Ubisoft is Toast

Drifter · 06-14-10, 09:30 PM

In my opinion, Ubisoft is toast:

Ubisoft shares have lost about 90% of their value in only 2 years. They are bleeding money like a slaughtered pig. Their stock value is now hovering around $7.50 per share. They have supposedly cut their staff from 400 down to only 50.

They are infamously well-known for releasing buggy, half-finished games, horrible customer service/communication, draconian DRM, and lack of correctly patching same said buggy, half-finished games. A perfect example is the recent SH5 release. They released only one patch that didn't address most of the hard-coded problems that remained in SH5, then dropped all support. They basically took the money and ran, leaving the paying customers with a still-unfinshed, buggy game. It was probably their plan to do this even before the SH5 release.

I am predicting sometime next year (2011) they will be forced to file bankruptcy. Good riddance. You won't be missed.

Lord_magerius · 06-14-10, 09:36 PM

Hopefully they'll take a good hard look at themselves.

Drifter · 06-14-10, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lord_magerius

Hopefully they'll take a good hard look at themselves.

I doubt it. Their business practices wouldn't allow that. With the way things are looking, they might not even survive through the end of 2010.

krashkart · 06-14-10, 09:41 PM

Don't count your chickens before they hatch. It is fun to dream, though.

"Rohr eins. Los!" *Ubi sinks*
"Rohr zwei. Los!" *EA sinks*

Apologies for my bad Deutsch.

Drifter · 06-14-10, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krashkart

Don't count your chickens before they hatch. It is fun to dream, though.

"Rohr eins. Los!" *Ubi sinks*
"Rohr zwei. Los!" *EA sinks*

Apologies for my bad Deutsch.

I think the dream will soon become reality. With such a large drop in such a short time, their stock value is nearing bankruptcy territory.

Lord_magerius · 06-14-10, 09:48 PM

They have nobody to blame but themselves really

Edit: Just noticed that the drop in shares starts when Ubi started introducing the DRM into nearly all of their games. Coincidence? I think not

Drifter · 06-14-10, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lord_magerius

They have nobody to blame but themselves really

I agree. They burned their customers one too many times. Plus the world is currently gripped in an economic depression. There is much less discretionary spending money available to spend on video games and such.

Bilge_Rat · 06-15-10, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drifter

In my opinion, Ubisoft is toast:

Ubisoft shares have lost about 90% of their value in only 2 years. They are bleeding money like a slaughtered pig. Their stock value is now hovering around $7.50 per share. They have supposedly cut their staff from 400 down to only 50.

They are infamously well-known for releasing buggy, half-finished games, horrible customer service/communication, draconian DRM, and lack of correctly patching same said buggy, half-finished games. A perfect example is the recent SH5 release. They released only one patch that didn't address most of the hard-coded problems that remained in SH5, then dropped all support. They basically took the money and ran, leaving the paying customers with a still-unfinshed, buggy game. It was probably their plan to do this even before the SH5 release.

I am predicting sometime next year (2011) they will be forced to file bankruptcy. Good riddance. You won't be missed.

..and in the same two years, EA has lost 70% and Sony has lost 45% of its share price.

The drop in stock price has more to do with the ongoing worldwide recession than anything else. Most analysts still rate Ubi has a good long term investment. It will be around for many years for everyone to continue taking shots at...

mookiemookie · 06-15-10, 09:06 AM

Seeing what's happened to the SH series has chased me away from Ubisoft altogether. RUSE looked kind of interesting, but when I found out that it was published by Ubisoft, I refuse to even consider buying it.

They fail to realize that by not putting out quality products, even if they're niche products like the SH games, they affect sales of all their product lines.

I doubt they'll be out of business, but I don't doubt they'll be gobbled up by someone if the share price gets low enough.

Bilge_Rat · 06-15-10, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

I doubt they'll be out of business, but I don't doubt they'll be gobbled up by someone if the share price gets low enough.

that is a more likely scenario than bankruptcy.

Sonarman · 06-15-10, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drifter

In my opinion, Ubisoft is toast:

Ubisoft shares have lost about 90% of their value in only 2 years. They are bleeding money like a slaughtered pig. Their stock value is now hovering around $7.50 per share. They have supposedly cut their staff from 400 down to only 50.
...

I am predicting sometime next year (2011) they will be forced to file bankruptcy. Good riddance. You won't be missed.

Ubisoft Romania was downsized from 400 to 50, it is only a tiny portion of the Ubi empire and this downsizing happened I think a long time ago, probably when Romania became part of the EU just after the release of SH3!

This year Ubi shifted 9 million copies of Assasins Creed 2. I don't think Ubi is about to just disappear with sales numbers like that. Although judging by their latest just announced title they deserve to!!

Arclight · 06-15-10, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonarman

Although judging by their latest just announced title they deserve to!!

I think you missed a few...

Child Of Eden Is Basically Rez For The PlayStation Move, Kinect

Another World Creator Back With A New Game: Project Dust

If yer gonna bash, get yer facts straight.

Don't care about the project Natal, oh sorry, Kinect nonsense, but "Dust" looks promising and actually refreshing.

Ubi ain't going nowhere.

Sonarman · 06-15-10, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arclight

I think you missed a few...
...
If yer gonna bash, get yer facts straight.

Don't get me wrong my post was not so much a criticism of Ubi products in general rather more a statement on the continued glorification and profiteering from the "fallen idol" Michael Jackson. That Ubi got us this far with SH is very much in their credit and I for one am still willing to give them another chance which many here quite understandably are not.

Arclight · 06-15-10, 01:29 PM

Sorry, my bad.

The whole "Ubi sux" argument is wearing me down. Not to defend the company; delivering a product in the state the Silent Hunter series is in at release is unacceptable. Doesn't mean everything that comes out of there is bad quality, or signals the end of the company.

06-15-10, 02:01 PM

Meh the dev teams just need to learn they don't need a crappy publisher like UBI in order to get their games out. Make a good game and people will buy it, you don't need a publisher advertising and hyping it and telling you how to make your game in order to get more sales.

06-14-10, 09:30 PM	#1
Drifter Frogman Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 308 Downloads: 75 Uploads: 0	Ubisoft is Toast In my opinion, Ubisoft is toast: Ubisoft shares have lost about 90% of their value in only 2 years. They are bleeding money like a slaughtered pig. Their stock value is now hovering around $7.50 per share. They have supposedly cut their staff from 400 down to only 50. They are infamously well-known for releasing buggy, half-finished games, horrible customer service/communication, draconian DRM, and lack of correctly patching same said buggy, half-finished games. A perfect example is the recent SH5 release. They released only one patch that didn't address most of the hard-coded problems that remained in SH5, then dropped all support. They basically took the money and ran, leaving the paying customers with a still-unfinshed, buggy game. It was probably their plan to do this even before the SH5 release. I am predicting sometime next year (2011) they will be forced to file bankruptcy. Good riddance. You won't be missed. __________________ Last edited by Drifter; 06-14-10 at 10:40 PM.

06-14-10, 09:36 PM	#2
Lord_magerius Seasoned Skipper Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Right by the hydrophone station Posts: 724 Downloads: 96 Uploads: 0	Hopefully they'll take a good hard look at themselves. __________________

06-14-10, 09:41 PM	#4
krashkart Navy Seal Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 5,292 Downloads: 100 Uploads: 0	Don't count your chickens before they hatch. It is fun to dream, though. "Rohr eins. Los!" Ubi sinks "Rohr zwei. Los!" EA sinks Apologies for my bad Deutsch. __________________ sent from my fingertips using a cheap keyboard

06-14-10, 09:48 PM	#6
Lord_magerius Seasoned Skipper Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Right by the hydrophone station Posts: 724 Downloads: 96 Uploads: 0	They have nobody to blame but themselves really Edit: Just noticed that the drop in shares starts when Ubi started introducing the DRM into nearly all of their games. Coincidence? I think not __________________

06-15-10, 09:06 AM	#9
mookiemookie Navy Seal Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 9,404 Downloads: 105 Uploads: 1	Seeing what's happened to the SH series has chased me away from Ubisoft altogether. RUSE looked kind of interesting, but when I found out that it was published by Ubisoft, I refuse to even consider buying it. They fail to realize that by not putting out quality products, even if they're niche products like the SH games, they affect sales of all their product lines. I doubt they'll be out of business, but I don't doubt they'll be gobbled up by someone if the share price gets low enough. __________________ They don’t think it be like it is, but it do. Want more U-boat Kaleun portraits for your SH3 Commander Profiles? Download the SH3 Commander Portrait Pack here.

06-15-10, 01:29 PM	#14
Arclight Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Land of windmills, tulips, wooden shoes and cheese. Lots of cheese. Posts: 8,467 Downloads: 53 Uploads: 10	Sorry, my bad. The whole "Ubi sux" argument is wearing me down. Not to defend the company; delivering a product in the state the Silent Hunter series is in at release is unacceptable. Doesn't mean everything that comes out of there is bad quality, or signals the end of the company. __________________ Contritium praecedit superbia.

06-15-10, 02:01 PM	#15
Rilder Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	Meh the dev teams just need to learn they don't need a crappy publisher like UBI in order to get their games out. Make a good game and people will buy it, you don't need a publisher advertising and hyping it and telling you how to make your game in order to get more sales.