This Is Ubisoft’s Portable Games Development Strategy

Of all the publishers supporting the Nintendo 3DS at launch, Ubisoft have the largest line-up of 3DS games with Asphalt 3D, Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D, Rayman 3D, Rabbids 3D,Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell 3D, and Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars.

All of these titles will be available at the Nintendo 3DS launch in Europe, while some — but not all six — will also be available for the system’s U.S. launch as well. But what about games in the future? How do Ubisoft plan to approach portable game development going forward?

At an investor Q&A earlier today, Ubisoft CEO, Yves Guillemot outlined the company’s portable games strategy for investors, where he revealed that Ubisoft’s primary focus will be to develop strong brands on high-end consoles, but that they want to be able to extend those franchises to portable machines.

"Our goal is to go with very strong brands on high-end machines, but in going to portable machines, to be able to port those games to all platforms that are available," Guillemot said to investors, revealing that PSP game, Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines, has sold 500,000 units to date since its release two years ago, including PSP bundle sales.

Additionally, once Ubisoft make games for the Nintendo 3DS and NGP, they’d like to be able to further port those to other portable platforms at lower prices, Guillemot revealed.

“We are working to make sure that the games we create for portable machines can be adapted for those platforms, so that after making good revenue on 3DS or PSP2, we can go to a second phase, which is going at a lower price to other machines,” Guillemot said to investors.

In addition to their Nintendo 3DS launch titles, Ubisoft have also announced two other games for the system so far — James Noir’s Hollywood Crimes 3D and Assassin’s Creed: Lost Legacy.