Xbox One sales see huge jump in the UK after Xbox One S launch

When we reviewed the Xbox One S, we asked ‘who is this for?’ In the United Kingdom, at least, the answer is ‘lots of people.’

According to data obtained by MCV, the Xbox One had a 71 percent share of the hardware market last week, an increase of 76 percent over last year.

It’s tough to know how this compares to sales in other markets, or whether this will continue. PlayStation 4 sales accounted for 19 percent of market share last week, down 66 compared to last year, but a special set of circumstances is making for a sort of perfect storm here.

Xbox has typically done better in the United Kingdom when compared to other markets, and many consumers are likely hesitating to buy a PlayStation 4 right now with the significantly more powerful PlayStation 4 Pro just six weeks away from release. On top of that, there’s a new FIFA game this week, which is a huge system seller. So we have a game that pushes systems off the shelves in a market that typically likes Xbox during a time when consumers are hesitating to buy their competitor.

Microsoft has to gain a lot of momentum to push back against Sony’s PlayStation 4, so we’d need to see months and months of numbers like this, which doesn’t seem likely. With that said, Sony’s been making some missteps lately.

No Man’s Sky, which Sony pushed hard for, was so far off the mark that the developer is being investigated for false advertising. News recently broke that Fallout 4 won’t be receiving mods on PlayStation 4 due to policies within Sony. The PlayStation 4 slim and PlayStation 4 Pro were poorly received as well after their September 7 unveiling. The new system is underpowered in comparison to the upcoming Xbox Scorpio and lacking in features compared to the Xbox One S, which features a UHD Blu-ray drive, something that currently seems like a huge omission for a system touting 4K as a major feature.

Microsoft is in a good place to start building up if they can hang on.

“It’s great to see how popular both the Xbox One S and the FIFA 17 Xbox One S consoles are with fans, not just over the last week but since the Xbox One S was released in August.” said Xbox UK’s head of marketing Harvey Eagle when speaking to MCV. “4K video streaming and 4K UHD Blu-ray have been extremely well received and we believe there is no better value right now for those looking to upgrade their console.”

Harvey called out the return of Gears of War with Gears 4‘s release on October 11 and Skyrim: Special Edition, which will allow mods on Xbox One, on October 28 as making now the best time yet to own an Xbox One.

SOURCE MCV

Ubisoft’s shareholder meeting could mark turning point in its battle for independence

Normally, talking about which board members a company might vote for in a meeting is coma-inducing, but today it’s a big deal. Ubisoft has a shareholder meeting today, and it could mark a turning point for the company.

For months now, French media conglomerate Vivendi has been slowly buying up shares of otherwise independent game publisher. Earlier this year, Vivendi pushed and successfully took control of Gameloft, a mobile-focused company that is, like Ubisoft, owned by the Guillemot family.

Like a significant other slowly moving stuff into Ubisoft’s apartment, Vivendi continues to insist that it’s not looking to move in – with the difference being that when Vivendi moves in, it gets to keep all the stuff while the brothers Guillemot move out. Vivendi insists that it is not looking to take control of Ubisoft, but rather sees a greater level of synergy between the two companies’ music, movie, television, and video game divisions. Vivendi owned a large stake in Activision Blizzard until 2013, when it sold its shares back to the publisher due, apparently, to a lack of synergy.

What’s happening this morning is a stockholder meeting including a vote for two new proposed members of the Ubisoft board of directors. Adding two Ubisoft-allied directors would help Ubisoft push back against Vivendi’s unwanted advances. Vivendi, meanwhile, has the ability as a shareholder to raise a vote at the meeting without warning to bring its own shareholders into the fold.

Vivendi holds about 23 percent of Ubisoft’s stock right now. As Polygon notes, the company can’t buy much more before French law obligates it to make a public offer on Ubisoft.

Ubisoft, meanwhile, has publicly and vocally opposed the takeover. CEO Yves Guillemot has used opportunities like the Ubisoft conference at E3 2016 to give impassioned speeches about Ubisoft’s long history as a creative studio. Guillemot told the Wall street Journal that Ubisoft won’t be able to rest comfortably until Vivendi sells shares.

Ubisoft has remained independent through its existence and, for its part, been the source of a number of unique games. We complain about the annualization of games like Assassin’s Creed, but a history of games like Prince of Persia and Beyond Good & Evil and more recent stuff like Child of Light and Grow Home show the company is willing to experiment. The company has also shied away from pumping out tons of remakes, finally relenting with an Assassin’s Creed collection focused on Ezio Auditore, the fan-favorite protagonist of Assassin’s Creed II, Brotherhood, and Revelations.

Even stuff like Far Cry: Blood Dragon, Far Cry Primal and The Crew have ended up being interesting experiments even if they don’t venture too far outside of the company’s usual fare.

The concern floating around among not only gamers but investors, analysts, and even Ubisoft’s executives is that a takeover from Vivendi has the potential to not only hamper more creative projects but to cause a mass exodus of talent to other studios. Much of Ubisoft’s development is located in Montreal, and there’s no shortage of other studios around there to pull in the studio’s experienced developers.

By the time the meeting ends, we may have a better idea of what Vivendi’s plans are, whether it’s a hostile takeover by stock buyout or a creeping acquisition by way of board members.

SOURCE WALLSTREET JOURNAL, POLYGON