Rainbow Six Vegas 2 Ships One Million Units in U.S.

[blackdelsol94]

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 Ships One Million Units in U.S.
Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is hitting the jackpot. Ubisoft's shooter has shipped more than a million units in just one week since release.
Posted by James Brightman on Monday, March 24, 2008


The latest in Ubisoft's popular Rainbow Six shooter franchise, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2, has already shipped over one million units in the U.S., according to the most recent investor research note on the publisher from Wedbush Morgan Securities' Michael Pachter.

The game hit store shelves only one week ago and has been garnering positive reviews (over 83% on GameRankings.com), including a solid 8-out-of-10 from GameDaily.

Pachter previously estimated that 1.7 million units of the game will ship for the current quarter, and he acknowledged that these early results for the game "compare favorably" with his estimate. He also noted that Ubisoft's U.S. retail sales are up 26 percent quarter-to-date compared with the company's guidance for a revenue decline of 18 percent in the current March quarter. "We expect the upside in Rainbow Six to offset weakness caused by the strong Euro and lighter performance of its other releases (notably LOST) during the quarter," Pachter said.

The Tom Clancy games continue to be a big driver for Ubisoft's business, and the publisher recently made sure the brand stays with Ubisoft indefinitely, locking up all rights to the Tom Clancy name, including books, movies and merchandising products, in addition to games of course.

[hj2]

thats crazyyy
i heard that game was sick, cant wait to play it

[blackdelsol94]

Originally Posted by hj2

thats crazyyy
i heard that game was sick, cant wait to play it

It's supposed to be a lot like the first, so if you were already a fan of the series, there's more than likely nothing in R6V:2 that will disappoint!

[blackdelsol94]

Ubisoft Shares Lifted 12% After Tom Clancy Deal
Ubisoft and Tom Clancy seem to be a perfect match. By locking up the license, Ubisoft is now also seeing some short term stock gains.
Posted by David Radd on Wednesday, March 26, 2008


According to Bloomberg, Ubisoft's stocks have recently risen €5.91 ($9.29), or 12 percent, up to €54.98 ($86.48), and traded at €53.89 ($84.77) at 11:44 AM in Paris. This rise, which was the most in two months, comes after the French game publisher bought the rights to the Tom Clancy brand. The company expects the move to raise operating profit by at least €5 million ($7.8 million) a year.

The price for the all-cash acquisition of the Tom Clancy license was not disclosed, but Ubisoft did alter their net cash position to roughly €130 million for the end of the fiscal year, compared to a previously stated expectation of €150 million. The company also confirmed that they will make additional payments over the next two fiscal years. Tom Clancy brand games, which include Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six and Splinter Cell and the upcoming EndWar, compose nearly a third of Ubisoft's sales.

[blackdelsol94]

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 Sells 2 Million; Ubi Raises Guidance
Thanks to strong performances from Rainbow Six Vegas 2 and Assassin's Creed, Ubisoft has raised its full-year guidance. Sales are expected to top $1.5 billion.
Posted by James Brightman on Monday, March 31, 2008


We recently reported that Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 shipped over one million in the U.S. Today, French publisher Ubisoft announced that the game has actually sold over two million copies worldwide, which the company said is "better than expected." Ubisoft also noted that Assassin's Creed and its Games For Everyone brand "continue to outperform."

Thanks to the strong performances of these games, Ubisoft has raised its fiscal guidance for the 2007-08 year. Net sales are now forecast to be around 920 million Euros ($1.54 billion) compared to the previous guidance of approximately 875 million Euros. Operating income before stock options is expected to represent about 14 percent of sales, up from the previous estimate of at least 13 percent. In addition, the company said that sales guidance for the fourth quarter has been increased to approximately 210 million Euros compared to the previous guidance of around 165 million Euros.

"As expected, 2008 is off to be a record year for the videogame market and our games have performed remarkably well in this context. Assassin's Creed and our Games For Everyone brands continued their strong performance and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 had a better than expected start. One year after the great success of the first title, the second iteration, which provides another unique multi-player experience in the much enjoyed Tom Clancy environment, is ranked among the top games on Xbox360 and PlayStation 3 in almost every country," said Yves Guillemot, president and chief executive officer of Ubisoft.

[tha_con]

It's really sad, in my opinion, that this game is selling so well.

[H23lude92]

Originally Posted by tha_con

It's really sad, in my opinion, that this game is selling so well.

why?

[tha_con]

Originally Posted by H23lude92

why?

Well, it's basically a $60 expansion pack to the original Rainbow Six Vegas. There really isn't anything that justify's the price, or seperates this game as a 'sequel' to the first.

I just feel that it should be $39.99 at MOST. Ubisoft hasn't been known lately for their next generation efforts.

That's just how I feel after playing it.

[H23lude92]

yea i see what your sayin, i enjoy it because it offers things cod4 doesnt. EX: taking good cover, night/thermal vision, dif. nades. little things like that make a big difference in game play, although imo tom clancey needs to take out some of the small "useless" things and make game play and graphics better! like throwin a gernade in vegas = weaksause

[blackdelsol94]

Originally Posted by tha_con

Well, it's basically a $60 expansion pack to the original Rainbow Six Vegas. There really isn't anything that justify's the price, or seperates this game as a 'sequel' to the first.

I just feel that it should be $39.99 at MOST. Ubisoft hasn't been known lately for their next generation efforts.

That's just how I feel after playing it.

Oh really?

Originally Posted by tha_con

Hey, I bought GT3, but when GT4 came out, it has all the same cars and modes, plus some more, so essentially, I'm buying the same thing twice.

Hey, I bought Halo 2, but when Halo 3 came out, it was all the same levels, plus new ones, so essentially, I bought the same stuff twice.

Hey, I bought Ninja Gaiden, but then Ninja Gaiden Black, and Ninja Gaiden Sigma released...with all the same levels and some new content, so essentially, I bought the same stuff twice.

[tha_con]

Originally Posted by blackdelsol94

Oh really?

And you say you don't have a personal vendetta against me, so cute

I'm just going to assume you haven't played Rainbow Six Vegas 2. Because it doesn't add nearly as much content as GT4 did to GT4, or Halo 3 to Halo 2, hell, it doesn't even add as much as NG to NGS.

Keep up the good fight

[blackdelsol94]

Originally Posted by tha_con

And you say you don't have a personal vendetta against me, so cute

I'm just going to assume you haven't played Rainbow Six Vegas 2. Because it doesn't add nearly as much content as GT4 did to GT4, or Halo 3 to Halo 2, hell, it doesn't even add as much as NG to NGS.

Keep up the good fight

Nope. Just pointing out yet another ridiculous point you made in a separate thread. Given your history, I don't expect you to understand.

[tha_con]

Originally Posted by blackdelsol94

Nope. Just pointing out yet another ridiculous point you made in a separate thread. Given your history, I don't expect you to understand.

And you say I'm condescending! I love it

[blackdelsol94]

Originally Posted by tha_con

And you say I'm condescending! I love it

There was nothing condescending about my last post.

You just tend to contradict yourself quite a bit. ""

[blackdelsol94]

Chart Toppers: Viva Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (XB360)
With over two million sold already, Ubisoft definitely made a good bet in Rainbow Six Vegas 2. The title is Ubisoft second most successful launch ever behind Assassin's Creed. We chat with Tony Key, svp of sales and marketing at Ubisoft.
Posted by David Radd on Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Looking at game sales over the past half-year, you'd think the market would be saturated with shooters, particularly military-style shooters. After the success of games like Halo 3, The Orange Box, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Crysis, and Turok, you'd think people would cool down in their shooter buying. Conventional wisdom says there's only so much money to go around for these titles, right?

Well, it turns out conventional wisdom is very wrong in this case, and March 2008 is the proof. One of the top titles for the month was Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2, the latest game in the long running tactical shooter series. If the game's release was somehow dulled by other shooters that hit the market in the past few months it sure didn't show, as the game is turning into one of Ubisoft's most successful ever.

We talked with Tony Key, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Ubisoft, and found out why smart money is on Rainbow.

Welcome to Las Vegas
According to the NPD, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 for Xbox 360 and PS3 occupied the second and sixteenth slots, respectively, in the top 20 games overall for March. This also made the game the best selling Xbox 360 and third best selling PS3 product for the month. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 has sold 750,000 copies on the Xbox 360 in the U.S. alone.

Oftentimes it's asked whether a sequel can match the output of its predecessor, but Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 has really put that question to rest. The first Rainbow Six Vegas was an early next-gen game, and it sold 614,000 copies within a couple of months. Rainbow Six Vegas 2 comes out at a time when the next-gen (really current-gen now) consoles are in full swing, and it's already exceeded sales of two million in a matter of weeks.

"Since its inception 10 years ago, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six has been one of our top selling brands," commented Key. "The Vegas series ushered the brand into next-gen as one of the best sellers in Holiday 2006. Today, Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is going strong and has definitely surpassed our expectations, far exceeding the launch of Vegas 1. Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is our second most successful launch ever for Ubisoft (behind Assassins Creed) and we're thrilled it has encouraged more gamers to give Clancy games a try."

Always plenty of terrorists to cap in Vegas
Rainbow Six is a franchise that's always had a solid online multiplayer component, and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 lives up to that reputation. There are plenty of new maps and adversarial modes to keep Special Forces wannabes satisfied. Players could even use the Xbox Live Vision camera or a PlayStation Eye to put their face in the game.

"[Online play] is certainly a big reason for the popularity of the game," stated Key. "Since the Xbox Live service launched in 2002, a Tom Clancy game has consistently been among the top five most-played games and Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is keeping the tradition alive. In Vegas 2, the Montreal Studio has taken the award winning online play from Vegas 1 and made it a deeper, richer experience."

"However, the single player campaign has strong appeal as well," he continued. "Vegas 1 ended with a cliffhanger ending and Vegas 2 completes the story. It is also the last time that the Rainbow squad will visit Sin City. The setting of Las Vegas was definitely part of the appeal and this is the last chance gamers will have to blow up a slot machine or take down baddies in a strip club."

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2's story sort of serves as both a sequel and prequel to the first Rainbox Six Vegas. While series fans are no doubt interested to find out what happened, some reviewers argued that the campaign mode was abrupt and disappointing. Still, the game featured drop in-drop out co-op, and that certainly pleased some fans. "This is a great example of how the dev team took what was great in Vegas 1 and took it to the next level," added Key about co-op. "We've received a lot of positive feedback on this feature already. After all taking down terrorists is fun but doing it with a friend is better!"