• Third Quarter Sales Up 44 Percent to €450 ($625.81) Million, Outstripping Forecasts

• In 2007 Ubisoft Moves up to the Position of Third Leading Independent Publisher (In Europe and North America, Excluding Asia)

• Two New Franchises Created – Assassin’s Creed(TM) and Imagine(TM)

• 2007-08 Title Release Schedule Updated

• 2007-08 Targets Revised Upwards and Sales Guidance Raised for 2008-09

Paris, January 23, 2008 – Today Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, reported its sales for the third fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2007.

Sales

Sales for the third quarter of 2007-08 came to €450 ($625.81) million, up 44.4 percent, or 50.1 percent at constant exchange rates, compared with the €311 ($432.50) million recorded for the same period of 2006-07. Sales for the first nine months of fiscal 2007-08 totaled €711 ($988.78) million versus €483 ($671.70) million in the corresponding period of 2006-07, representing an increase of 47.2 percent, or 52.1 percent at constant exchange rates.

Third-quarter sales outstripped the guidance that was raised to €410 ($570.18) million on December 13, 2007. This very good performance was fueled primarily by the following elements:

• A further exceptional showing from Assassin’s Creed. In Europe, this was the best-selling game in 2007 for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and the number 2 best-seller for the Xbox360(TM) system. In the United States, it was the second best-selling game in 2007 for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and the number 3 best-seller for the Xbox360(TM) system (in units, based on data issued by market research firms such as NPD, Chart-Track, Nielsen and GFK).

• Excellent sales levels reported by our casual games including Fashion Designer, Babyz® and Animal Doctor for the Imagine series; Horsez®, Hamsterz(TM) and Catz® for the Petz® series; and My Word Coach from the My Coach series.

Games for new-generation consoles represented 84 percent of the Group’s sales in the first nine months of 2007-08, versus 55 percent for the equivalent period of 2006-07.
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Hertfordshire, UK- JANUARY 23, 2008 – KOEI today launched the Samurai Warriors KATANA website ahead of its February 22 release. The site details all areas of the multi-million selling series’ debut on the Wii. From explanations about how to wield and master the eight different weapons, to the variety of game modes and characters within the game. Find out about the challenges that await; from fighting alongside Nobunaga in some of Japanese history’s most renowned battles to mastering the techniques of the ninja, and see the game in action on the downloads page. Samurai Warriors Katana is scheduled for release on February 22, 2008.

To view the site head to www.samuraiwarriorskatana.co.uk

“Samurai Warriors Katana is a radical departure for the series on the Wii. The controllers enable the player to experience the Samurai Warriors world from a totally new perspective. And the implementation of eight different weapons within the game lends this title a level of arcade style action and variety that is unparalleled on the Wii.” said Will Curley, Sales Manager for KOEI Ltd.
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We’ve been seeing quite a few Smash Bros. Brawl roster screens in the last week or so, and I think we’ll continue to see more and more pop up as the game nears its Japanese launch on the 31st.  I’ll post these pictures after the jump for anyone who doesn’t want spoilers, but the roster list seems pretty convincing even if it is fake.

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