Il fatto che un'azienda produca dei buoni utili, non significa che stia facendo un buon lavoro. Anche i vari capitoli di Call of Duty o di Fifa vendono sempre tantissimo, ma questo significa che siano dei prodotti convincenti. Lo si è visto che NBA Live di EA, serie padrona incontrastata fino al 2012 tra i simulatori di basket, e ridicolizzata senza mezze misure da NBA2K a partire dal 2013. EA, per la disperazione, cancellò la pubblicazione di NBA Live 13!
Yves Guillemot, CEO di Ubisoft, comunque, non si è lasciato sfuggire l'occasione di decantare l'ottimo lavoro fatto negli ultimi anni in questa intervista, evitando però di parlare dei numerosissimi flop conseguiti o delle figure barbine collezionate. A queste mancanze tenteremo di sopperire noi con qualche immagine di repertorio ed un paio di link.
1. DON'T PLAY CATCH UP: “When you start something for a new machine, there’s a big amount of uncertainty. But it’s also about maximum reward. That’s why we go early, so that we can try. If we see quickly it doesn’t work, we don’t continue to invest. But if you wait, when you want to catch up, you have to go twice the speed”.
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2. ESTABLISH BRANDS EARLY: “The game industry is an industry that loves to renew itself on a regular basis. We feel that there is a good potential to establish brands, especially at the beginning of the cycle. We take advantage of that and try to create brands that can stay for a long time”.
Alone in the Dark, un fantastico franchise rovinato.
3. GO OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE, BUT NOT TOO FAR OUT: The risk of starting new game franchises is one thing, but new ways to play in whole other markets is an even greater risk. Gullemot a tal proposito afferma: “It was a big disaster. We needed to master too much at the same time. We had to master hardware and software. Maybe we should master software, which is our business, and then see if we can do something with other hardware. But don’t do both at the same time. It’s too complex. Don’t increase difficulty. Don’t multiply the new things you have to learn".
Assassin's Creed: Unity, una barzelletta del mondo videoludico
4. FIND GOOD PEOPLE: “Each time you go into a new business, especially the movie and TV industry, you have to recruit new people. You have to understand the way deals are done. All those things are quite tough to learn and to do well”.
Uwe Boll come regista, ed abbiamo detto tutto.
5. GO WHERE OTHERS AREN'T: “Coming early in a segment that is not taken yet is very good. If we do a good job, we can pick up that segment and keep it for 10 years. Assassin’s Creed is one example. If you come early, you have a chance to pick up a market”.
6. REINVENT WHEN IT'S NECESSARY: “The multiplayer aspects, like with Ghost Recon, like For Honor, like Rainbow Six, are the really big segments we want to re-enter, so we can generate more digital revenue. We couldn’t monetize Splinter Cell well and we couldn’t keep people for long enough. We are rethinking the whole thing, making sure we can create content at a reasonable cost, and we can really entertain people when they play those games”.
7. WIDER IS BETTER: “It helps you to be in other fields, so you can come with different brands on the market, so you don’t have to come with one all the time. It’s more making sure you control an environment. You segment the market and you say, ‘Where is it too busy? Where can I bring something different what others are bringing? And are there places where there is nobody and we have a new technology that will help us succeed?’”.
8. BOLD MOVES ARE MEMORABLE: “Not taking risks is actually the worst risk. If you don’t put enough money on a franchise, and you feel safer that you don’t put enough, so many publishers disappear because of that. You have to take those opportunities when you see them, otherwise they are not there afterwards”.
"Where is it too busy? Where can I bring something different what others are bringing?": 19 (Diciannove) giochi di Assassin's Creed (per diverse piattaforme) in 9 anni. Probabilmente il brand più sfruttato di sempre.