GR: Future Soldier delayed until 2011.

[NoQuarter]

Perhaps we should come up with a poll on our ideas of the real reasoning behind the delay.

Note: This is bound to strike some/all as juvenile drivel so... Fair Warning.

Some possible responses.

A laborious, methodical, and painstakingly re-crafting (i's & t's) and rewording of their Product Return Policy.

Or

A massive restructuring of their UPlay When, Where, & What We Want You To Play OSP.

Or

A salmonella outbreak originating from the low ball -ya gotta cut costs somewhere- catering trucks supporting the cast and crew of that $10,000,000 promo vid -causing a work stoppage.

Or

A company-wide 3 month walkabout to parts unknown -to engender esprit de corps, followed by a LMS sweat lodge marathon -to demonstrate survival of the fittest, and to round out the experience, a Team Russian Roulette tourney -Upper Echelon Mgnt excluded- -to instill the inevitability of it all.

Etc.

[MeanMF]

Yeah, I kinda am wary about that distinction too, but several other articles from reputable sites say that Conviction "sales" were 1.8 million, and AC2 "shipped" or sold 9 million (depending which article you read)

Those articles are quoting Ubi's number in their quarterly report. Most likely shipments IMO.

Amazon now has Conviction down to $42, plus a coupon for $10 off a future purchase. Gamestop is matching that. They're both really trying to unload it. That doesn't sound like something they'd do this quickly for a game that's selling multiple millions. For example, Bad Company 2 which independent numbers confirm 3+ million sales for is still $57 even though it came out almost 3 months ago.

[zeealice]

i just hope that they are touching up on the DRM more than anything thats what i would definately want to see tweaked a little

[CR6]

i just hope that they are touching up on the DRM more than anything thats what i would definately want to see tweaked a little

I am somewhat hopeful that the delay will increase the chances that Ubi (will see the error of their ways and) modify their DRM by next year to remove always-on authentication for single player. But only time will tell ...

[BS PALADIN]

Why would you care if the remove the DRM or not. Surely a crap game with a DRM is just as bad as a crap game without a DRM.

[MeanMF]

Man the Splinter Cell Conviction price is in absolute free-fall.. Now the Ubi store has the collectors edition for $35. They're desperate to unload this thing. I guess we'll see soon from the May numbers just why.

[CR6]

Amazon now has Conviction down to $42, plus a coupon for $10 off a future purchase. Gamestop is matching that. They're both really trying to unload it. That doesn't sound like something they'd do this quickly for a game that's selling multiple millions. For example, Bad Company 2 which independent numbers confirm 3+ million sales for is still $57 even though it came out almost 3 months ago.

I agree with you the price drop does not bode well for sales. I assume the prices you are stating are for the PC version? Or 360 too? Anyways, my point in previous posts was mainly that Conviction was delayed for a different reason (i.e. to even out quarterly revenue)than GRFS's delay (i.e. competition)

BTW, I checked out the price drop on the official Ubi shop, and at least in my area the $35 price is for the PC digital download. So that won't help them get rid of any physical copies of the game, but I agree that it likely means that sales has dropped off or the game has been cracked.

Funny thing is industry "experts" are saying the only way to keep retail copies of PC games on store shelves is to include "exclusive content" or make "Collector's Editions" with stuff like concept art books, USBs, and other trinkets. So what puzzles me is what is the point of Ubi having a PC deluxe edition for digital download?

Why would you care if the remove the DRM or not. Surely a crap game with a DRM is just as bad as a crap game without a DRM.

Well, personally I'm not going to pass judgement on the quality of the game til I see it. Ubi has not released any in-game video footage of GRFS at all (unlike with Activision releasing video early in promoting CoD Black Ops). Hopefully we'll see more from E3 coverage.

I really doubt the game will be crap (well, at least the console version should be good, but Ubi's had a spotty track record for theri PC "ports") as even though it's not what a lot of us GR vets are looking for, there's a ton of dev talent and experience behind it, and now even more time for extra polish.

In my case, the DRM will affect whether or not I will actually purchase the game, as I'm not buying any Ubi products (PC or console) as long as they keep their always-on DRM policy in single player for PC games.

[MeanMF]

I agree with you the price drop does not bode well for sales. I assume the prices you are stating are for the PC version? Or 360 too?

I was just looking at prices for the 360 version since that's where they're getting the vast majority of their sales. Here's the link to the $35 collector's edition: http://shop.ubi.com/store/ubina/en_US/pd/ThemeID.8605600/productID.187717400

Edited May 31, 2010 by MeanMF

[=warcloud=]

Note: drivel

A company-wide 3 month walkabout to parts unknown -to engender esprit de corps, followed by a LMS sweat lodge marathon -to demonstrate survival of the fittest, and to round out the experience, a Team Russian Roulette tourney -Upper Echelon Mgnt excluded- -to instill the inevitability of it all.

Etc.

That made me lol, daft, but it made me laugh.