Ubisoft, the France based publisher, has announced that it has exceeded expectations regarding first quarter profits. Sales revenue was up more than 25% to reach 263.7 million dollars, with the biggest overall performer being the casual game division of the publisher, which brought in more than half the revenue.

The better financial results come as a surprise, seeing how the publisher did not launch any blockbuster games in the first quarter. Actually, the biggest seller was MyWeightLossCoach for the Nintendo DS, which is more of an application that guides the user towards a slimmer figure than a videogame.

The second quarter will see Ubisoft bring out some of the big games that it plans to release in 2008. Brother in ArmsL Hell's Highway is slated for release on the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with expectations that the tactical shooter will attract gamers with high-end visuals and a gripping story. Meanwhile, the Soulcalibur series is getting a fourth installment, which was developed for the Xbox 350, the PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii and which is also expected to sell rather well.

Ubisoft says it is aiming for second quarter sales of well over 260 million dollars, again on an upward trend over last year. It's worth noting that this year the publisher aims to launch a new Prince of Persia game, with cell shaded looks and innovative gameplay, in time for the holiday shopping season.

Yves Guillemot, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Ubisoft, said that his company "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," before noting that the best seller in the bunch was "our latest work, MyWeightLossCoach, ranked among the best sellers for the Nintendo DS."