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Okay so pushed back might be a bit of an exaggeration since it was never formally announced, however up until now we were told the PC release date would match those of the Xbox 360 and PS3. This has never been true in the past, but we played along. Turns out if you were one of the countless masses who expressed cynicism at this statement, you’d have been in the right.
The release date has been pushed to November 20th for North America, and November 23rd for those in the UK. The new date gives the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions almost a full month head start, with both editions planning to hit shelves for console players on October 31st. Ubisoft has never really done a good job of explaining why the PC version of their games are typically launched a month or more apart for the console versions, though many have theorized that it has something to do with piracy.
Anyone else have a theory?
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pixelpopper
August 18, 2012 at 6:37pm
outsourced aspects of the development to other companies for the pc version on the cheap that took longer? A lot of dev's are doing this crap recently.
seinjunkie
August 13, 2012 at 7:53am
I think piracy has been the impetus all along. It's only the fact that EA is a more reviled company (http://bitshift.tumblr.com/post/29337784512/which-steam-license-restriction-keeps-ea-games-away) that keeps gamers from focusing on Ubisoft. I'm pretty sure that their day in the sun is soon coming.
azuza001
August 13, 2012 at 6:41am
I agree that it probably has a bit to do with wanting to get people to buy it on the consoles before offering in to PC. It also has a lot to do with Ubi's decision to add in their horrible DRM schemes and their fear of "The Pirate".
Personally I refuse to buy any Ubisoft product that has their horrible DRM in it. Yea, it sucks that I miss out on AC series but I'm not too upset over that. As a huge fan of the Hero of Might and Magic series and being the owner of the first 5 games on CD I find it sad that Ubi would go to these lengths over stupid DRM stuff. They are worried that they will lose sales to piracy if they don't add it in? They're losing sales by adding it in! To me its a wash at that point. I mean look at SOASE, no DRM and it did amazing. Ubi's stuck on "stay the course" though.
Sandwichpak
August 12, 2012 at 5:02pm
It doesn't really matter how much they delay it to help thwart piracy. Almost every single Assassin's Creed game for PC has been delayed to add in anti-piracy measures, yet every single one of them still appeared on the pirate bay within a week or two of release.
kixofmyg0t
August 12, 2012 at 3:17pm
I will never play any Assassin's Creed game on PC. Its PS3 or on my Xoom through OnLive for me.
compguytracy
August 12, 2012 at 2:55pm
i think it is to push you into a console version, therebye letting the pc side die on the vine, when they then can say, see pc sales blow, we are only making console versions. same with Darksiders 2, preorder from best buy for ps3 and xbox, get a extra level, not for pc version, exact same price, lame.
praetor_alpha
August 12, 2012 at 12:04pm
Ubisoft always gives PC gamers crap whenever and however they can. Move along.
Captain_Steve
August 12, 2012 at 10:26am
My theory? Not so much piracy as an attempt to control what players get. If they can get people to buy on console instead of PC, they can get away with crummy DLC a whole lot easier. Horse Armor on PC is a joke that any six year old can make with a re-skin. Sell it on console and all of a sudden there's not many out there who can make it.
Want to sell a game like Skyrim on console and charge $15 for DLC? Go right ahead; want to do it on PC? Then you better make sure the $15 DLC is way better than the mods I'm getting for free from other players.
They don't want to compete with their own fanbase, so they're trying to make sure they're own fanbase can't compete.
ApathyCurve
August 13, 2012 at 8:15am
As much as this sounds like conspiracy theory nuttiness, it also has a ring of truth about it. Ubisoft is a strange company which becomes moreso with every passing day. It wouldn't surprise me if the bureaucratic yoga going on in their boardroom has yielded such a bizarre marketing "plan."
One thing I've learned from working in corporate America is that people with room-temperature I.Q.s and a taste for the finer things in life are capable of conjuring up really, REALLY stupid ideas as they become increasingly desperate to justify their overpaid positions. This would fit that mould perfectly.
