Ubisoft planning on supporting Wii U’s digital strategy

Ubisoft has become a big player in the digital space. For instance, the company has looked to make virtual versions of their games available on platforms while also releasing retail copies.

When it comes to Wii U, Ubisoft’s digital boss Chris Early said the company will be looking to “take advantage of whatever the policies will let us do with the platform”. Their plans are vague because Nintendo hasn’t shared much information about the console’s digital capabilities, but Ubisoft will definitely be a big supporter in the future.

Early said:

“We’ll absolutely take advantage of whatever the policies will let us do with the platform from the standpoint of providing digital content.

“Nintendo has not announced a lot of their digital programs at this point of time. Our key is, as you see from us from a content perspective in supporting the platform, is we’re going to be there like we were with the Vita, and support the policy side of it as well. With the Vita all of our games are available digitally, and they’re even optimised from that standpoint because that was a policy in place we were able to design to.

“So from the same standpoint, I expect when the Wii U comes out and there are digital policies that are there, we will be in support of them as well.”

Speaking in general terms, Early also commented on how he hopes consumers will feel comfortable with their purchase, whether they do so digitally or physically:

“I just want you as a player to be able to get our content however you want to. I don’t really want to penalise you for wanting to get it digitally, or penalise you for wanting to get it physically. Whatever your choice happens to be. Because I know retailers will get a certain type of customer that maybe can’t pay online. So there’s always going to be a reason there, right?

“And the discoverability process is one we’re still struggling with on the digital market. You have a long tail where there are all kinds of products you can get to, if you can figure out which one you want. But the flip side is the problem with the retail level, which is, you can walk in and see all kinds of products for a brief period of time, because then shelf space has to change and turnover and the product I wanted from last month might not be there anymore.

“So each channel has its challenge. Our challenge as a publisher of content is, how do we make sure you as a player can get it wherever. We will see an on-going evolution of content available digitally. I don’t think that will be to the exclusion of other ways of giving the content.”