14 DAY TRIAL // Video game publisher Ubisoft announces that it believes that its recently delayed Watch Dogs will manage to sell 6.2 million copies on all platforms when it is finally launched, while The Crew is projected to reach 2.5 million.
The figures come from an investor meeting that the company held after it announced that it was significantly changing its 2013 launch line-up, according by Polygon.
Alain Martinez, the chief financial officer of the company, is quoted as saying that, “Principally the profit warning is related to the postponement of The Crew and Watch Dogs. We saw some slowdown on the released games; we believe we were below what we were expecting in our initial target.”
The big difference in expected sales between Watch Dogs and The Crew is linked to the platforms on which they will be launched and the limited appeal that the racing game will have for a wider audience.
The CFO adds, “We generally have spoken to about over 2.5 million units. We’ll see where we go and we believe that we have a nice potential for the future.”
Ubisoft has lowered its expectations for fiscal 2014 by about one third and investors have reacted by shaving 25 percent of its share price since the announcement was made.
Watch Dogs was set to launch on the PC, current-gen home consoles, the Nintendo Wii U, the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 in late November.
Now the game is expected to arrive at some point in the spring of next year.
The Crew has also been pushed back by more than 3 months in order to give the team more time to polish the experience.
A number of retailers have offered next-gen bundles that include Watch Dogs and the companies are saying that they will honor all sales, but with a delay attached to the game itself.