Lack of New Consoles Translates into Fewer New IPs, Ubisoft Says

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has talked about the current console generation and revealed that, because there haven’t been any new devices in quite some time, new intellectual properties have decreased in number, as developers and gamers aren’t willing to risk their money on new titles.

The current console generation has been around for quite some time and, given the good sales still experienced by the likes of the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360, it seems that they’ll still be around for at least a few more years.

This isn’t a good thing in terms of creativity for developers and publishers, at least according to Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot. He believes that companies aren’t willing to invest in new intellectual properties because many gamers won’t risk their money on such projects, instead relying on already-established franchises.

"What we missed was a new console every five years," he told Gamasutra. "We have been penalized by the lack of new consoles on the market. I understand the manufacturers don't want them too often because it's expensive, but it's important for the entire industry to have new consoles because it helps creativity."

The start of a new console generation allows companies to introduce new IPs, as early adopters of devices like the PlayStation 4 or Xbox 720 will be eager to see how new games play on them.

"It's a lot less risky for us to create new IPs and new products when we're in the beginning of a new generation," Guillemot added. "Our customers are very open to new things. Our customers are reopening their minds -- and they are really going after what's best."

"At the end of a console generation, they want new stuff, but they don't buy new stuff as much. They know their friends will play Call of Duty or Assassin's Creed so they go for that. So the end of a cycle is very difficult."

Many reports speculate that both Sony and Microsoft will present their next consoles in 2013 and will release them either at the end of the year or in early 2014, so this lack of innovation will be fixed soon enough.