Ubisoft Goes to the Movies
CGI movies, we're talkin'. They're so jazzed on 'em that they built a whole studio.
Published: February 9, 2007
Most know Ubisoft as "that French company that makes them Splinter Six shooters 'n stuff," which is almost correct, so you almost get a cookie. But, being a French company, it makes sense that they would set up shop in Montreal, as Quebec's sole official language is French and it boasts by far the largest French-Canadian population in the country (also likely why they're trying to freakin' secede all the time). It's been a profitable partnership, with Ubisoft pouring tons o' moolah into Quebec and giving Montreal hundreds of jobs, while the local and country-wide governments... well, they give them all pats on the back.
But when a company says they're going to be creating 1000 new jobs by 2013 -- bringing the total number of employees to 3000 -- well, pats on the back just aren't enthusiastic enough a gesture. Even if they're French pats on the back. No, this clearly calls for... um... tons and tons of quotes from Ubisoft co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot and Ubisoft Montreal CEO Yannis Mallat!
"In 1997 Ubisoft made the decision to wager on Quebec's immense creative potential,” reminisced a starry-eyed Guillemot. "Ten years later, the Montreal studio has been the driving force behind the conception and development of legendary brands, such as Prince of Persia, and the greatly anticipated Assassin's Creed. The Montreal studio was recently ranked 4th development studio in the world by Game Informer, one of the most influential magazines in the game industry. Today, we are pursuing our strategy centered on innovation by increasing investments in our creative teams based in Quebec.”
"With this announcement, we are one step closer to reaching our goal of making Ubsisoft's Montreal studio the most important center for video game development in the world, and especially to reinforce Quebec's position as a reference in the creation of digital entertainment,” quickly chimed in Mallat.
Guillemot quickly wrestled the mic back and spat fire to a funky beat. "Video game production has progressively moved closer and closer to film and television production and this convergence will only intensify in the coming years. This natural evolution is accompanied by revolutionary changes in online distribution channels via the explosion of free and paid-for digital content. Today's launch of a studio specializing in digital film creation will allow Ubisoft to be a pioneer in the domain for the years to come.”
Oh, but Mallat wasn't done, not by a long shot. Digging deep, he busted out his own tale of nostalgia, recounting the tale of Ubisoft first coming to Montreal in 1997. "At the time, we expected to create 800 new positions over 10 years. As we approach the celebration of Ubisoft's 10th anniversary in Quebec, the company has surpassed initial expectations, doubling the number of jobs created. Ubisoft's activities in Quebec have played a determining role in the growth of the company. Together with the Quebec and Canadian governments, we have created a vision of the industry's future that has provided concrete benefits to Quebec and to Ubisoft's business."
The new jobs will be split between existing studios and projects and a new CGI movie studio that will piggyback off the existing Montreal offices. Though the studio will no doubt help with putting a pretty face on some of Ubisoft's bigger games franchises (or at least contribute with scary awesome next-next-gen games trailers), the primary goal is to, well, make movies. The first project will be an eight minute Assassin's Creed mini-flick based on the game. Given that it's directly related to the game and that we're terribly starved for new media, there's a good chance that if it's released, we'll have it here.
But when a company says they're going to be creating 1000 new jobs by 2013 -- bringing the total number of employees to 3000 -- well, pats on the back just aren't enthusiastic enough a gesture. Even if they're French pats on the back. No, this clearly calls for... um... tons and tons of quotes from Ubisoft co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot and Ubisoft Montreal CEO Yannis Mallat!
"In 1997 Ubisoft made the decision to wager on Quebec's immense creative potential,” reminisced a starry-eyed Guillemot. "Ten years later, the Montreal studio has been the driving force behind the conception and development of legendary brands, such as Prince of Persia, and the greatly anticipated Assassin's Creed. The Montreal studio was recently ranked 4th development studio in the world by Game Informer, one of the most influential magazines in the game industry. Today, we are pursuing our strategy centered on innovation by increasing investments in our creative teams based in Quebec.”
"With this announcement, we are one step closer to reaching our goal of making Ubsisoft's Montreal studio the most important center for video game development in the world, and especially to reinforce Quebec's position as a reference in the creation of digital entertainment,” quickly chimed in Mallat.
Guillemot quickly wrestled the mic back and spat fire to a funky beat. "Video game production has progressively moved closer and closer to film and television production and this convergence will only intensify in the coming years. This natural evolution is accompanied by revolutionary changes in online distribution channels via the explosion of free and paid-for digital content. Today's launch of a studio specializing in digital film creation will allow Ubisoft to be a pioneer in the domain for the years to come.”
Oh, but Mallat wasn't done, not by a long shot. Digging deep, he busted out his own tale of nostalgia, recounting the tale of Ubisoft first coming to Montreal in 1997. "At the time, we expected to create 800 new positions over 10 years. As we approach the celebration of Ubisoft's 10th anniversary in Quebec, the company has surpassed initial expectations, doubling the number of jobs created. Ubisoft's activities in Quebec have played a determining role in the growth of the company. Together with the Quebec and Canadian governments, we have created a vision of the industry's future that has provided concrete benefits to Quebec and to Ubisoft's business."
The new jobs will be split between existing studios and projects and a new CGI movie studio that will piggyback off the existing Montreal offices. Though the studio will no doubt help with putting a pretty face on some of Ubisoft's bigger games franchises (or at least contribute with scary awesome next-next-gen games trailers), the primary goal is to, well, make movies. The first project will be an eight minute Assassin's Creed mini-flick based on the game. Given that it's directly related to the game and that we're terribly starved for new media, there's a good chance that if it's released, we'll have it here.