Ubisoft Entertainment have announced that their sales for the first half of 2008-09 fiscal year have exceeded expectations, in spite of any perceived global economic crisis. Increased sales has also seen Ubisoft record increased income. Sales increased by €175 million to €344 million, about 30% higher than the same time last year, when Ubisoft reported sales of €261 million.

This success has been attributed to the successful launches of Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway, and a European distribution deal for Soulcalibur IV. Some of Ubisoft's casual games such as Imagine Teacher also contributed to higher sales.


Brothers in Arms: Hells Highway, Soulcalibur IV
Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft remarked on the success:

Ubisoft delivered a robust performance in the second fiscal quarter against an uncertain environment. We are carefully and regularly monitoring changes in the economic context in order to factor them into our market forecasts and financial targets. Going forward, we are confident that the video game industry will be able to continue its dynamic growth in 2008 and 2009, buoyed by the increase in the installed base for consoles coupled with the steady influx of new consumers.

While his predictions may differ from what economists have been stating, it does appear that the video game industry will continue to record ever-growing earnings. Guillemot continued, optimistic of the future:

At the same time, we believe that thanks to the diversity and quality of Ubisoft’s games line-up – which caters to both hard-core and casual gamers – we are ideally positioned to continue to win market share in the coming years.

With Far Cry 2 just released, this will no doubt contribute a great deal to Ubisoft's sales for the remainder of this financial year. Guillemot also cited other titles in the Ubisoft portfolio as promising candidates for future sales, including Prince of Persia, Tom Clancy's EndWar and Raymand Raving Rabbids 3.


Far Cry 2, Tom Clancy's EndWar
Ubisoft predict that their next sales quarter will result in a figure of €500 million, an increase of 11 per cent over the same time last year. Whether this will come to fruition is a matter of contention, with many gamers outraged by the inclusion of somewhat restrictive DRM on the PC version of Far Cry 2.