Ubisoft – Best Publisher 2012
Notable Game(s) of 2012: Assassin's Creed III, Far Cry 3, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, Rayman Jungle Run, ZombiU, Lumines: Electronic Symphony
Ubisoft took home our award last year for best publisher, but this year, they’re even more deserving. There are so many reasons as to why Ubi again got the nod, but first, some backstory…
It was E3 2008—my first. If you’re not familiar with the annual E3 press conference schedule, Microsoft goes first, then EA, then Ubi, which is right down the street, goes next. That year, my flight landed too late to get to Microsoft, so I instead headed directly for The Orpheum Theatre for EA. This was the year that Spore stole the show, and new IPs like Mirror’s Edge, Dragon Age, Dead Space, and Left 4 Dead made a big impact.
Grinning ear to ear and giddy with excitement, I traveled down Broadway in Los Angeles to Ubisoft’s presser. A massive portion of the one-hour presentation was dedicated to “games for girls” with the Imagine franchise and Petz. I actually began to doze off. It wasn’t until I was startled back awake when I saw Carrot Top on stage. But that turned out to be Shaun White. Deep-seeded disdain had taken hold of me.
This year’s E3, however, had Assassin’s Creed III, Far Cry 3, some Wii U support, and one of the few games at E3 this year that had everyone talking: Watch_Dogs. I could tell my feelings toward Ubisoft were turning around.
But that’s not really enough to earn this award. Their few big name blockbuster games were among my favorite this year, all sitting on the high-end of our review scale. They even did away with that pesky, controversial always-on DRM.
Plus, no one supports new hardware like Ubisoft. The PlayStation Vita had stand-outs like Lumines: Electronic Symphony and Rayman Origins at launch thanks to Ubi. The three other Ubi-published launch games for Vita weren’t as significant, but at least they were there. Ubisoft even managed to match Sony in the amount of titles available at retail at the Vita launch.
Ubisoft again was there for the Wii U launch with a port of Assassin’s Creed III, the Wii U exclusive ZombiU, and three other titles. If only Rayman Legends made the launch, this award would have been even more of a no-brainer. Then again, when it all stacks up, I don’t think another publisher even came close to having such a well-rounded portfolio that includes AAA blockbusters, family-friendly titles, and financially risky launch titles.
Runners Up:
Click here to see the rest of GameRevolution's Best of 2012 Awards.
