Ubisoft bets on Wii video game machine
French video game publisher Ubisoft Entertainment SA is making a big bet that Nintendo unconventional Wii game player will be a breakout hit in the next-generation console wars of the $30 billion video game market.
World No. 1 video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc., known as EA, holds a roughly 20 percent stake in Ubisoft, known for its "Splinter Cell" and "Prince of Persia" games. The company wants to boost its No. 4 ranking while remaining independent.
"Our goal is not to sell to EA but to beat EA," Laurent Detoc, who leads Ubisoft's North America business, told in an interview on Thursday.
One way the company hopes to do that is by making an early investment in the Wii.
Ubisoft's upcoming racing games "GT Pro Series" and "Monster 4X4 World Circuit" will include a plastic steering wheel that cradles the wireless "Wiimote."
"You get it right away," Detoc said of the Wii controller.
Ubisoft expects to have eight games available within a month of the Wii's mid-November launch, a move Detoc said will give the company a competitive advantage on the console that is predicted to be an immediate mass-market hit this holiday season.
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