Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory which as of the time of writing (February 2nd 2006) is not compatible with Windows XP Professional x64 Edition On April 14, 2006 Ubisoft confirmed that they will stop using Starforce on their games citing complaints from the customers.[1]

[edit] Upcoming games published by Ubisoft

[edit] 2006

[edit] December

• Resident Evil 4 (PC)
• Star Wars: Lethal Alliance (PSP, Nintendo DS)

[edit] 2007

[edit] March

• Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

[edit] Unknown

• Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
• Assassin's Creed (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
• Haze (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
• Prince of Persia (working title) (Wii)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Nintendo DS, Wii, GBA)
• Untitled Naruto Project (Xbox 360)
• Lost
• Oz world (working title) (PC)

[edit] Games developed/published by Ubisoft

Platform Key
PS3	Sony PLAYSTATION 3
360	Microsoft Xbox 360
Wii	Nintendo Wii
Xbox	Microsoft Xbox
GC	Nintendo GameCube
PS2	Sony PlayStation 2
PSP	Sony PlayStation Portable
DS	Nintendo DS
GBA	Nintendo Game Boy Advance
GBC	Nintendo Game Boy Color
GB	Nintendo Game Boy
PS1	Sony PlayStation
DC	Sega Dreamcast
PC	Windows-based PC
Mac	Apple Macintosh PC

This is a partial list of games developed and/or published by Ubisoft.

• Advance Guardian Heroes (2004) — GBA
• Alexander (2004) — PC
• America's Army: Rise of a Soldier — PS2, Xbox
• Ape Escape 2 (2003) — PS2
  • Pumped & Primed (2004) — PS2
• Asphalt Urban GT (2004) — DS.
• Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (2004) — GBA
• Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu (2003) — Xbox, PS2
• Battle Realms (2001) — PC
• Beyond Good & Evil (2003) — Xbox, PS2, GC, PC
• Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood Xbox, PS2, PC
  • Brothers In Arms: Road to Hill 30 (2005) — Xbox, PS2, PC
• Blazing Angels (2006) — PS3, PC)
• Capitalism 2 (2001) — PC
• Catz 5 (2002) — PC
• Chessmaster (2003/2004) — Xbox, PS2, PC
  • Chessmaster 9000 (2002) — PC, Mac
  • Chessmaster 10th Edition (2004) — PC
• Conflict Zone (2001) — PS2
• Conquest: Frontier Wars (1999) — PC
• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2003) — Xbox, PS2, GBA
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2004) — Xbox, PC
  • CSI: Dark Motives (2004) — PC
  • CSI: Miami (2004) — PC
• Cold Fear (2005) — PC, Xbox, PS2
• Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (2006) — PC
• Destroyer Command (2002) — PC
• Devil May Cry 3 (2006) — PC
• Dogz 5 (2002) — PC, GBA
• Dragon Riders: Chronicles of Pern (2001) — DC, PC
• Enchanted Arms (2006) — Xbox 360
• The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (2002) — PC, Xbox
• F1 Racing Championship (2001) — PC, PS1, N64, PS2, Dreamcast
• Faces of War (2006) — PC
• Far Cry (2004) — PC
  • Far Cry Instincts (2005) — Xbox
  • Far Cry: Vengeance (2006) — Wii
• FLOW: Urban Dance Uprising — PS2
• Fred (1989) — Atari ST520
  • GT Pro Series (2006) — Wii
• Heritage of Kings: The Settlers (2005) — PC
• Heroes of Might and Magic V (2005) — PC
  • Heroes of Might and Magic V: Hammers of Fate (2006) — PC
• Heroes of the Pacific — PC
• Hype: The Time Quest (1999) — PC
• IL-2 Sturmovik (2001) — PC
  • Forgotten Battles Ace Expansion Pack (2004) — PC
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1993) — NES
• Iron Lord (1989) — Atari ST520
• Jimmy Connors Pro Tennis Tour (1993) — NES
• Lock On: Modern Air Combat (2003) — PC
• Lunar Legend (2001) — GBA
  • Lunar: Dragon Song (2005) — DS
• Monster 4x4: Masters of Metal (2003) — PS2, GC
  • Monster 4x4 World Circuit (2006) — Wii
• Myst Masterpiece Edition (2000) — PC
• Red Steel (2006) — Wii
  • Riven: The Sequel to Myst (1998) — PC
  • realMYST (2000) — PC, Mac
  • Myst III: Exile (2001) — PC, Mac
  • Myst IV: Revelation (2004) — PC, Mac
  • Uru: Ages Beyond Myst (2003) — PC
    • Myst Uru: The Path of the Shell (2004) — PC
  • Myst V: End of Ages (2005) — PC, Mac
• Night Hunter (1989) — Atari ST520
  • Open Season (2006) — Wii
• Pacific Fighters (2004) — PC
• Paradise (2006) — PC
• Peter Jackson's King Kong — PC, PS2, GCN, Xbox, Xbox 360, PSP, NDS
  • Kong: The 8th Wonder of the World — GBA
• POD (Planet of Death) (1996) — PC
• Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor (2001) — PC
• Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2003) — Xbox, PS2, GC, PC, GBA, (2005 DS)
  • Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (2004) — Xbox, PS2, GC, PC
  • Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones (2005) — Xbox, PS2, GC, PC
  • Prince of Persia: Revelations (2005) (PSP)
  • Battles of Prince of Persia — (2006) (NDS)
• Puffy's Saga (1988) — Atari ST520
• Rayman (1996) — PC, PS1, GBC, Jag
  • Rayman Gold (1997) — PC
    • Rayman Designer (1997) — PC
    • Rayman Forever (1998) — PC
      • Rayman Collector's Edition (1999) — PC
    • Rayman Advance (2001) — GBA
  • Rayman 2: The Great Escape (1999/2000) — PC, N64, DC, PS1
    • Rayman Revolution (2000/2001) — PS2
    • Rayman DS (2005) — DS
  • Rayman M (UK Release) (2001) — PC, PS2
  • Rayman Arena (2002) — Xbox, PS2, GC, PC
  • Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc (2003) — Xbox, PS2, GC, PC, GBA, MAC, N-GAGE
  • Rayman: Hoodlums' Revenge (2005) — GBA
  • Rayman Raving Rabbids (2006) — Wii, GBA, PS2, DS, PC, Xbox 360
• Rocket: Robot on Wheels (1999) — N64
• Rocky Legends (2004) — Xbox, PS2
• Secret of the Silver Earring (2004) — PC
• Shadowbane: The Rise of Chaos (2003) — PC
• Silent Hunter III (2005) — PC
• Sprung (2004) — DS
• Star Wars Trilogy: Apprentice of the Force (2004) — GBA
• The Dukes of Hazzard: Return of the General Lee (2004) — Xbox, PS2
• The Political Machine (2004) — PC
• The Sum of All Fears (2002/2003) — GC, PC, GBA
• Ghost Recon series
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon (2003) — Xbox, PS2, GC
    • Desert Siege (2003) — PC
    • Island Thunder (2003) — Xbox, PC
    • Jungle Storm (2004) — PS2
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 (2004/2005) — Xbox, PS2, GC
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, (2006) — Xbox, Xbox 360, PC, PS2
• Rainbow Six series
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear (1999) — PC, Mac, DC, PS1
    • Urban Operations — (2000)
    • Black Thorn (2001) — PC
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield (PC) (2003) — PC
    • Athena Sword (2004) — PC
    • Iron Wrath (2005) — PC
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield (console) (2003) — Xbox, PS2, GC
    • Black Arrow (2004) — Xbox
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lockdown (2005) — Xbox, PS2, GC, PC
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas (2006) — Xbox 360,PS2, Xbox, PS3, PC
• Splinter Cell series
  • Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (2003) — Xbox, PS2, GC, PC
  • Pandora Tomorrow (2004) — Xbox, PS2, GC, PC
  • Chaos Theory (2005) — Xbox, PS2, GC, PC
  • Essentials (2006) — PSP only
  • Double Agent (2006) — Xbox, PS2, PC, Xbox 360, GC, PC, Wii
• Sub Culture (1997) PC
• Tonic Trouble (2000) PC, N64
• Tork: Prehistoric Punk (2005) — Xbox
• Trollz: Hair Affair! — GBA
• Twinworld (1989) — Atari ST520
• Warlords Battlecry II (2002) — PC
• Warlords IV: Heroes of Etheria (2003) — PC
• Will Rock (2003) — PC
• XIII (2003) — Xbox, PS2, GC, PC
• Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates (2005) — PC

See also: Ubisoft Entertainment games

[edit] External links

• Ubisoft's public site
• Ubisoft's corporate site
• Red Storm Entertainment, subsidiary developer of Ubi Soft
• Wolfpack Studios, subsidiary developer of Ubi Soft
• List of Atari ST520 games published by UBI Soft
• Ubisoft Entertainment at MobyGames
• Interview with Ubisoft's Alain Corre, GamesIndustry.biz, October 31, 2006