Ubisoft 2000 Annual Report Download - page 37

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The intense action in Rainbow Six and Rogue Spear made these two
games the most popular multiplayer games in the Microsoft Gaming
Zone.
As part of this agreement, Tom Clancy has also signed a new long-
term exclusive licensing agreement with Red Storm and Ubi Soft,
covering all game platforms and all PC and console products.
November 2000
>Signing of a worldwide licensing agreement with Dargaud for XIII,
the comic book created by Jean Van Hamme and William Vance.
This exclusive five-year contract gives the Group a license for the
well-known comic book which, since the first episode was publis-
hed, has sold about 6.5 million copies. Ubi Soft will use it to develop
an action/adventure game for PlayStation®2, Game Cube and Game
Boy®Advance.
>Signing of an agreement with Disney Interactive for the
distribution of PC CD-ROMs in Scandinavia.
This agreement covers the distribution of all Disney Interactive PC
products, including 102 Dalmatians and Dinosaur. In addition to dis-
tribution, Ubi Soft also acquired the rights to the console version of
Disney’s Dinosaur, Donald Duck: Quack Attack, Tigger’s Honey Hunt
and the rights to Disney’s Aladdin on Game Boy™ Color.
>Signing of an agreement with Crave Entertainment for the
distribution of the Crave catalogue in Europe.
This agreement covers twenty Crave titles coming out up to March
2001. Among these are 5 PS®2 titles, including Armored Core and
Kengo.
>Signing of an agreement with Natsume for the distribution of its
games in Europe.
Titles covered by the agreement include Reel Fishing®II and Harvest
Moon®: Back to Nature.
>Signing of an agreement with Ravensburger Interactive Media GmbH
for a period of three years for the distribution of Evil Island. This
game, the first role-playing game (RPG) entirely in 3-D, will be
distributed by Ubi Soft in Europe.
January 2001
>Integration of the Guillemot Corporation distribution channels
in France.
>Launch of the first cut-price Ubi Soft range for PlayStation®.
After the Classic Collection range for PC products, Ubi Soft launched
a new label with standardized packaging in Europe, Asia and Asia
Pacific. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Exclusive Collection is the first
game in the range. This new label will make it possible to extend the
life of products.
>Extension of the NewKidCo agreement for the publication of E.T.:
The Extraterrestrial and Tom & Jerry.
The extension of this agreement until 2002 covers a total of 13 titles
for countries using the PAL standard.
February 2001
>Acquisition of a major video game company in Germany, Blue
Byte Software.
Blue Byte was one of the pioneers of video games in Germany.
Founded in 1988, the company handles the production, publishing
and distribution of video games, essentially for PC. It operates in
three countries: Germany, the United States and the United
Kingdom.
Blue Byte was behind two of the most popular series in the history
of video games in Germany: The Settlers Series® had global sales of
2.7 million units, and The Battle Isle Series™ sold 650,000 copies
around the world.
In 2000, Blue Byte had sales of 9.5 million euros. This acquisition will
make Ubi Soft the fifth leading video game publisher in Germany.
>Since it was created in 1995, the Rayman® line has sold 9 million
units worldwide.
Rayman® Revolution for PlayStation®2 is number 1 in sales on
Amazon.com.
March 2001
>Integration of the Guillemot Corporation distribution network
in the Netherlands.
>Acquisition of the Entertainment division of The Learning
Company (GAME Studios).
Ubi Soft closed a takeover deal with the US Company, Gore
Technology Group, for the Entertainment division of its subsidiary
The Learning Company.
This acquisition made Ubi Soft the world publisher of the next two
episodes in the Myst® series. This series marked a turning point in
the history of video games, with more than 10 million units sold
worldwide. In total, Ubi Soft incorporated a catalogue of more than
80 titles, including other internationally known games such as Pool
of Radiance, Prince of Persia, Chessmaster® and Harpoon.
The addition to 2001-2002 sales figures should exceed 40 million
euros (USD 37 million) and improve Ubi Soft’s profitability. This port-
folio of games will build up Ubi Soft’s PC games catalogue, which is
expected to represent more than a third of its global catalogue over
the next twelve months.
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