No slouch

While analysts obsess over the health of the dedicated video game market in a post-smartphone climate, it seems unlikely that Sony or Microsoft will be losing any sleep. According to Ubisoft overlord Yves Guillemot, pre-orders for both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are roughly “two times” the level of their predecessors at this stage prior to release. GameStop recently shut down deposits for Sony’s system, despite being told to open the floodgates earlier in the year.

Guillemot was speaking during a financial call, in which the French publisher reported sales of €76 million ($99.5 million) for the first quarter of its 2014 fiscal year. During the presentation, the executive reiterated that ambitious racer The Crew will deploy on Sony’s impending system at the start of next year, while online shooter Tom Clancy's The Division will arrive at the tail end of 2014.

[source vg247.com, via ubisoftgroup.com]