Ubisoft on Switch’s audience, initial lineup of games, dev approach, why it will be more successful than Wii U

GamesIndustry published a new interview with Xavier Poix, the boss of Ubisoft’s French studios, about all things Switch. He weighed in on the audience for Switch, Ubisoft’s initial lineup of games and why they were chosen, the company’s approach to development, and why the system will be more successful than Wii U.

We’ve rounded up some notable excerpts from the interview below. Head on over here for the full discussion.

On Switch’s audience…

Xavier Poix: It will still be for kids. The console itself is very modern and it can really answer the need of wanting some high quality gaming experience on your couch at home, with long-sessions, as well as being able to take it with you into another room, or on the bus. This should definitely appeal to a younger audience. I think there will be room for everyone. I’ll be interesting to discover how people will use this on-the-go feature. That is why games like Rayman and Just Dance are good titles for this console, because I’d like to know how people will play them. Rayman Legends, for instance, is a game that has DNA that is very similar to Switch. It is a game you can play on the big screen at home, with yourself and others. But you can also see this easily being played on the smaller Switch screen, and even in multiplayer. We imagine that, with the smaller screen, people will be playing for shorter play sessions, and Rayman Legends is a game that allows you to do both long and short play sessions.

In the future, we will have to manage and look at how people are playing on Switch. No one can tell what the breakdown will be between playing on the couch – for what I imagine will be longer play sessions – and playing on-the-go for shorter sessions. Switch games need to think about that.

On why Ubisoft isn’t bringing out any completely original properties like Wii U and Wii…

Xavier Poix: First of all, I think these are games that are a good fit the platform, even though we haven’t made an announcement of a brand new title. When you think about Just Dance for instance, that game was brought to the Wii first and uses the whole motion gaming aspect. But Just Dance is about playing with anyone and anytime, it is about accessibility, and what is interesting is that Switch brings that anywhere aspect to the table. So the ability that the gamse had on Wii and Wii U in terms of bringing people together into a room, well now that room can be anywhere. The room you want to play Just Dance in can be a kitchen or a garden, it can be anywhere.

The Switch has been made for Just Dance. Just Dance has sold more than 65m units, it has had more than 100m players that have used it. In the Switch box today, you have two Joy-Con controllers, so right from the first day you can play two player Just Dance – with each person holding a Joy-Con. Of course you can play in front of the TV, and also play on the smaller screen, which means you can now have a Just Dance party almost anywhere. It’s the perfect match for that game.

So we are bringing titles that we think fit with what Switch is all about. Of course, in the future we have other things that we will be very happy to share with you at a later date.

On bringing Steep to Switch rather than Watch Dogs 2 or The Division…

Xavier Poix: Sorry to come back to the same point, but Steep has the same philosophy of Switch already in its DNA. Steep is about the freedom of discovering the alps, it is about doing multi-sport, it is about both long gameplay sessions and short sessions, and it is about sharing the experience with friends via sending them challenges or images – which the Steep does with its share feature.

Switch also brings the mobility aspect, and Steep is missing that. Imagine that you can keep having the Steep experience when you go to another room? For me, Steep was a no-brainer for Switch. In terms of audience, Steep is a good example of attracting a large audience, including older gamers who perhaps used to play SSX or other games like that, and you’re right, it should attract a new, younger audience.

On Switch winning back the audience from Wii and mobile…

Today, we have two ways of playing – and a lot of people are doing both. There is the high-end, high value, experience that you have at home in front of your TV – in multiplayer or not. But when the TV isn’t there anymore, if someone else is using it for example, then you are left alone with your mobile phone. So there is a need for Switch, and we probably don’t realise it right now, which is what makes this so interesting. There is a promise of keeping the player in the world that he or she loves. Switch can really change the way people are interacting with their games and the worlds we are creating.

I am confident Nintendo can create a bridge between the worlds of mobile and TV. Between the desire to play on the TV, but also the need to play somewhere else because you can’t be in front of your TV all the time.

On how Ubisoft makes Switch games given the two screens…

Xavier Poix: That is actually something that has been on our minds for months and months. Each of our Switch games has its own methodology in terms of that – and many of the games we have are already built for the big screen. It depends on how the HUD and character fits with the screen. Whether it is the big screen or the small screen, the game needs to be accessible. The HUD needs to be clear. So we try to maximise and optimise the best quality on every screen. And this is something new for us. We have experienced it a little bit with the Wii U. We played with the of idea of having two HUD screens for ZombiU – one of the big screen and one for the Gamepad. The mobile experiences that we have also helps in finding ways to make sure players can enjoy the games on both screens. But the difference with the Switch is that the HUD needs to be the same on both screens.

There’s no real recipe. The only thing we can do is test a lot on both screens, and make sure that when we develop, we develop with the two screens in our heads and in front of our eyes.

On why Switch won’t suffer the same fate as Wii U…

The message of the Wii U wasn’t clear enough. I think what they really did well with the Wii is that they found a new system, a new way of playing and an easy way of showing that to every audience. In terms of the Wii U, the idea of playing with two screens, and with a controller that is bigger than usual, it is something that is very hard to explain. It is ok when you play games that use this feature, because you understand, but it’s not something you can understand very easily by just seeing it. I think the Switch, from day one – which I think is why they introduced the Switch at first without any other information – is to see if the message is something that people can easily understand. And for me it is simple. You know the handheld console, you know the home console, the Switch is the bridge. It is a home console on-the-go. It is a very simple message that anyone can understand. Of course there are more features that you’d need to play to understand it properly, but I am really confident that the messaging itself – which was key to the success of Wii – is there for the Switch.