Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has expressed an interest in expanding business in China, which is home to “500 million” gamers that he says the studio cannot ignore. Speaking to GameSpot during ChinaJoy 2017, he said that the games industry is still young in the country, and he “very much” likes that any potential partners he meets are young people who want to try new things.
“They want to try to work with your IPs but also with new types of experiences and gameplay and so on,” said Guillemot. “It’s the beginning of the industry.”
Speaking of the Chinese market, it was revealed during a presentation at ChinaJoy that Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag was pirated five million times in the country. When asked about his thoughts on the matter, the Ubisoft boss likened the situation to Windows and Microsoft, stating that there are “pluses and minuses” in everything, and that piracy can result in brands becoming known. “What is important is when somebody can pay that person will consider it worth putting the money than trying to go and deal with the problems you have when you download copies,” he said.
Releasing Assassin’s Creed officially in China is no easy feat considering the country’s strict laws. However, Guillemot isn’t opposed to the idea of adapting the game for the market. “In many countries, in all the minor countries we also adapt,” he revealed. “So there’s no reason why we can’t also adapt Assassin’s Creed for [China].”
You can read the full interview below, which also touches upon Ubisoft’s ongoing battle with Vivendi.
[Source: GameSpot]
