It's an interesting time for the industry. We're at something of a crossroads with the "next-gen" consoles having only been available for a few months, and many are still clutching to their 360s and PlayStation 3s, not yet willing to take the leap. That makes it a bit for difficult for studios when it comes to developing and publishing new games, but in the grand scheme of things, that's just a small bump in the road for certain companies.
A new report is out from Super Data Research, labeling Ubisoft as just such a company, so much so that other companies should be eyeing for a possible buyout. According to the report, the current landscape, "a few interesting, speculative opportunities present themselves. One of those is the possibility of Ubisoft being acquired by another publisher..."
The logic for this comes down to a few different factors:
- straight up success with their recent releases is the most obvious reason. The report notes ten million sales for Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, "which is not bad considering it launched in the midst of a console transition," and six million sales for Just Dance 2014. More recently, Ubisoft's South Park: The Stick of Truth was released to some very favorable reviews, and the company will obviously benefit that much more as soon as the highly anticipted Watch Dogs releases.
- the ability of consoles to let gamers get their games digitally has been a huge boost to numerous companies, but Ubisoft stands out in terms of bringing in the big bucks. As the report notes, "there’s been a difference in uptake amongst different publishers. EA, Ubisoft, and Take-Two have all shown strong digital growth over the past four years. EA exhibited stellar year over year gains in its digital segment, which, in recent quarters, accounted for the majority of its revenues. Ubisoft’s digital arm grew 170% in two years."
- if the company's predicted success is accurate, then simple math makes it's a smart buy, pure and simple.
- Even with its success, it still pales in comparison to the numbers brought in by the competition. "With the combined revenue from retail and digital totaling $1,329 million, Ubisoft is roughly the same size as Konami, and much smaller than TakeTwo ($2,455M), Electronic Arts ($3,661M) and Activision ($4,583M)."
Buyers will no doubt come a knockin', but the odds of Ubisoft going along with a purchase? Slim to none. Why bother selling if the company is on the way up? For a company like EA or Activision to have Ubisoft in its back pocket is no doubt attractive, but it's highly unlikely we'll see that day come to pass anytime soon.
