If you're like me, your heart probably sunk when Ubisoft announced that Watch Dogs wouldn't be making its release date last year in time for the PS4 and Xbox One launches.
Apparently the decision wasn't easy on Ubisoft either, but it was just something that had to be done. Ubisoft marketing executive Tony Key talked with [a]list daily about the decision to move the date, revealing that it was tough to do for financial reasons, but made sense in terms of putting out a complete product.
"This is not an easy decision to make for any company," Key told [a]list. "On the day we announced that, I think our stock dropped 40 percent or some ridiculous number. We've recovered since because people are seeing the rest of our lineup and it turns out maybe it was a good idea. We had no choice, despite the fact that it put us in a tough financial position in the short term. We're a long-term company, with a long-term vision, and Watch Dogs for us is a long-term play. We had no choice. We knew it was the right thing to do, but it doesn't make it hurt any less."
Key also commended the Assassin's Creed team's ability to hit their yearly deadlines.
"The Assassin's Creed team has gotten so much experience now in working on a schedule that they've found that delicate balance of being able to put their heart and soul into the game and still making a schedule work," Key said. "But a new brand, as you've seen time and time again from publishers everywhere, it's very difficult to make that work."
Definitely check out the whole interview over at [a]list, because there's plenty of great material from their interview with Key.
