Ubisoft achieved overnight success with its stealthy Assassin’s Creed franchise. The platformer sold an accumulative of over 6 million units within the space of a few months. The publishers took no time to get a sequel out, with multi-million selling critically-acclaimed Assassin’s Creed II. However, could more potential success make the Assassin’s Creed series become as big as the GTA franchise? Ubisoft certainly aren’t shy of showcasing just that as they’ve given their thoughts on the franchise becoming as big as Rockstars’ Grand Theft Auto – with Grand Theft Auto IV selling over 15 million units alone.
UK marketing boss Murray Pannell recently spoke to EuroGamer and had this to say:
To be honest, I’m not sure we’re there yet. But I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t get there at some point in the not-too-distant future. That’s about longevity and building decent products, properly marketed, and getting the name out there.I believe with the success of Assassin’s 2 we have now got an opportunity to position ourselves as one of the true triple-A blockbusters. Are we as big as things like GTA and Halo and things of that nature? Possibly not at this point. But I think we are uniquely poised now as a property, as a franchise, to certainly consider ourselves one of the must-have games whenever a game launches on Assassin’s Creed in the franchise.
Now although Brotherhood may not be near its project November release, Pannell said the publishers will continue to push the Assassin’s Creed series via a large of portion of advertisement and critical success:
It’s fair to say Assassin’s 1 promised a lot and slightly under-delivered in terms of gameplay. Assassin’s 2 promised even more and actually this time delivered on it. And I believe quality of the game will be a fundamental part of positioning ourselves in that blockbuster franchise space.As marketing director, it’s part of our role and responsibility to position it from a consumer point of view as one of those big blockbusters through decent marketing campaigns. One thing we’ve been doing already is advertising Assassin’s: Brotherhood on TV this summer, three or four months before launch. That only helps position it in consumers’ minds as, ‘This is a big game I need to consider as one of the true blockbuster franchises’.
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood is expected outsell its predecessor, Assassin’s Creed II, according to Pannell:
In terms of expectations, people should certainly see this as a full price product with as much depth of gameplay if not more than the version we brought out a year ago. We’re certainly positioning it that way. We’re investing in the product in that way. And in terms of our expectations from a sales point of view, we’d see it doing at least as well as Assassin’s 2, if not, ideally, better.
What are your thoughts on Assassin’s Creed being as big as the mega-successful Grand Theft Auto series? Could it happen? Let us know in the comments section below.
