"A few days after the release of Assassin’s Creed 2, naughty piracy sites were announcing they had cracked Ubisoft’s Online Services Platform. Turns out, that wasn’t entirely true. While it was possible to load into the game, players were unable to advance past a certain memory block. But now, it seems Ubisoft will need to draft a new response. A new crack has begun circulating that removes the DRM entirely."

Read the full discussion on Slashdot…

Yes, Assassin’s Creed 2 has be awarded with a Guinness World Record. You might be surprised, however, to learn that it has nothing to do with how good the game is. No, Assassin’s Creed 2 has been awarded the world record for "being the most cover-featured video game." In other words, it appeared on more magazine covers between April 2009 and April 2010 than any other game.

According to the press release, Assassin’s Creed 2 appeared on 127 covers throughout 32 different countries. Said Gaz Deaves, editor of the Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition, "I’m sure plenty of commentators (including myself) would have predicted another well-known game winning the title instead, and this achievement is even more impressive in view of the other 2009 releases that Assassin’s Creed 2 was able to beat."

While it’s an impressive feat by any standard — and one Ubisoft marketing must be proud of — we have to wonder if the record would hold up to closer scrutiny of games released before 2009. After all, there aren’t as many gaming magazines around as there used to be, and a few games — Street Fighter, Tomb Raider and Mortal Kombat come to mind — appeared on quite a few magazine covers in the past. What do you say, Ubisoft competitors? Anyone want to do some research and challenge the record?

Good job Ubisoft Montreal!

Here are a few recent updates concerning Ubisoft:

• GamesMontreal: Ubisoft annonce Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
• Joystiq: Assassin’s Creed 2 ships 8 million, next game returns to Rome
• VG247: EndWar 2 put on the “backburner”
• N4G: Video Thirst: New Prince Of Persia Ad Is BOOM
• Joystiq: Splinter Cell: Conviction April 13 release date ’set in stone’
• Joystiq: Red Steel 2 launches March 23 in US, March 26 in Europe
• Ubisoft.com: New Prince of Persia The Forgotten Sands official website now live
• Gamasutra: Ubisoft Q3 Sales Edge Down, As It Ramps Up Big Franchises
• Ubisoft.com: Ubisoft Q3 sales report [PDF link]

Event Detail:

When: Wednesday, January 27th @ 7:00pm
What: IGDA-Montreal Presentation Night
Where: The SAT, 1195 St.Laurent
Why: Game criticism and debates
Who: All game developers, and those related to the game industry
Entry: free for IGDA members; $5 for non-members

 

"Design Debates"

Giving and receiving criticism is key to the success of any creative endeavor. We’re putting three creators to the test, with biting critiques from their peers. Each game will receive multiple critiques and then each creator will be able to respond to provide further insight or defend their decisions. The audience will also get into the fray via Q&A with each creator. The three games, their creators and critics for each are as follows: […]

Read all the details on IGDA Montreal…

Will you be attending this chapter meeting?

A nice preview of the upcoming downloadable content (available in January and February 2010), narrated by Ubisoft Montreal creative director Patrice Désilets.

Celebrate the Holiday season with two downloadable content releases for Assassin’s Creed II, including the Battle of Forli and the Bonfire of the Vanities.

Jesper Kyd est un jeune compositeur d’origine danoise qui vit à Los Angeles. Dans le monde des jeux vidéo, il n’est rien de moins qu’une star. Compositeur de la musique de plus d’une trentaine de jeux vidéo, dont la célèbre série danoise Hitman, c’est lui qui vient de signer la trame musicale d’Assassin’s Creed 2, lancé ces jours-ci à Montréal et dans le monde entier. Kyd a enregistré la trame musicale du jeu à Los Angeles avec l’aide d’un orchestre de 30 musiciens et de 13 choristes. Rien de moins.

Si je m’attarde au cas de ce jeune compositeur danois, c’est parce qu’il illustre bien le grand paradoxe de l’industrie montréalaise du jeu vidéo, une industrie dynamique et créative qui a produit des centaines de jeux, acquis une formidable expertise locale et formé une nouvelle génération d’infographistes, de designers et d’ingénieurs québécois. Reste que sur les 7000 salariés de l’industrie des jeux à Montréal, les musiciens se comptent sur les cinq doigts de la main.Dès qu’il est question de composition musicale, d’arrangements ou d’orchestration, Montréal sous-traite la plupart du temps à Los Angeles ou ailleurs.

Qu’il s’agisse d’Ubisoft, Electronic Arts (EA), Funcom, Microids, Eidos ou même du dernier venu, THQ, les musiciens et les compositeurs d’ici ne font jamais partie des priorités de ces sociétés qui bénéficient pourtant de généreux crédits d’impôt de 30 % à 37 % sur la masse salariale.

Pourquoi ces crédits d’impôt ne se traduisent-ils jamais en emplois pour les musiciens et les compositeurs? Parce que si les crédits viennent avec l’obligation d’embaucher une main-d’oeuvre locale, la nature de l’emploi est laissée à la discrétion de l’employeur. L’important, c’est que les sociétés démontrent leur engagement en faisant travailler des gens d’ici dans le numérique. C’est tout ce qu’on leur demande, m’a expliqué la porte-parole d’Investissement Québec.

[…]

Source

Here’s a nice review of Ubisoft Montreal’s sequel.

Does anyone from Ubi care to comment on what it was like to work on this project?

 

Does Assassin’s Creed II go a step further to become one of the industry’s greats?

Forget Rocket Richard or poutine, the pride of Montreal may just be a video game featuring a medieval-era assassin.

Next week, Ubisoft releases Assassin’s Creed 2 , the sequel to the 2007 title that smashed the company’s expectations and became the game industry’s fastest-selling original property in years. This time, it’s a different story. While Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 is expected to be the biggest selling game of the season, Ubisoft’s could be a close second. For Canadians, Assassins Creed might be more compelling given that the game was developed here.

The lion’s share of both Assassin’s Creed titles was designed at Ubisoft Montreal, the French company’s biggest and most important branch. With 2,000 employees, most of which are designers, it’s one of the largest games studios in the world — a status it expects to claim outright by 2013 after the planned addition of 1,000 more employees.

Aside from Assassin’s Creed, the studio also handles many of Ubisoft’s flagship franchises, including all of the Tom Clancy games. The next one, Splinter Cell: Conviction — slated for a February release — is also a guaranteed hit.

The studio’s size and importance, spurred by more than $19 million in investment from the Quebec government, has over the past decade transformed Montreal into a hotbed of games development. Other global game publishers, including Electronic Arts and Eidos, have in recent years set up shop in the city, resulting in brisk competition that has created thousands of jobs.