Ubisoft Delays Splinter Cell: Conviction and R.U.S.E.

Publisher Ubisoft has announced that it is reducing its financial estimates for the third quarter of its current fiscal year, while also delaying some titles to the period following March 31, 2010. The company now expects to earn just 495 million Euros in Q3, down from 540 million, while for the entire fiscal year, it expects revenue to drop by more than 300 million Euros to 1.2 billion.

The reasons cited for the bleaker outlook have been a more competitive market for AAA titles, the underwhelming performance of the Nintendo DS titles that Ubisoft released and limited sales of its back catalog. The company expects to register a loss of 50 million Euros.

It has stated that it is pushing back Splinter Cell: Conviction. The game was initially set to arrive on February 23, after being already delayed since last year's fall period. Now, Ubisoft is preparing to put the new Sam Fischer adventure out at some point in April. World War II strategy title R.U.S.E. has also been pushed back to the next fiscal year, which begins on April 1.

A statement from Ubisoft says that “The fiscal year 2010-11 line-up will be more focused on the Xbox 360 and Playstation, the consoles which are expected to experience sustained sales growth in games for gamers in calendar 2010.” Alongside the new Splinter Cell, Ubisoft is getting ready to release high profile titles like Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, which might arrive together with the new Prince of Persia movie, and a fresh Ghost Recon game.

The company has also talked about Driver and Raving Rabbids 4 as titles that might become hits in the coming months. It will try to limit the number of Nintendo DS titles it puts out while also preparing a new installment in the Assassin's Creed series.