Ubisoft is already one of the biggest game publishers in the world, with their open world games raking in tons of cash. Their biggest franchise to date is the Assassin’s Creed line of games, which have been pumping out yearly installments of stealth-based, assassin action with a high-tech historical twist. The idea to take that series into the realm of film, especially following the lukewarm reaction to previous attempts to make game movies based off of the Prince of Persia series might seem ill-fated, but Ubisoft apparently understands that their jump into Hollywood isn’t going to be an instant success.
According to MCV, Ubisoft is fully aware that this isn’t exactly going to be a huge moneymaker for the company, it’s simply a way for them to get their franchise featured for new audiences, or at least audiences beyond those that buy their games every year. Their European boss Alan Corre originally made a statement to this effect.
“We are not going to earn a lot of money from it. It is a lot more a marketing thing, it is also good for the image of the brand. Although we will make some money, it is not the purpose of this movie. The purpose is to bring Assassin’s Creed to more people. We have our core fans, but what we would like is to put this franchise in front of a lot more people who, maybe, will then pick up future Assassin’s Creed games.”
If that sounds like someone trying to brace everyone for the film to not do so hot to you, you aren’t alone. It also prompted another rep from Ubisoft to reach out and amend that statement by claiming that they aren’t trying to make a bad film that serves as simple marketing, but something that people might actually want to watch.
“Ubisoft’s core vision is to create top quality entertainment and experiences. For the Assassin’s Creed film, we have worked closely with our partners at New Regency and 20th Century Fox as well as the talented cast and production team from the very beginning to ensure we deliver a quality experience to ours fans. We strongly believe the Assassin’s Creed brand has this cross-over appeal that will please both video games fans and movie goers.”
As always, both statements probably contain some fragments of truth to them, but fans won’t know if it was simply a marketing move or if it’s actually a video game movie worth watching until it’s released on the 21st of December. Until then? Let the baseless speculation continue!
(via MCV)
