Splinter Cell Brand Manager, Yannick Spagna, said during the GameON Finance Conference in Toronto that Ubisoft is looking for a new audience for the Assassin’s Creed brand. And by “new audience,” he means “kids, children.” He referred to a deal with the toy company, Mega Bloks, stating that the aim of the deal wasn’t to simply generate more revenue, but to attract a new audience.
On a big IP, like Assassin’s Creed or that type of game, I think now the idea is to reach a maximum of people, so it’s not about needing advertisement to get additional revenue. Plus I’m not sure this is the right business model to do that. When you think about it, would you like to have, while playing Assassin’s Creed, shaving cream advertising every five minutes when you spent $70 to buy the game? I’m not sure this is what you want. For big IPs, smart brands are the best partners. They do a line with Mega Bloks together. On their side, it’s nice because toys are looking for the hype around video games. And we are looking for a new audience: kids, children, it’s more like that.
Spagna later clarified his comments, stating that he was referring to the Assassin’s Creed brand, not the games.
This quote is not about Assassin’s Creed the game. It’s about Assassin’s Creed the brand. It’s the same way you have The Lord of the Rings brand, the books, Shadow of Mordor, the Lego. It’s a huge franchise, a brand, and within that you have different experiences that are tailored to specific audiences.
What do you make of Spagna’s comments?
[Source: GamesIndustry.biz]
