Tag Archives: Patrice Desilets

Assassin’s Creed II will beat the original game’s 9 million sales, dev boss Patrice Desilets told us at GamesCom last week, thanks to its setting and sequel status.

“Why? Because of Italy,” he said. “Italy has something, really. I’ve met a bunch of people, and Italy has something. Italy is one of the most visited places in the world, and there’s a reason for that.

“Being able to visit Florence, or visit Venice and Tuscany, is something that people will be attracted by.”

The “II” at the end of the game’s title will help seal the deal, Desilets added.

“And it’s a sequel, and [there's been] good press on it, so I think we’re going to outsell [the original],” he said.

It’s not all serious business, though.

“My producer and I were joking that we’re going to sell, like, 725 million copies of it,” Desilets said.

Everyone needs a goal. The game looks properly awesome. You will buy it on November 20.

Assassin’s Creed II’s chances will not be hampered by the near-identical release date of Modern Warfare 2, creative director Patrice Desilets told VG247 at GamesCom, thanks to its difference in nature.

Did you know the original Assassin’s Creed went head-to-head with Modern Warfare in 2007 and sold 9 million units? We didn’t.

“The first game we released two weeks after Modern Warfare, and we still sold 9 million copies,” said the developer.

“People, when they want their first-person shooter fix, they buy Modern Warfare. If you want you a swords, running on rooftops, big open city fix, this is it.

“And there are people that want to play that, and they don’t want to play the game with guns.”

Desilets added that the sequel isn’t just a rehash, but will have the same allure as the original.

“It has the same appeal as the first one, but we got rid of all the frustration. And it’s much bigger. Really, we give a lot more to the player,” he said.

We sat through half an hour of Assassin’s Creed II gameplay at the show. In a word, instabuy.

Assassin’s Creed II launches November 20. Modern Warfare 2 launches November 11. Both look amazing, for the record. So buy both. Dur.

Speaking to Joystiq at E3, Assassin’s Creed II producer Patrice Désilets has confirmed just how popular the original game actual was.

“We sold some eight million copies of it, you know,” he said.

Apparently the king of understatement, he added: “Some people really enjoyed and loved the game.”

Assassin’s Creed II looked very awesome at E3. Now you know why.

There’s a ful interview through there.

Speaking in a just-published interview at the time of Assassin Creed’s launch, Patrice Desilets – the game’s creative director – told GI that he was chewing his nails in the hours before release.

“The expectation of people is so high, and it’s just a game. Am I stressed? Yes,” he said.

“At the same time, what I know is that we really tried to do something special and to make something unique. And not everyone will experience that. Whether they will like it or not? I’m basically not in control of that.

“My concern about reviews is, journalists have a lot of reviews to do and a lot of different games to play,” he said. “You ask if I’m nervous…well, if they play it only once, if they only have one experience of Assassins Creed and the review will be based on that experience…it’s never the same.”

Much more on GamesIndustry.biz.

By Mike Bowden