Ubisoft announced that it sold its 100 millionth game in September. The sales achievement took on added meaning as the group also revealed today its new logo and visual identity. The corporate re-branding takes effect immediately throughout Ubisoft's worldwide offices.
Three facts about Ubisoft:
1 The third largest interactive entertainment publisher in Europe and the sixth largest in the United States
2 The world's second largest internal creative force for video games
3 An industry major, with 17 nominations and seven awards at E3 2003, annual net revenue of USD 491 (€453) million and 24 million games sold during the past fiscal year
Why a new look?
While the rainbow logo adopted in 1994 served Ubisoft well, the new logo more effectively targets its current stakeholders, including a wider group of mainstream, adult players. The company released its first game, Zombie, in 1986, followed by Rayman and POD later in the 90s. Today, Ubisoft stands for each of these games as well as Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc and a whole new generation of top-selling, blockbuster titles.
The new corporate image better reflects Ubisoft's increasingly competitive market position. Up by some 40 per cent each year since the company's initial public offering in 1996, net revenue reached a record USD 491 million last fiscal year. And with an average of at least three games under their belts, Ubisoft's development and marketing teams have never been more experienced or better prepared to meet ever-changing market demands.
Ubisoft also sees the re-branding as a chance to further its consumer-centric approach to business, while reinforcing its commitment to the core business strategy that has driven its growth all along. The pillars of this strategy include choosing quality over quantity, focusing on the creative potential of in-house development activities, catering to the demands of different players around the world and investing in the company's worldwide teams.
Says Yves Guillemot, president and CEO of Ubisoft: I want the Ubisoft brand to be one of the most seen and recognized in the industry. Yes, the new look reflects our growing renown among players and industry professionals. But it also symbolizes some of our most basic beliefs, including building both our company and games to last, and constantly raising the bar to offer our best. Along with the re-branding comes an invitation to discover - or rediscover - just who we are and what we stand for.
The new logo and dynamic visual identity will first be featured on the following six blockbuster Ubisoft games starting this fall: XIII, Beyond Good & Evil, Prince of Persia The Sands of Time, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Jungle Storm and Uru: Ages Beyond MYST. Other new Ubisoft games and products will gradually integrate the new corporate look during a six-month transition period.
Ubisoft worked closely with Seenk, a creative design consulting agency based in Paris, to develop its new logo and visual identity.
