The strength of its Wii titles was key to Ubisoft’s 14 percent sales increase in its fiscal 2008, the publisher announced today, although sales declined 5.1 percent in the fourth quarter.

Thanks to what the company calls "a continued strong showing" for Rayman Raving Rabbids: TV Party and Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip, Ubisoft’s fourth quarter sales were €206 ($292.52) million, while full year results came to €1.06 ($1.5) billion.

"You can expect more Shaun White in the future," said Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot on the company’s financial results call today.

Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. reached internal targets of one million units sold in, while during the fourth quarter, casual DS franchises Petz and Imagine each sold in over one million units.

Guillemot says that Prince of Persia, at 2.5 million units, outdid its predecessors despite being released on fewer platforms. Sales in the Far Cry and Rabbids franchises were also up 50 percent over their previous installments, and the company’s casual business rose 40 percent during the year.

Ubisoft says it has continued hiring over the past year, adding some 1,300 employees "with a view of driving the company’s expansion." The company says it’s now the fourth independent publisher in the U.S. by marketshare with 5.2 percent — which is actually a lowering in its position over last year, when it pegged itself as the third publisher with 7.2 percent share.

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Tags: Rayman Raving Rabbids, shaun white, ubisoft, wii

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