Ubisoft

Ubisoft Entertainment (formerly Ubi Soft) is a computer game and video game publisher and video game developer headquarted in Montreuil-sous-Bois, France. The company has facilities in over 20 countries, including development studios in Montreal, Quebec; Barcelona, Catalonia; North Carolina; Düsseldorf, Germany; and Milan, Italy, amongst other locations. As of 2004, it is the third-largest independent video game publisher in Europe, and the seventh largest in the United States of America. The Ubi in Ubisoft is sometimes pronounced [jubi] or more often [u bi], however in French it is corrently pronouced [y bi]. (See IPA phonetic notation.)

=History=

The five brothers of the Guillemot family founded Ubisoft as a computer game publisher in 1986 in France. Yves Guillemot soon made deals with Electronic Arts, Sierra On-Line, and Microprose to distribute their games in France. By the end of the decade, Ubisoft began expanding to other markets, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

In the early 1990s, Ubisoft initiated its in-house game development program which led to the 1994 opening of a studio in Montreuil, France, which later became their headquarters. That same year, Michel Ancel created the Rayman character, a character which still stars in new video games as of 2004. Ubisoft became a publicly traded company in 1996 and continued to expand to offices around the globe, opening locations in Shanghai and Montreal.

In .

Ubisoft s revenue for 2002-2003 was 453 million euros; for fiscal year 2003-2004, this grew to 508 million euros. As of 2004, Ubisoft employs more than 2,350 people, of which over 1700 are classed as working in production. Yves Guillemot, a founding brother, is the chairman and chief executive officer.

In the late with what some considered a revolutionary online multiplayer feature.

On December 20, 2004 Electronic Arts (EA) purchased a 19.9% stake in the firm. At the time, Ubisoft released a statement saying they considered the purchase hostile until they had further information on EA s intent.

=Upcoming games published by Ubisoft=

*October 2005

(PS2)

Heroes of the Pacific (PC)

*November 2005

Dogz (GBA)

(PS2, Xbox)

Peter Jackson s King Kong (PC, PS2, GCN, Xbox, Xbox 360, PSP, NDS)

(GBA)

(PS2)

(GBA)

*December 2005

AND 1 Streetball (PS2, Xbox)

(PC, PS2, GCN, Xbox)

Prince of Persia (PSP)

Battles of Prince of Persia (NDS)

*February 2006

Heroes of Might and Magic V (PC)

Tom Clancy s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (PC, PS2, GCN, Xbox, Xbox 360)

=Games developed/published by Ubisoft=

This is a partial list of games developed and/or published by Ubisoft.

Advance Guardian Heroes (2004) — GBA

Alexander (game) (2004) — PC

Ape Escape 2 (2003) — PS2

(2004) — PS2

Asphalt Urban GT (2004) — DS.

(2004) — GBA

(2003) — Xbox, PS2

Beyond Good & Evil (video game) (2003) — Xbox, PS2, GC, PC

(2005) — Xbox, PC

Capitalism 2 (2001) — PC

Catz (2002) — PC

Chessmaster (2003/2004) — Xbox, PS2, PC

Chessmaster 9000 (2002) — PC, Mac

Chessmaster 10th Edition (2004) — PC

Conflict Zone (2001) — PS2

(2001) — PC

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (game) (2003) — Xbox, PS2, GBA

(2004) — Xbox, PC

(2004) — PC

(2004) — PC

Cold Fear (2005) — PC, Xbox, PS2

Destroyer Command (2002) — PC

Dogz (2002) — PC

F1 Racing Championship (2001) — PC, PS2, Dreamcast

Far Cry (2004) — PC

Instincts (2005) — Xbox

(2005) — PC

(1999) — PC

IL-2 Sturmovik (game) (2001) — PC

IL-2 Sturmovik (game)#Sequels (2004) — PC

*Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1993) — NES *Jimmy Connors Pro Tennis Tour (1993) — NES

(2003) — PC

Lunar Legend (2001) — GBA

(2005) — DS

(2003) — PS2, GC

Myst Masterpiece Edition (2000) — PC

realMYST (2000) — PC, Mac

(2001) — PC, Mac

(2004) — PC, Mac

(2004) — PC

Pacific Fighters (2004) — PC

(1999) — PC

P.O.D. (Planet of Death) (1996) — PC

(2001) — PC

(2003) — Xbox, PS2, GC, PC, GBA, (2005 DS)

(2004) — Xbox, PS2, GC, PC

Rayman (1996) — PS1

(1999/2000) — PC, N64, DC, PS1

Rayman M (2001) — PC, PS2

Rayman Arena (2002) — Xbox, PS2, GC, PC

(2003) — Xbox, PS2, GC, PC, GBA, MAC, N-GAGE

Rayman DS (2005) — DS

(2005) — GBA

(1998) — PC

Rocky Legends (2004) — Xbox, PS2

Secret of the Silver Earring (2004) — PC

(2003) — PC

Silent Hunter III (expected Q1 2005) — PC

Sprung (2004) — DS

(2004) — GBA

(2004) — Xbox, PS2

The Political Machine (2004) — PC

The Sum of All Fears (game) (2002/2003) — GC, PC, GBA

Tom Clancy s Ghost Recon (2003) — Xbox, PS2, GC

Tom Clancy s Ghost Recon#Desert Siege (2003) — PC

Tom Clancy s Ghost Recon#Island Thunder (2003) — Xbox, PC

Tom Clancy s Ghost Recon#Jungle Storm (2004) — PS2

Tom Clancy s Ghost Recon 2 (2004/2005) — Xbox, PS2, GC

(1999) — PC, Mac, DC, PS1

(2001) — PC

(2005) — Xbox, PS2, GC, PC

(2003) — Xbox, PS2, GC

(2003) — PC

(2004) — PC

(2004) — Xbox

(2005) — PC

Tom Clancy s Splinter Cell (2003) — Xbox, PS2, GC, PC

(2004) — Xbox, PS2, GC, PC

(2005) — Xbox, PS2, GC, PC

Tonic Trouble (2000) PC, N64

(2005) — Xbox

(2003) — PC

(2003) — PC

Will Rock (2003) — PC

XIII (game) (2003) — Xbox, PS2, GC, PC

Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates (2005) — PC

See also:

=External links=

[http://www.ubi.com/ Ubisoft s public site]

[http://www.ubisoftgroup.com/Home/Default.aspxlang=en-US Ubisoft s corporate site]

[http://www.redstorm.com/ Red Storm Entertainment, subsidiary developer of Ubi Soft]

[http://www.wolfpackstudios.com/ Wolfpack Studios, subsidiary developer of Ubi Soft]