Ubisoft Launches Fashion-themed
Game
Interviewed by Kenyatta D. Pious
Chicettes all over have been sometimes forgotten by the
gaming industry, but no mas! We tapped Ubisoft’s Jocelyn
Portacio to discuss Ubisoft’s new offering in the
industry, a game just for the chicette…and just in
time for the holidays!
What is the inspiration behind the current crop
of games?
Ubisoft discovered that a lot of women, both young and
old, own a Nintendo DS and the games they were playing didn’t
cater to their interests at all. Ubisoft did further research
and concluded that young girls were looking for games that
incorporated their favorite activities such as fashion designing,
cooking, dancing, music and acting.
Young women at this age are creative and unique with their
own style, they want to stay connected with friends and
family whether it is through their cell phones or popular
social networking websites and they are always on the lookout
for the next aspirational role model to look up to.
What can you tell us about the Imagine brand and
its conception?
Ubisoft’s Imagine brand focuses on aspiration –
allowing girls to “imagine” themselves as the
next big fashion designer, movie star or rock star.
The Imagine brand was conceived through extensive lifestyle
research on young girls today.
As a result of this research, Ubisoft found that three million
girls own pink Nintendo DS units (Source: NPD). That number
made us realize that we needed to tap into this new, tween
girl market by creating games with a brand strategy –
something that no other video game publisher had done. Ubisoft
wanted to be first to market with this offering and expand
the world of gaming to include young girls.
How and why did Ubisoft start and who started it?
Ubisoft’s was started by the five Guillemot brothers
from Brittany who discovered an untapped market for video
games in France. They would ferry back and forth from England
to France in an old Peugeot carrying boxes of video games
in the backseat. These five young brothers family met some
creative teenagers who wanted to develop games and with
their distribution network across France and these young
eager developers, the Guillemot brothers founded Ubisoft
in 1986.
What is the lowest and highest price point for
games?
The price point for Ubisoft video games, which are on par
with the industry standards, are:
Nintendo DS - $29.99
Nintendo Wii - $49.99
Sony PlayStation3 - $59.99
Microsoft Xbox 360 - $59.99
What do you think are the biggest video game trends
right now?
Attracting women and young girls into video games is a
hot trend right now. While some have interest playing Tom
Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas or Assassin’s Creed,
a lot of women are also interested in playing games that
fit with their lifestyle. Ubisoft’s Imagine video
games are for girls ages 6-14. Ubisoft’s My Coach
brand is also popular with older adults and mothers because
it focuses on self-improvement.
What is the hottest new game or technology that
separates Ubisoft from its competitors?
Recently, Nintendo released the Wii fit board which is
becoming a hot commodity in homes today. The board is another
form of a Wii controller where it can become skis, a snowboard,
a yoga mat and more. In Ubisoft’s Rayman Raving Rabbids
TV Party, you sit on the balance board and use your butt
to play the game. In Shaun White’s Snowboarding: Road
Trip players use the balance board as a snowboard.
Ubisoft also has an upcoming game called Tom Clancy’s
EndWar a revolutionary new war game where the player controls
their army with their voice instead of using the console’s
controllers or a keyboard. The use of voice recognition
technology in EndWar is a different approach in playing
video games and is also accessible and a bit easier for
players who have never played a video game.
What is one thing that no one knows about the company?
The San Francisco office located at 625 Third Street was
the original Rolling Stone magazine office, before they
moved their office to New York City
For more info visit:
http://imagine.us.ubi.com/
or
www.ubi.com
