Ubisoft Needs More Consoles

Ubisoft CEO, Yves Guillemot has said that Ubisoft needs more consoles as a long life-cycle is bad for the industry.

In an interview with Polygon, Guillemot said that consoles are taking too long to change and it’s bad for the industry as a whole.

"I think that what has happened is the transition has been very long. You know, in the industry, we were used to changing machines every five years. This time we are in the seventh year of the 360. We need new consoles and at the end of the cycle generally the market goes down because there are less new IPs, new properties, so that damaged the industry a little bit,” he said.

Perhaps he does make a valid point because any PC owner will know that changing your PC or upgrading it at least is something that is generally done on a three-year cycle. Some companies actually offer new laptops to employees on a two year cycle, given how fast the technology moves. Is it really so brutal to ask for a new console cycle every five years?

Guillemot said in the interview that the transition between console cycles is the best time in the industry because it drives everyone to take more risks and do things differently.

"When a console is out for a long time ... you don't take as much risks on totally new IPs because even if they are good, they don't sell as well,” he said.

He went on to say that everyone who is taking risks and innovating at the moment is welcome because there are a lot of hardcore gamers who want new things. The mass market will be more interested in having the same experience and it means that the beginning of a machines development cycle is always good for innovation.

Check out the full interview with Guillemot here.