July 15, 2008
E3 2008: Ubisoft Press
Conference
By: Dakota Grabowski
Attempting to redefine a
handful of different genres, Ubisoft delivers the goods at their press
conference.
Starting out with vibrant
colors, the Ubisoft Press Conference presented a variety of different games for
several diverse gaming crowds.
The Prince
Perhaps the biggest discussion
at the conference was the anticipation for the upcoming
Prince of Persia title
for the next-generation consoles. Using the next-generation of the Assassins
Creed engine, Prince of Persia revolves around the young action-adventure hero
once again saving the world and, of course, a lovely girl.
Executive Producer of Prince of
Persia, Ben Mattes, took the stage to show off the game with Lead Designer
Thomas Delbuguet. Having been in development for two and a half years, Mattes
said, “The new Prince of Persia is an introduction of an all-new prince and all
new adventure for next generation consoles.”
Slated for a holiday 2008
release, Prince of Persia will debut a new female lead named Elika who will
follow the prince’s every move although she’ll never die or fall behind. Mattes
described her inclusion as “She’s there to make you, the player, feel cool.”
“Prince of Persia is no longer
a linear game,” said Mattes as the game will provide many paths to take and no
two players will have the same experience within the game.
Concentrating in the four areas
of open world structure, artistic direction, support character AI, and a new
combat system, Prince of Persia will release on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC at the end
of this year.
For Tween’s
Focusing heavily on the casual
and tween market, Ubisoft announced many games within the Petz franchise and
announcing the creation of Ener-G brand, a new series of games that center on
sports games for girls.
Expanding the Petz franchie to
monkeys, the Petz brand will allow players to crossbreed their animals to, as
Ubisoft President of North America, Laurent Detoc, describes it, “Create your
own unique Petz family.”
Extending their marketing of the Petz brand, Ubisoft will be putting out UbiPetz
plush toys on store shelves this winter which allow gamers to take the code off
their plush and unlock that specific character in the game. In total five Petz
titles for Nintendo DS will release in the form of Petz Crazy Monkeyz, Petz Dogz
Pack, Petz Horseshoe Ranch, Petz Sports, Petz Catz Clan, and along with Dogz
2008 for the Wii.
As for their targeting of games
for girls, Ener-G will serve as their attempt to attract more girl gamers. Ener-G
will encompass three different titles including: Ener-G Horse Riders, Ener-G Gym
Rockets, and Ener-G Dance Squad for the Nintendo DS.
If that wasn’t enough to gain
the attention of girl gamers, Ubisoft are putting the spotlight on their Imagine
brand as they’ll be releasing Imagine Babysitters, Imagine Fashion Designer New
York, Imagine Wedding Designer, Imagine Teacher, Imagine Movie Star, and Imagine
Party Babyz Wii. All of these titles allow players to “imagine” what it would
be like to fill the role of the specific hobby or career of the title.
But it wasn’t all about
grabbing the attention of new gamers or casuals, Ubisoft had stuff for shooting
and action-sports fans too.
Shooters, Sports, and Rayman
Brother in Arms: Hells
Highway was confirmed for a September release date for the Xbox 360, PS3 and
PC as well as Far Cry 2
showing up in the form of a demonstration to detail that it would be arriving
this fall on the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC too.
Shaun White Snowboarding,
being developed by Ubisoft Montreal, was shown on stage by Louis Lamarch, the
producer of the title, and Phillippe Morin, the animation director. Midway
through demonstrating the gameplay of the game, Shaun White made a surprise
appearance to give his opinion on the game.
White ultimately said, “My
favorite part of the game is that you aren’t forced down a certain part of the
mountain,” referring to the free roaming that gamers have provided to them.
Hoping to redefine action-sports titles, Shaun White Snowboarding will be
releasing this holiday on the PS3, Xbox 360, Wii and PC.
Last, but certainly not least,
Rayman Raving Rabbids: TV
Party for the Wii and
Tom Clancy’s End War both made appearances at the press conference. Rayman
was given a full on demonstration of how the Wii balance board is used within
the game while End War centered on how it will be controlled entirely by your
voice. Both Rayman Raving Rabbids: TV Party and Tom Clancy’s End War will be
releasing this holiday (Rayman on the Wii and End War on the PS3 and Xbox 360).
In the end, Ubisoft put on an
entertaining press conference. They ended the show with a teaser trailer of I
am Alive which had crowd buzzing of what the gameplay will be like and wondering
what made the city within the trailer go down in ruins.
For All E3
2008 News and Announcements
