Murray Pannell, Ubisoft’s UK marketing head, has revealed that he feels the Assassin’s Creed franchise will eventually become as big as GTA, but acknowledged the fact that there is a long way to go.
In an interview with Eurogamer, Pannell said,
To be honest, I’m not sure we’re there yet, but I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t get there at some point in the not-too-distant future. That’s about longevity and building decent products, properly marketed, and getting the name out there.
Since the launch of the first game it’s quite evident that an Assassin’s Creed game is treated as a triple-A title, but is yet to reach the heights of Modern Warfare or GTA.
He later added,
I believe with the success of Assassin’s 2 we have now got an opportunity to position ourselves as one of the true triple-A blockbusters. Are we as big as things like GTA and Halo and things of that nature? Possibly not at this point. But I think we are uniquely poised now as a property, as a franchise, to certainly consider ourselves one of the must-have games whenever a game launches on Assassin’s Creed in the franchise.
It’s fair to say Assassin’s 1 promised a lot and slightly under-delivered in terms of gameplay. Assassin’s 2 promised even more and actually this time delivered on it. And I believe quality of the game will be a fundamental part of positioning ourselves in that blockbuster franchise space.
He also said that the release of their upcoming game, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, will be supported by an extensive marketing campaign that kicks off this summer.
As marketing director, it’s part of our role and responsibility to position it from a consumer point of view as one of those big blockbusters through decent marketing campaigns. One thing we’ve been doing already is advertising Assassin’s: Brotherhood on TV this summer, three or four months before launch. That only helps position it in consumers’ minds as, ‘This is a big game I need to consider as one of the true blockbuster franchises’
