So wait, umm... do we want another Assassin's Creed?

xeleion

@excaliburps: Repetition may not have killed AC financially, but it could kill the sequel. I'm fairly sure that many gamers who bought the first game will be wary and won't blindly purchase AC2.
First, they'll need to be convinced that Ubi Montreal put some serious work into fleshing out the gameplay as much as they did the game engine. Just changing locales and/or time period won't do.

I don't envy the Beauty and the Beard's team: they have to perform a major overhaul, which is a bit tricky on a sequel.
Oh, and prevent the story from crumbling to nonsensical little pieces - good luck with that.

Antiterra

@Valiant Goat: You're right, it is a different Prince in the next game.

mfwahwah

lol personally I have enough Assassin's Creed ATM its also fun running around with Snakes with (altair's costume) and knifing dudes all over the place lol

Ruisu

Assassin's Creed had just enough epic and win in it to make me overlook the fail. It also taught me the immense value of a group of scholars.

ShaggE

@Gouki4u: thats spot on, but i think those percentages are that way for a reason. ubisoft haven;t made a good game in forever.

noliferuin (PSN)

@LUCYMONO: I think the next prince is not the same as the prince from Sands of Time - Two Throwns

Valiant Goat

Could we skip the whole present-virtual crapola this time around?.

I am not fooled by Jade's Ass. Creed. Its exactly like getting all the coins/jigsaw/stars/bubbles/some more coins, except now its called eagles/hold x/missions?/ctrl C-->ctrl V/some more eagles.

I agree, back to the drawing board and get some fun this time around?

PsycheE

@Doomstalk:

Yep... though the 3rd PoP was a definite improvement over Warrior Within.

I can't wait for the new Prince of Persia ----- I just hope that you're actually playing as... well... the prince. Though, I feel conflicted. He's been through a lot of shit, you think he'd deserve a bit of a rest?

LUCYMONO

Waiting won't make me want AC more, them giving me more than ~3 damn missions (pickpocket, eavesdrop, interrogate)in every damn zone would make me want it more. Oh, and they should work on the visuals too, gray and brown gets old quick.

mfwahwah

I think one of the major reasons the second PoP game didn't sold all as expected was because of all the "rockness"

Yeah you like killing enemies while that Godsmack music is playing don'tcha?!
The original Sands of Time had charisma. From the way the Prince went unnamed, to him talking to YOU (the player) when you died...It was brilliant! Then they had to "juice him up"...They had to go the extreme route. Sheesh.

@garytek: Right-O! I finished AC. I didn't like the game that much but I finished it. I already guessed the major story twist about halfway through (Heck even my wife knew it!) yet I still finished it. The repetitious nature of the missions is what really killed it...Well not really killed it as it did well financially.
And I was way too hyped for this game too! It could've been more...

I agree with most of the sentiments here in this post why AC wasn't that much fun.

It's more of a marketing thing really with the spacing of games. the new PoP and the new AC is in more or less the same genre. They obviously won't saturate the market with both of their own games fighting off one another.

excaliburps

I fully agree - I wish more publishers had patience between *and* during development cycles.

No rushed projects, no rushed sequels. Everyone makes money *because* gamers get the best games possible.

wild_world_girl

Hope we don't have to wait long, the first one was amazing.

Amazon_Chris

@Hauler:
Ditto. Bring on the next Prince of Persia, that one looks like it at least has some game to it instead of just an overblown physics engine.

Archaotic

@noliferuin (PSN): This. The first one is 10% awesome, and 90% bullshit. I'm hoping they rework those percentages.

Gouki4u

As long as we get a new Raving Rabbids every year, who needs the Prince, Jade or Altair, right
...

Antiterra

In other words we will be at R6 vegas 4 b4 we see AC 2 wonderful!!!.

theblade

Aww. Now I have to wait a year or two to give the lepers some knuckle sandwiches or a nice nice hidden sword into the neck of some archer and then shoving his body off the roof.

Oh well, maybe they can also toss out the stupid "Gather the Flag" trail missions and replace it with some more kickass missions instead.

Salen

Depends.. are they going to go the Hideo Kojima route and actually work on it, or just hold off production on it to create fake demand?

Voteforme2020

guess they need a lot of time to work some fun into the sequel.

noliferuin (PSN)

The fact that they're talking about it now is not really a good thing. It sounds as if they'd ship it out this year if Prince of Persia wasn't coming out.

KingBroly

I think it is a good idea spacing sequels. It gives them time to put more work into them. Plus if when there is a new game every year, the franchise gets tired. I wish EA and Activision would start to space out their franchises a little more.

RockstarLlama

The 2nd and 3rd Prince of Persia titles sold fewer copies than the original for once simple reason: they weren't as good. The plots lacked the fun and flair of the original, and it was clear that they were rushed to market to meet the holiday rush. Warrior Within is one of the buggiest games I've ever played. I'm amazed it even passed MS/Sony/Nintendo QC.

Doomstalk

"When we bring it back, there will be more anticipation for it," Detoc says.

Not if the combat is still as weak as the other three iterations. And it has to be at least 12 hours long, if not, count me out. Else it's a rant, and I won't be throwing out my money on this one.

\signed a really let down POP: Sands of Time fan.

Marcan

just keep jade raymond the hell away from it.

Parapraxis

"We'll Have To Wait For More Assassin's Creed"

Can do!

If by waiting you mean just go on with my life without giving a shit if they ever make a sequel.

Wolf_Dog

I really enjoyed Assassin's Creed (aside from the unsatisfactory ending), so I hope this delay isn't too long, or a sign that the somewhat cool response the game got has made them think twice about continuing the series. I was expecting we'd hear something about it at E3...

photoboy

Yeah that's a shame, I loved assassins creed sooooo much.

/sarcasm

Murdoc

I have to wait for more Assassin's Creed? That's fine with me since I got bored of the first one and never bothered finishing it.

Hauler

Repetition killed Assassin's Creed. The open-ended nature of the city could have allowed for a variety of unique missions.

garytek

Honestly I liked assassin's creed, but keeping the game away from us won't make us like it more.

Saith17

oh god i really want the sequel now! getting the costume in mgs4 reminded me how fun my first few hours of playing were. lets just hope this one isn't as repetitive

dethFLUX

well hopefull the new POP will hold me over till another assassin's creed game plus Beyond G&E 2 is on the horizon

thefragilenin

Good news, if you ask me. It's about time companies started realizing that annual iterations in a series do nothing but run it straight into the dirt.

Count_Elmdor

I didn't mind the repetition in AC so much but the main assassinations were so boring... that was a real shame.

formerlurker

Hopefully by making us wait the next one won't make me fall asleep of boredom through repetition after the 3rd assasination.

*Yawn*

FunKrusher

The whole tone of the article throws me off. "We'll make you wait and you'll love us for it." Not, "we'll use this larger gap inbetween games to make our games better and truly innovative."

So while I wait you can shit on a dollar bill and hand it to me and I'm supposed to like it?

Eville1

@Doomstalk:

Wait seriously? I didn't have any bugs while playing through both. What I did hate was the Prince's goth makeover.

Dontdrop

the good news for assassins creed is they have a perfect game engine to work with from the first game, so maybe the devs will actually making new gameplay and fleshing it out

rinerdar

People can criticize Ubisoft all they want, but at least they get it. Churning out sequel after sequel, remake after remake, and offshoot after offshoot every six to twelve months does nothing to build anticipation.

Hell,I'm about the biggest Final Fantasy fan you'll ever meet and even I think Square needs to cool it a bit. It's not that I don't enjoy the games, but the anticipation/excitement is just gone in most cases. I think if they just removed the obvious filler titles like Crystal Chronicles and a couple of the more superfluous remakes (Final Fantasy 1 and 2 for PSP) it would help right things considerably.

And don't even get me started on Nintendo...

Good lord, does anyone here remember when a new Zelda or Mario game was actually an event? Mario was the first to go, but since the early part of this century Zelda and then Metroid have succumbed as well.

I mean don't get me wrong, I like a good remake or offshoot (very likely more than the next person)...especially if it's portable. To this day I think the GBA's strongest asset was its library of NES and SNES remakes and ports. That being said, certain companies (mostly Square and Nintendo, but there are others) have really taken it to an unfortunate extreme. Though it very likely will have no impact on the rest of you, my own barometer for this phenomenon has been my rate of game completion for favorite series. Metal Gear and God of War games still get devoured hungrily in mere days, and then scrutinized though hours of subsequent play throughs. But Zelda and Final Fantasy? It's kind of a toss up. To date, Twilight Princess, The Minish Cap, Final Fantasy 12, Final Fantasy 1 (PSP), Final Fantasy 2 (PSP), Chocobo Tales, Revenant Wings, and Ring of Fates are all sitting incomplete or barely touched. And for the record, I enjoy all of them. Twilight Princess, Final Fantasy 12, and Chocobo Tales are all particularly brilliant. It's just that those two series (along with several others) have lost that sense of urgency they used to possess...that feeling that would keep me up until 2am on a weeknight playing them (and still does in the case of Metal Gear).

It should be noted that Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and Final Fantasy 7: Dirge of Cerberus/Crisis Core were all purchased and consumed in double-quick time...so obviously some of that magic is still present. And in each case it was a microcosm of what I've been talking about: Phantom Hourglass was the first Zelda game for the DS after three years on the market and the first Zelda title in over a year (still not long enough if you ask me, but getting better) and the two Final Fantasy 7 offshoots were a full decade after the original. And despite the deluge of other games boasting "Final Fantasy" in their title, I still take notice of the 7 sub-franchise and how little it's been revisited since the PSX-era.

The problem is that we as gamers (and I think I can safely speak for a great many in this case) have become rather jaded to even our favorite franchises as a deluge of titles continues to pour in. Now every little flaw (even ones that seem more like the product of a gamers neurosis) contribute a less enjoyable ride where in the past anticipation and excitement would smooth over those bumps in the road. Familiarity breeds boredom, and when one's bored you tend to look for any little think to keep your mind active and occupied...and noticing any and every minor blemish is inevitably the result. And before you know it a multitude of what might otherwise have been easily overlooked imperfections become a singular mass of shortcomings.

Long story short, I do think companies should space out the titles in their bigger franchises far more than they do. And I salute Ubisoft for making us really wait for the next Assassin's Creed. I think that a lengthy separation will ultimately make Beyond Good and Evil 2 all the sweeter as well.

Nightshift Nurse: Mile High Colonic

I enjoyed assassins creed. It was a fun game, and I was glad to finish it.

My only major complaint is that the missions needed way more variety.

brokenscope

Sure, the online coop, the possibility of doing the same thing in a future setting, knowing what happens next, playing different areas around the world, maybe even in different time periods, aren't enough to get us excited.

Talleh

wow...not many of you really like Assassin's Creed huh..?

I for one enjoyed my time with it and had a lot of fun. Though on my Standard Def screen everything was small as shit. Still though i enjoyed it. It was repetitive yes but it was your choice to make it so. You could gotten 3 clues been on your way >_>. No one said you had to do all of em anyways. But yeah i too wish they incorporated a lot more of what i saw in there. We never got that crossbow gun did we?

I did like the ending however. Just a huge "what..the...pen...cil...sharperner..." moment for me lol. Also i mean c'mon when you finish the game and you're allowed to KILL those annoying hobos and crazy people without a penalty oh it's just all gravy from there >_>;

s0nlxaftrsh0ck

@Doomstalk: This guy said that the second two games sold well, but not as well as the first. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the first title not do well in sales? I remember hearing that. If that's the case, then the following two did even worse.

Silent Predator

"...Ubisoft's "ascent" as it contends for third place (behind Electronic Arts and Activision) in the industry..."

Does this mean Ubisoft will be releasing a $150 4-player rhythm game, too? Personally, I can't wait for Rock Heroz!

greatslack

I wish I could have a say about Assassins Creed 2.
The first part had so much potential!

hotdamn

Wow, a developer is actually going to take their time and focus on a single game instead of multiple rush-jobs? As horrible as Ubisoft is doing in the Wii and garbage-game category, their finer-made games are pretty incredible.

I'm genuinely looking forward to the new PoP, and its adventure themes and open world have huge potential.

Assassin's Creed was a blast for me, mainly because I imagined I was walking through the streets of Calimport as Artemis Entreri. People's complaints about depth are very valid though; there needs to be more than just (unappreciated) city design and physics to the game.
Am I the only one that's optimistic in Ubisoft correcting repetitive mechanics and lack of replayability?

Arttemis

I actually think this is a bad thing to do.

I actually liked Assassin's Creed. The story wasn't the deepest, but at least it was there. It was a bit repetitive, but I dealt with that. But making me wait for the sequel to it is not going to make me want it more. It's going to make me care less. As it is, it's one of those games that I finish playing and quickly fades from my mind.

Spread that out over a couple years and i'll see the announcement for Assassin's Creed 2 and think "Oh yeah I remember that game".

Dennen

As apparently one of the rare Kokatu peeps that loved AC, I am actually kinda bummed I may have to wait a while for the next one

Neon

I really liked Assassin's Creed. Actually got all the achievements except the dumb flags and talking to Lucy. I saw people's complaints about repetitiveness, but I got really into the story and the combat was excellent for me. It was prolly my favorite game of the year (played all AAA titles for the 360 except for Mass Effect).

I'm okay with waiting. Hopefully, with the experience from this Prince of Persia game, and Splinter Cell: Conviction, they'll be able to implement a whole lot more into the game.

.endejas.

@Marcan: @Doomstalk: @excaliburps:

Yep, have to agree completely. The reason why Warrior Within and Two Thrones sold badly was because of the 'makeover' they received - first completely one way and second slightly back towards the original charm of Sands of Time... but not quite enough.

Duoae

I understand this Ubisoft

But Assassin Creed 3 is suppose to Be out by 2012.

I thought that was the Whole Point read the emails in the game. A game showing the end of time.

Beyene

i enjoyed Assassins Creed...i also enjoyed Kane and Lynch, im noticing a trend of me enjoying games the general public seem to dislike, oh well. lone panda wolf.

pandafresh

Maybe they'll use improved Creed physics for Prince of Persia, and give it a real story.

JonDarkwood

I thought Sands of Time actually sold the worse from all 3 games (even though was the best). Well, looks like justice was made. SOT fully deserves all the sales it got. Now this new POP however... I can't get myself excited about it. I dunno but I am not digging the semi-cell shading bit. Also, POP doesn't need more combat, it needs more platforming.

gencid

Oh, and for the record, I enjoyed Assassin's Creed from start to finish. Yes it was somewhat repetitive, but no more so than your average adventure game.

The main thing I didn't like about it was it tried way too hard with the Amimus storyline.

UnnDunn

@excaliburps: He wasn't talking to you (the player), he was talking to Princess Whatsherface (Farah, i think was her name) as he sat in her bedroom relating the story of how they fell in love in an alternate timeline.

And yes, Sands of Time was amazing, a truly special game. Best way I can describe it is it was like playing a bedtime story (which, in a sense, is exactly what it was.)

UnnDunn

@Nightshift Nurse: Mile High Colonic:
"People can criticize Ubisoft all they want, but at least they get it. Churning out sequel after sequel, remake after remake, and offshoot after offshoot every six to twelve months does nothing to build anticipation."

This the same Ubisoft that released 7 different Rainbow Six games in the last 4 years, and 5 Ghost Recon games as well ya know. I think the only reason they haven't done Assasins Creed 2 is because Ubisoft Montreal have got their handsful at present

excel_excel

bastards! letting us wait on purpose... who do they think they are? Santa Clause?
/me agrees on the Warrior Within Hate
that pop sucked donkeyballs... hard

zyberteq

I'm just so glad that all you Kotakuites share my opinions on the PoP series. I'd very nearly lost all hope from seeing comments all over the Internet that were praising the retarded and excessive combat system, and the swearing macho prince in Warrior Within. *Groan*

Kyuu

Another vote in favor of Assassins Creed.

When the main assassination goes *just right*, and then you get to run like hell, jumping off a huge building and hiding in a hay bale... ah, satisfaction.

Yonderboy

Knowing the people I do at Ubisoft Montreal who are signed on for this game, I can say with confidence that they are extremely aware of the failings of the first title... because lord knows I didn't let them forget. I can also say they're pretty confident that they can overcome these issues and improve on a lot of features without changing too much of the core game design; beefing up combat, reducing repetition in sidequests, etc etc.

As with any game it's a wait and see scenario, but they're not oblivious to the things that sucked the fun out of the first go-round in Altair's world.

Disclaimer: I don't work for Ubisoft, and I'm not saying AC2 will be anything more than a sequel cash-in. Just that there are some good, talented people on board who enjoy gaming as much as anyone else here, and are aware of the failings of the first AC. So, while I'm firm on the "wait and see" approach with any game, I'd say not to dismiss it out of hand until there's something tangible to dismiss.

Calhoun

@excel_excel: Meh. At least they're trying to get it right with AC and PoP. Tom Clancy titles are going to be trashy and forgettable regardless of how far apart they're spaced. Garbage is as garbage does...and in his case it means that the Clancy brands get an unsurprising assembly line approach.

Nightshift Nurse: Mile High Colonic

I just started playing AC through for the first time, and I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who thinks it's kinda dull. Everything about it is just so stiff. You do get to pull of some cool moves, but when that happens it's because the game has completely taken over and you're just holding the high profile button plus the foot button.

ProdigalMoon

@Calhoun: Somewhere deep down, I think we all know that Ubisoft Montreal are still quite capable of making awesome games. The Sands of Time is still a heck of an achievment, and they seem to never try making the same game over again without adding or changing something. So with the foundation of AC, I think there are good chances of a sequel turning out really, really good.

Kyuu

@gencid: To be fair, it did sell worse than all three games--for a while. I remember reading an Ubi PR that stated that WW sold twice as many units as SoT 's lifetime sales within the first month of its release.

However, the way the numbers now stand, SoT has apparently sold 1.8 mil. units, WW has sold 1.4 mil. units, and TT sold half a mil. I'm going to guess all those folks that bought WW went back and bought SoT, after everyone else in the world told them how much better it was.

I pulled these from VGChartz, so I'm not sure how accurate they are.

JustThisGuy

I'm looking forward to the next AC...

I think the game built up a really interesting mythology around itself, and I'd like to see a stronger focus on the futuristic part of the story... I'd love to play as one of the assassin's in the future. If they can beef up the mechanics, and make the game more... y'know... interesting to play, there's definitely reason to be excited for a sequel.

BoboDaHobo

as long as they spend that time making the game great while "whetting my appetite", im cool with it. as in more types of ways to gather information. or atleast not make them work exactly the same every time...

sirsonik

I just have to say YAY. Firstly because I like the idea they are going to take time and make sure every game is really great.

But also because some user called Jonn a while back was trying to tell me the first PoP was the worst selling by far so BGE getting a sequel wasn't that strange.

I think a new assassins creed every 2 years and pop every 2 years (make them alternate) would be reasonable.

Zim

I think they'll probably do an AC one year and then PoP the next which is a really great idea in my opinion since I love both series (even if the new PoP is going to be completely different, it looks awesome).

Samos42

Holy crap there's a lot of AC hate here! Jeebus.

Sometimes, a compelling story can make up for lackluster or repetitive game play.

That being said.. I know many, many gamers who give precisely dick about a compelling story.

Just look how well Halo sold.

Anyway... I welcome more AC, especially after that ending.

Clockw0rk

@Antiterra: Good point. Now they have to address the concerns of the people who bought the first one. The first AC sold well enough on it's grapichs and it's initial WOW factor.

@Duoae: That's what I didn't get. Sands of Time sold well enough and it was charming. I have no idea why they needed to do a makeover for the Prince. Was there an outcry that he was "soft" or not "to the extreme" enough? If there were, it couldn't be that much that the Prince warranted a makeover.

@UnnDunn: I forgot about that. Thanks for the nugget of info. =)

excaliburps

Assassin's Creed had huge gameplay problems, but I liked enough about it to force myself to finish it anyway. If they improve the gameplay, I think an AC sequel has the makings of the incredible game that they made the original out to be in the first place.

verbal213