14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft isn't the only company that's trying to go east by conquering the Asian market with its products (Xbox 360 in this case), as Ubisoft has just bought a major Japanese developer, Digital Kids. You might be familiar with this name, as the company's famous for the Petz franchise, also a result of their cooperation with Ubisoft.
Yves Guillemot, Ubisoft's CEO stated his impression on the Japanese developer: "When it comes to Nintendo DS games, Digital Kids has demonstrated a leading knowledge that has resulted in creative animal simulation titles that appeal to Japanese and Western audiences alike, which is quite rare." Digital Kids was created in 1996 and has its HQ in Nagoya and in Osaka, where 20 DS-based developers are working on titles for Nintendo's acclaimed portable gaming device.
The guys over at Digital Kids are also pleased with the new deal considering it an honor to be part of Ubisoft, one of the main videogame publishers globally. Through this move, Ubisoft will be able to make its products available for the Asian public, while the games developed in Japan will finally get the credit they deserve by becoming available in Europe or Northern America. Statistics say that games like Nintendogs tend to sell more copies than Halo 3, as unbelievable as it may seem, so Ubisoft have struck gold, specially once the European public gets a taste out of the brand new DS goodies.
Leaving aside major titles like Assassin's Creed or the Splinter Cell series, Ubisoft focuses on casual games for now, like the long-awaited Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 and the future installments of the Petz series. As long as we see quality titles being made available by Ubisoft in Europe and the US, this deal can be considered a total success.