Back in July Ubisoft announced that Splinter Cell: Conviction would be getting its release date pushed from later this year to Q1 2010. However, despite saying Q1 2010 we had no idea exactly when we would be seeing the latest Splinter Cell hit store shelves. Lucky for us, Ubisoft has again come forth to speak of Splinter Cell: Conviction this time letting us know that the game will be released for the Xbox 360 and PC on February 23rd, 2010.

So folks, get ready because Sam Fisher’s back and this time he’s bad.

via boomtown

Red Steel 2

Well, it seems that Joystiq recently sat down with the creative director of Red Steel 2, Jason VanderBerghe, and questioned him of the possibility of seeing the title appear on other consoles. He responded that he would love to see the Red Steel franchise appear on other consoles but ultimately the decision would be up to Ubisoft.

Red Steel 3 with Project Natal? Count me in.

It seems that the publisher is so fed up with piracy that they have plans to combat the issue with their own firepower. Yves Guillemot, head of Ubisoft, speaks of the piracy problem:

“Altogether on console, the piracy is low. On the PC the piracy is quite a lot. We are working on a tool that would allow us to decrease that on the PC starting next year and probably one game this year.”

So what do they have cookin’ over at Ubisoft? Let’s hope they aren’t getting ideas from EA as we saw how well that was recieved with Spore.

Ubisoft didn’t state a reason for the delay but an educated guess could point to the fact that games such as Modern Warfare 2 come out right around Conviction’s previous release date.

Either way, expect Splinter Cell: Conviction to hit store shelves sometime during Q1 of 2010.

Along comes Red Steel 2, a game looking to remedy all of the gripes found in the original Red Steel, and more. Unfortunately, Ubisoft has announced that the game is getting pushed back until early 2010.

This delay will come as a huge dissapointment to gamers looking to get their Wii MotionPlus sword weilding on.

If you’re familiar with the Wii version of this game you’re in luck as the DS version shares the same storyline. However, instead of the collecting gameplay featured in the console version players will find themselves in a puzzle-adventure oriented Rabbids Go Home. You will be tasked with completeing puzzles, collecting garbage and ultimately creating a tower to the moon.

Again, expect Rabbids Go Home to hit store shelves for the Nintendo DS sometime this holiday season.

Read (Kotaku)

Ubisoft is one of the first to do this, and have already launched an application, TickTock, for the site. The application isn’t exactly a game, but more of a trivia challenge of how well you know your friends. Some type of bomb is created by you and six of your friends have to defuse it in order for you to win by answering trivia questions about your friends. The concept is very refreshing in a sea of Facebook applications (e.g. the very offensive Own Your Friends).

“We’re going to try to make best applications for Facebook, just like we make the best applications for the Xbox 360 and Wii,” said Laurent Detoc, president of Ubisoft North America.

Read (SFGate)

This bundle will go on sale in November for $199.99 and include:

• White PSP-3000
• Assasin’s Creed: Bloodlines
• Currently unannounced UMD movie
• 2GB Memory card

So, it looks like despite the impending release of the PSP Go, Sony is staying true to their previous hardware and UMD format.

Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines will be out for the PSP on November 10th, 2009.

Players who are planning on reserving Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction from GameStop will be receiving an exclusive in-game semi-automatic shotgun. The website reads, “If you prefer the rugged sophistication of a manual shotgun, but also enjoy the convenience of an automatic, then this is the shotgun for you! Available for online and in-store customers while supplies last.”

Online customers will receive an e-mail with a code to input into the game, while store customers will receive a game card. Either way, it’s still the same code. You can pre-order the game at GameStop. Splinter Cell: Conviction comes out this October for the Xbox 360 and PC.

Ubisoft has had a pretty good footing in Canada with studios in Quebec, Vancouver and Montreal and are looking to expanding that footing even further.

Recently announced is Ubisoft Toronto a studio that will open in the heart of Ontario and create an additional 800 jobs, reportedly over the next decade.

It seems that Ubisoft Montreal’s CEO Yannis Mallat will be the main man behind Ubisoft Toronto and help the studio work on “Triple-A games” along with working with the film production industry which is prominent in Ontario.

Ubisoft has recently gone ahead and released the official box art for their upcoming title Assassin’s Creed 2.

As you can tell, the box art is very similiar to that of the original game, let’s just hope the gameplay is a bit different. While the game was generally well receieved by critics, the main gripe gamers had with the game was that the gameplay was somewhat repetitive decreasing the game’s replay value.

Regardless of your opinion on the original Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft is gearing up to launch Assassin’s Creed 2 on November 19th for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC.

Of course, one of the first questions posed had to do with whether or not we’d be seeing the game released for PS3 as well as the Xbox 360. Though the Splinter Cell games so far have been exclusive to Microsoft consoles, most third party developers and publishers are putting out their games for any capable system. Most have cited this as a better business practice, so it would seem that Ubisoft could be going down the same path.

Ubisoft has put paid to any rumors about a multiplatform release, citing that Splinter Cell is a ‘true Microsoft exclusive title’. They begin with pointing out that there’s a historical link between the console and the games, saying that the original Splinter Cell was the first game to truly utilize the Xbox’s potential. In response Microsoft was excited about the game and supported it heavily, leading to what they referred to as a “link of heart” between the two. Finally they point out that by focusing on a single console they can devote more time to completely optimizing the game for its single system.

Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft, has recently predicted that games for the next generation of video consoles will cost upwards of $60 million to make.

Now, there is no word on when Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo will release their next generation consoles but Guillemot says since playing next gen games will be like playing one of today’s CGI movies its no wonder that the cost will be so high.

To put this into perspective, games for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 cost between $20 million and $30 million to make with the Wii costing much less. With games currently priced at $50 and $60 is it safe to assume games of next generation will cost $100 and $120? Let’s hope not but it would make sense if Guillemot’s predictions prove true.

Read (CNBC)

After being called a gimmick by both industry types and gamers alike, the Wii has shown that motion controls are the future- or at least one possible future. Both Sony and Microsoft have unveiled their own version and the latter’s Project Natal does away with controllers altogether, utilizing a camera and motion-recognition technology.

Though industry members aren’t saying it’s a doomed proposition, some are saying that controllers will always have their place. Miyamoto in his interview with Wired said that holding a tangible item in your hand which gives you some sort of physical feedback and sensation is essential to creating a truly interactive experience. Ubisoft’s Yves Guillemot points out that while the idea of a more physical game can be fun, gamers don’t always want to play something that’ll have them panting for breath after a few battles. While some could make a quick jump from this argument to the stereotype of overweight gamers chowing down on junk food while playing marathon gaming sessions on the couch, many gamers look to their hobby more for relaxation.

This essentially boils down to one of the big difference between casual and hardcore games. Most casual games are quite simple in their premise, being played for nothing more than their own sake. Hardcore games often feature a storyline which can go on for hours, meaning that if gamers only sat and played for ten minutes a day or so it’d take months or even years to complete some games. Throw in the grind factor on many games and you’ve got a recipe for long hours of playing. With all the more slow, strategic types of games on the market as well which won’t exactly benefit from motion controls and you’ve got a whole ton of reasons why the controller is here to stay.

Guillemot also said that with the increased power of the new system, games will also cost a lot more to develop, upwards of $60 million per AAA title. He said that while things like “Porject Natal” might increase the lifespan, gamers are always in need of more and more powerful systems and better technology, and with the possible competition from the upcoming PC streaming game service OnLive, the next gen consoles might be not as far away as we think.

Back in April Ubisoft let us know that Assassin’s Creed 2 would be hitting store shelves in time for this year’s holiday season but have kept generally quiet ever since.

Well today comes an announcement that Assassin’s Creed 2 will officially be available to American gamers on November 17th and European gamers on November 20th.

Given the generally good reception recieved by the first game Assassin’s Creed 2 is sure to please fans of the series.

Read (Kotaku)

“It’s a huge risk,” he said. “We have no idea what the penetration rate for Wii MotionPlus will be. We assume high. We would like it to be high. I would love to say to you that it’ll be compatible with just a regular controller, but the gameplay simply isn’t there without MotionPlus. That core experience just isn’t there without it.”

Since the original Red Steel was criticized for lackluster controls, the new Motion Plus attachment might help, but there’s no indication of how popular it will be among Wii owners.

It was recently announced that Ubisoft’s Vin Diesel starring Wheelman has gotten a pair of DLC packs, both free and premium.

The Free Street Showdown Pack will include a single new showdown mission eintitled Showdown in Avinguda Del Paral-lel. The Premium Street Showdown Pack, however, comes with 5 new showdown missions: Showdown in Museu Nacional, Showdown in Passeig De Gracia, Showdown in Grand Theatre De Liceu, Showdown in Cathedral De La Seu, and Showdown in Placa De Catalunya and will priced at 400 MS Points/ $4.99.

Both packs are available now on the Xbox 360 while PS3 owners won’t get access to them until May 5th.

Read (Kotaku)

Now you may consider the fact that Ubisoft has decided to leave multiplayer out of Red Steel 2 a deal breaker, but fret not — Recently announced in the June issue of Nintendo power was just that, Red Steel 2 will not feature any form of multiplayer when it ships later this year.
Ubisoft gave the following reasoning:

“…our focus is on creating a strong single player experience and taking full advantage of Wii Motion Plus. Adding multiplayer would detract from that focus. That’s another example of something we learned from the first Red Steel.“

After being questioned about a multiplayer mode being released as a DLC pack at some point in the future, Ubisoft repsonded with:

“That would be cool. The world has changed, and we can do that sort of thing. I certainly think that would be cool. I’d buy it. But we need to be careful bringing out something that people think should be in the main game.”

So, Wii FPS fans, don’t give up hope yet!

Read (NintendoDpad)