Roni Mahoney

Furman
AICE Media Studies - Period 4
26 February 2016
Case Study-Video Games
Ubisoft
History:
In March 1986, five brothers of the Guillemot family founded the video game publisher,
Ubisoft, in Carentoir, a small village located in the Morbihan department of the Brittany region.
This was the start of Ubisoft, originally named Ubi Soft Entertainment, S.A. By the end of the
decade, Ubisoft began expanding to other markets, including the United States, the United
Kingdom, and Germany. They entered the video game distribution and wholesale markets, and
by 1993 they had become the largest distributor of video games in France. Mainly known for
developing games for a various amount of acclaimed video game franchises including Assassin's
Creed, Far Cry, Ghost Recon, Just Dance,Rainbow Six, Prince of Persia, Rayman, Splinter Cell,
and Raving Rabbids.
Technology and Evolution and Impacts and Productions:
Changes in technology include in video game platforms that help better integrate circuits
and other technologies so they expand onto many others such as arcade, handheld, console, and
PC. Usually, an arcade platform is a specialized electronic device completely dedicated to a
video game,usually placed in a publicly accessible area. A handheld platform is a lightweight and
portable electronic device with its own screen, speaker and control system. A console platform is
a dedicated system built with the main intention of playing video games; it is typically connected
to a video and audio device and a control system. A PC platform is as its name implies: a
personal computer capable of playing video games but not necessarily built solely for that
purpose. There are also many other electronic devices for which video games have been made,
including PDAs, calculators, and mobile phones. These mobile devices are some of the newest
platform genres to enter the market. Another technological change, aside from hardware
development, is the Internet. The Internet created many new opportunities for the video game
industry, enabling features such as multi-player games for users separated by a significant
distance. Software and game development have changed since the start of video games as well.
During the earlier stages of video gaming, the game designer was in charge of the whole
production process: programming, graphics, and sounds. Game development didnt fully mature
to what it is today until later in the century. With technology moving towards faster servers and
faster networks, businesses have begun to shift towards the cloud. The gaming industry is
showing signs of movement in the direction of this trend.Computer hardware has finally reached
the point where servers can store and run resource-intensive video games and transmit them
across the Internet to low-end hardware that would be otherwise incapable of playing the game

itself. This is a new frontier pioneered, not by established industry leaders, but rather by young
start-ups with a vision for the future. For the most part, the technology has already been proven.
Whats left is to see where this technology will head and how much it will impact the current
industry landscape.

Far Cry 4

2014

Win, PS3, X360, PS4, XBO

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

2013

Win, PS3, PS4, X360, XBO,

WiiU

To illustrate how much video games have impacted normal households, these are
statistics of 2010: 67% of American households played video games 60% of the gamers were
male and 40% were female. 53% of all Americans over 18 play video games. 97% of all
American teens play video games. 58% of online players are male, 42% are female 41% of
Americans plan on buying a video game Video games reach out to all parts of society, regardless
of gender, age,or ability. While games were once only modeled towards the young male, it is
now produced for all ages and generations.
Distribution Practices:
As the worlds third largest independent video game company, Ubisoft studios employs
the second largest amount of in-house development staff in the world and has several divisions
and offices across the globe. Besides publishing their own games, Ubisoft also publishes famous
franchises produced by other important studios for some specific platforms.
Uplay is a digital distribution, digital rights management, multiplayer and
communications service created by Ubisoft. Anyone can buy these games because they are sold
in almost all game stores. Ubisoft has many different types of social media to promote their
games, including twitter, facebook, youtube, google plus, and instagram.
Marketing Strategies:
WELCOME TO UBISOFT
Ubisoft is a leading creator, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment. The
teams throughout Ubisoft's worldwide network of studios and business offices are committed to
delivering original and memorable gaming experiences across all popular platforms for all age
and genders.
UBISOFT AROUND THE WORLD

If you go to their website, Ubisoft.com, they show what is most popular and they give an
overview of games along with comments from people who have played those games. They also
have something called a Ubisoft workshop which is an online shop that you can buy tangible
products, like a Far Cry Primal - Takkars Dagger for US currency $39.99. Along with a variety
of gaming trailers and social media sites, like Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Google +, and
Instagram.
Diversification and Convergence:
Convergence is using movies and games and short stories (Media convergence is the
merging of mass communication outlets print, television, radio, the Internet along with portable
and interactive technologies through various digital media platforms. Media convergence allows
mass media professionals to tell stories and present information and entertainment using a
variety of media. Ubisoft does this by their website and their social media sites, Converged
communication provides multiple tools for storytelling, allowing consumers to select level of
interactivity while self-directing content delivery.
The games themselves make them more diverse. (the action of making or becomin more
diverse or varied) There is more expectation of female representation in the Ubisofts games.
Ubisoft is caught in a tricky position. Its impossible to please everybody all of the time, so even
when they do add more diversity, expect complains of their new female protagonists breasts
being too big, or not big enough. Shell probably be too sexyor not sexy enough. Shell be too
toughor not tough enough. And so on, ad infinitum.
"We want to spend more time on the worlds and characters in our games you will see
more and more of this at Ubisoft. Well try to be less like we have been in the past with some
characters. Well try to extend more diversity." quoted from to Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot.
They already have a large variety of genres of games out now, from violent (Rainbow Six) to
family fun (Just Dance). This serves a wide audience , family oriented, and games like rainbow
six to get people their fix for shooting people.

Case Study 1 - Assassins Creed: Syndicate

My first Case Study is on one of many Assassins Creed games, Assassins Creed:
Syndicate. In this game, the setting is in London, 1868. During the Industrial Revolution, an age
of invention and prosperity, built on the backs of working class slaves. As gangster assassin
Jacob Frye, you will recruit your gang to fight for justice on behalf of the oppressed working
class. Jacob Frye is the first assassin at the birth of the modern age. The release date for this
game was October 23, 2015. The game comes out on platforms; Playstation 4, Xbox one, and on
PC.
Case Study 2 - Far Cry 4
My second case study is on a popular co-op game, Far Cry 4. In this game, players find
themselves in Kyrat, a breathtaking and wild region of the Himalayas struggling under the
regime of a despotic self-appointed king. Using a vast array of weapons, vehicles, and animals,
players can make their own maps and write their own story on how they make their way through
the game. The release date for this game was November 18, 2014. The game comes out on
platforms; PC, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, and the Xbox 360.
Links http://www.ign.com/top/video-game-makers/17
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubisoft
https://www.ubisoft.com/en-US/
http://www.lazygamer.net/24/ubisoft-to-diversify-in-the-future/
http://assassinscreed.ubi.com/en-US/home/index.aspx
http://far-cry.ubisoft.com/primal/en-US/media/index.aspx