Wednesday, September 25th 2024
Ubisoft Delays Assassin's Creed Shadows to February 2025 After Cancelling Tokyo Game Show Appearance and Press Previews
Ubisoft and the Assassin's Creed game franchise have had a bit of a rough time of late, with recent installments to the franchise largely having received a lukewarm or even negative reception. Now, just two months ahead of the official launch of Assassin's Creed Shadows—which is slated to revive much of the allure of some of the older Assassin's Creed games—Ubisoft is reportedly pulling out of the Tokyo Game Show and cancelling early media previews of the game.
Ubisoft Japan broke the news via a post to the company's official X account, although it doesn't reveal why it cancelled the September 26 broadcast, citing only "various circumstances" for the cancelled appearance. Alongside the cancelled Tokyo Game Show showcase, Ubisoft has also reportedly cancelled the subsequent Assassin's Creed press previews, which were scheduled for next week. The cancellation of both of these events has led fans to speculate about potential launch delays for the next Assassin's Creed game.
Yasuke, an African samurai, caused an uproar in the Assassin's Creed fan base, because there were some suggestions that he never existed in history in the first place. Others, meanwhile, were unhappy that he was being portrayed as a samurai, arguing that he was a weapons carrier instead. While most historians are almost 100% certain he existed, others have their doubts, and those doubts have created a bit of a rift in the gaming community. Regardless, the concerns about the historical accuracy are unlikely to be the cause of any cancelled events or press previews, since Ubisoft has already addressed the origin of the game's protagonist when the community first raised the issue.
Sources:
Ubisoft Japan, Insider Gaming, Japan Forward, Smithsonian Magazine, Assassin's Creed on X
Ubisoft Japan broke the news via a post to the company's official X account, although it doesn't reveal why it cancelled the September 26 broadcast, citing only "various circumstances" for the cancelled appearance. Alongside the cancelled Tokyo Game Show showcase, Ubisoft has also reportedly cancelled the subsequent Assassin's Creed press previews, which were scheduled for next week. The cancellation of both of these events has led fans to speculate about potential launch delays for the next Assassin's Creed game.
Dear Community,While this hardly serves as confirmation that the game will be delayed, it's certainly possible, especially given the current shape of the gaming industry. That would explain why both the showcase and the press previews were both cancelled around the same time—especially if there is still a lot of work to do to get the game in a working state. This also isn't the first time that Assassin's Creed Shadows has run into trouble—earlier this year, Ubisoft faced criticism from fans over the historical accuracy of one of the game's protagonists.
Regarding our online participation in "TOKYO GAME SHOW 2024" scheduled for September 26th at 3:00 PM.
Due to various circumstances, we regret to inform you that we have decided to cancel our participation.
The currently ongoing gift campaign commemorating the official broadcast will continue.
We apologize for the short notice.
We sincerely apologize to everyone who was looking forward to the broadcast.
Ubisoft Inc.
Yasuke, an African samurai, caused an uproar in the Assassin's Creed fan base, because there were some suggestions that he never existed in history in the first place. Others, meanwhile, were unhappy that he was being portrayed as a samurai, arguing that he was a weapons carrier instead. While most historians are almost 100% certain he existed, others have their doubts, and those doubts have created a bit of a rift in the gaming community. Regardless, the concerns about the historical accuracy are unlikely to be the cause of any cancelled events or press previews, since Ubisoft has already addressed the origin of the game's protagonist when the community first raised the issue.
The Assassin's Creed Shadows team has a message for our Japanese community.Update Sep 25th: Ubisoft has confirmed via a post to the Assassin's Creed X account that Assassin's Creed Shadows is delayed until February 14, 2025. In the post, Ubisoft says that the game is "an ambitious addition to the franchise" and that it needs more time to "polish and refine" the experience. Additionally, Ubisoft will be refunding any existing Assassin's Creed Shadows pre-orders and giving those who pre-order access to the game's first expansion for free when it ships.
51 Comments on Ubisoft Delays Assassin's Creed Shadows to February 2025 After Cancelling Tokyo Game Show Appearance and Press Previews
This is what happens when game studios look at market analysis to determine their next course of action instead of simply asking themselves the question "what kind of game would I enjoy playing".
As for the message, there's a glaring contradiction right on page 2:
So is it a respectful, factual representation or not? :kookoo:
It is an accurate representation or not. And if not, it's not a representation, but BASED on that historical period.
For example, Kindom Come: Deliverance is a faithful representation of 15th century Bohemia. It's not respectful or disrespectful, it is simply as it was. Rewriting historical periods using current morals or ideological bias in pursuit of "respect" should be clasified as "fantasy" and not "representation", respectful or not.
It has all to do with good storytelling and gameplay, which these franchise games are severely lacking.That's exactly my point, but better said. :)
Edit: I've read many reviews from black, Asian, female, etc. gamers who enjoyed the heck out of Kingdom Come: Deliverance, not because the game represents them in any way, but because it's a darn good game.
KCD also did pretty well with its claim of authenticity, helped by the ingame codex that was actually interesting to read. Faithful is its own respectful, some other controversy surrounding that game's director notwithstanding.Exactly.
On the other hand, including cultural groups that were not present at the time, or showing certain actions as normal that were not considered normal back then (let me not elaborate on this, please) just to appeal to an imaginary modern, cosmopolitan audience who, even if it exists, may not even be interested in playing the game in the first place is disrespectful towards the source material.
Furthermore, when a Netflix director says that Sapkowski's work is crap, so we'll get a new Witcher, or when Amazon completely rewrites Middle Earth in their highly esteemed series called Ring of Diarrhoea or something, that goes way beyond disrespect and should be illegal. But I digress.
What I found missing later is any kind of answer or conclusion to things that happened in the first game. 2 and 3 only added more questions without providing any answer to anything. Gameplay-wise, I also found later iterations (I wouldn't call them episodes) convoluted and messy. There's too many collectibles, side quests, bonus events, and shitloads of other
crap...,I mean, "content" that doesn't add any value.The story in 1 was cleverly crafted. Sure, going through all the kills was a bit dull (as the main character points it out as well), but the puzzle comes together by the end, topped with a massive twist. I didn't feel the same kind of smoothness in 2 and 3. In fact, I can't even remember what they were about - I know that they took place in Italy and America, but that's it. It's not what I want to remember my games by.
Perhaps you were more preoccupied with other things back then, I rememer the desmond series quite fondly. I can see your points on the later entries of the series tho. I focused mainly on the story and quests that would allow me to upgrade the base. I peronally miss the visual progress from building up your town or hideout.
But as of now, I don't remember anything special about those games. Sure, they added lots of stuff, but most of it was totally unnecessary for the AC experience (for example, what you mentioned: building your hideout in 2, or hunting in 3). I love games being simple and focused. I don't like it when there's a trillion things to do, unless it's a Bethesda open world walking simulator, or a city builder / tycoon type sandbox.
Would definitely love another one like that, instead of the current woke garbage, which the Japanese do not want anything to do with it.
Considering the paucity of good, modern, games in the latter genre, there really could be another one.To be fair, people come in all kinds, and it only becomes a problem when people in creative control start to mistake (what is in the end still) tokenism and genericity for progress, to net detriment.