Casual DS Titles Push Ubisoft Q1 Sales Up 26%

Ubisoft has released the results of its first quarter, showing sales up nearly 26 percent to €169 million ($263.7 million), on strong sales of its casual titles like MyWeightLossCoach for DS, as it delays its next Splinter Cell title to 2009. Ubisoft's sales came in above its guidance of €154 million as sales in its 'Games For Everyone' casual brand saw healthy growth at 33 percent of overall sales, versus 11 percent the year prior. The company says it expects Q2 sales to grow similarly, with guidance at €160 million ($249.6 million), up 26 percent over the year prior, as it prepares to release Brothers in Arms Hell's Highway for Xbox 360, PC, and PS3, SoulCalibur for Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii, and new casual titles for the DS and Wii. For the full year, Ubisoft says it expects sales of €1.02 billion ($1.59 billion), up slightly from previous guidance of €1 billion ($1.56 billion) following positive E3 reception, and despite the delay of its next Splinter Cell game from this holiday to some time in the following year. Said CEO Yves Guillemot, "Ubisoft delivered a very robust showing in the first quarter of 2008-09 against a particularly dynamic market backdrop. This achievement was especially fueled by ongoing strong growth for our Games For Everyone range where we are continuing to strengthen our leadership position. We are notably very pleased to see our latest work - MyWeightLossCoach - ranked among the best sellers for the Nintendo DS... Ubisoft is well poised to reap the benefits of another record year expected for the video games industry whose growth over the first six months of calendar 2008 has exceeded forecasts."