Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot was happy to report to GameInformer that Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon has reached over 1 million in sales, and have hinted that the game might go to disc.
Yves says the success of Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon as well as Call of Juarez: Gunslinger affirms the success of what they have dubbed the mini-AAA development model. Just to be clear, these mini-AAA games aren’t strictly expansions of prior games or completely new games. Both Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon and Call of Juarez: Gunslinger straddle a weird middle ground where they use many of the same assets from their parent games, especially their respective game engines, but they also have their own stories and can stand alone on their own.
Both mini-AAA games also benefit from having been made immediately after their parent games. The developers just mastered use of the engine, and are in a prime position to make a good derivative. Most importantly, I think, is that these games are made with far lower budgets as a consequence. Ubisoft has opted for less detailed, more stylized looks and makes other choices to cut down development costs even further.
Yves says that they intend to make more games like this moving forward, which I think is a positive sign for the industry since it is a return to mid-tier games in a specific form. As for Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon’s possible standalone retail release, I’m sure the game is popular enough for many consumers to choose to get the game that way, even if some of them may already have it.
Source: Joystiq
