Wide-ranging glitches in the blockbuster video
game Assassin's Creed: Unity have seen its
publisher Ubisoft attacked by players, the press
and its own investors.
Shares in the firm dipped by as much as 12.8%
after Tuesday's launch.
It has been suggested the game was not ready
for release. Ubisoft has also been criticised for
delaying reviews until after the title had gone on
sale.
The French company said that it was working on
fixes.
"We are currently working on our next update that
will help address some of the specific issues
some players are having including: [the
protagonist] Arno falling through the ground;
game crashing when joining a co-op session;
Arno getting caught inside of hay carts; delay in
reaching the main menu screen at game start,he says.
In a further statement, Ubisoft added that the
complexity of creating a multiplayer title, in which
players join forces via the internet, was the
reason that the game had only became available
for review relatively late in the day.
However, it did not explicitly address the point
that it had made reviewers agree to an embargo
time set 12 hours after the game went on sale on
the east coast of the US.
Consumers have posted screenshots and videos
online , indicating that problems affect all the
platforms the game has been released on: the
Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.
A patch was, however, provided on the launch
day to tackle "random crashes" and some
animation issues.
"The glitches are so bad that it's become a
source of mockery," said Rob Crossley, UK news
editor of Gamespot.
"There are characters that float past the screen,
the main protagonist walks in the air, people are
falling through the floor, people's faces are
disappearing mid-kiss.
"If a publisher has proven it can't publish a game
properly and displeases its core user base, then I
think there are legitimate questions to be made
about how well the company will fare in the
future."
Released date delays
Assassin's Creed: Unity is set in the French
Revolution, and its simulation of Paris streets
and buildings is more complex than anything
attempted in the franchise before.
It also marks the first time Ubisoft has released
two core Assassin's Creed games simultaneously
- the North America-based title, Assassin's Creed:
Rogue, was made for last-generation consoles.
The company had been under pressure to meet
the titles' scheduled release dates after
announcing lengthy delays to other high-profile
games: Watch Dogs, which ultimately went on
sale about a year later than expected, and The
Crew, which is running roughly nine months late.
"It shows that Ubisoft struggles to deliver
products on the timelines that it's given, and if it
does deliver them on time they may not be
finished," said Mr Crossley.
"I would say that delaying a game for the sake of
quality is a much more commendable solution
than releasing it in fear."
'Anti-consumer'
Video games news site Polygon has led criticism
of Ubisoft's post-release embargo.
"There's no valid reason for a review embargo
such as this; it's blatantly anti-consumer and
likely designed to get the first rush of hardcore
fans into the stores to buy their copies of the
game before the reviews hit," wrote the site's
editor Ben Kuchera .
"Any embargo past midnight the night before is
sketchy as hell. It's a way to weaponise
embargoes, and the best thing to do is to hold
off until you can read about the game in detail."
Two other high-profile games - Activision's
Destiny and Sony's Driveclub - also had post-
release embargoes placed on them this year,
while Sega did not send out any pre-release
copies of Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal at all.
All three titles subsequently received mixed
scores.
But a spokeswoman for Ubisoft denied her firm
had acted out of a lack of respect for customers.
"The nature of games themselves and the way
they are being reviewed is changing, as evidenced
by games like Assassin's Creed Unity, Destiny
and The Crew - games that have significant
online components," she said.
"Having the online elements available and having
populated worlds is essential to creating a
representative and complete experience for
reviewers.
"Achieving this prior to launch is incredibly
complex, which is why some games are being
reviewed much closer - or as was the case with
Destiny, even after - the game launches.
"We are working to adapt our services and
communications with consumers accordingly,
both by changing the way we work with reviewers
and by offering customers open betas or other
early access to some games, all so that they
have the information they need and want."
But Mr Crossley joined calls for a rethink.
"Embargoes beyond the release date instantly
raises suspicions - whether they are true or not -
about the quality of a game," he said.
"I don't see the logic in doing it."
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