Either someone at Ubisoft has said something very silly, or there’s some seriously shady stuff going on behind the scenes. Those that have been following the console industry closely over the past year or so will be aware that the PlayStation 4 has showed a significant technical lead over its closest competitor the Xbox One – and that’s resulted in some titles running at higher resolutions or frame rates. However, an Assassin’s Creed Unity developer has indicated that the firm has enforced platform parity for its forthcoming Parisian escapade – in order to avoid “debates and stuff”.
Now, we’ve gone on record as saying that we don’t particularly care for the performance wars that have been taking place of late – although it’s always nice to know that you’re playing the best version of a given game – but if the developer has deliberately scaled back its PS4 release, as is indicated here, for the sake of side stepping the argument, then that’s not on as far as we’re concerned. “We decided to lock [both iterations] at the same specifications to avoid all of the debates and stuff,” is apparently what senior producer Vincent Pontbriand told Videogamer.com.
As a result, both versions will run at 30 frames-per-second in 900p – though there’s no word, for example, on the aliasing techniques employed, which may still differ. The biggest concern here is the language used, which makes it sound like the PS4 version has been held back. Of course, if it genuinely can’t hit 1080p on Sony’s system, then we doubt that anyone would have an issue with that – but that’s not what the quote implies. Of course, it’s not the first time that an Assassin’s Creed game has shipped in this state: Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag employed the exact same specifications, but was patched to run at a higher resolution on the Japanese giant’s big black box at launch.
Either way, we’re pretty sure that the French publisher will be forced to clarify its stance soon, as this has prompted a tidal wave of negative press. What do you make of this news, and do you think that there could be some sinister business dealings going on behind closed doors? Rant and rave in the comments section below.
[source videogamer.com]
Comments 49
Well the game is aligned with Microsoft for marketing purposes so its ligical they would demand parity
Oh dear.
After the Rayman Legends debacle, the Watchdogs stuff and now this, I find it surprisingly easy to keep ignoring Ubisoft output completely on all the systems I own.
Kinda similar to how I view EA.
@DualWielding I'm hoping that's a coincidence, to be honest. Fingers crossed this is just a really bad quote.
Not that it bothers me... With that out of the way.
Fission Mailed/Mission Failed. Thats an horrible cop-out.
This is very troubling. It almost seems like MS may have paid for a lower Resolution on PS4. I know that sounds super conspiracy theoristic (is that a word?) But why Ubisoft even care about a debate over resolution when the game is multiplatform?
They didn't do this last gen when games such as Skyrim ran tarible on Playstation now it's the other way around and it's alright? I bet this is going to be the norm from now. Pathetic.
Pathetic. Completly and utterly pathetic!!! I shall not be purchasing any more AC games then ubisoft
That main picture is the guy saying - "Sorry Love, the PS4 version is 900p to"
Finally someone feels what us PC players have been feeling since the 360/PS3
it sucks
Jokes aside, this is stupid... why would i have to set with an inferior product even if i can do more than this ? PC gaming lets you adapt everything to suit you, you want 1440p but 30 ? do it, 1080/60 ? You can too... and no one ever complained
if the PS4 can do more, let it do more, people knew this from the start, if some bought the XB1 they must have been awared of the CONS/PROS, just like we did with the PS4.
The difference with the PS3 was that it was really difficult for third-party developers to take advantage of the hardware's strengths, and didn't really make sense. From what we've seen so far this gen, that's not the case with PS4.
I brought a ps4 to play games at the best quality, if I new half the games coming to ps4 weren't gonna be the best they could I would of just stuck to ps3 -_-
@meppi Amen brother
I believe this guy is either misquoted or misunderstood. I think he tried to say: to stop all debates about resolution, it'll be a fixed 900p/ 30fps on both consoles. I honestly can't think of anyone in this industry who would literally say they had to cap the ps4 version to be on par with the one.
So what, this is the first official gimping of the season? And they think that will avoid debates? lol
It's established that the PS4 out performs the Xbox 1...that's just how it is. It's not a massive difference In power but it's there and is what it is. As such why put a game out at less that it can achieve? It's like holding the high achievers in a class back so the slower kids don't feel put out. I have a machine that can give me crisp sharp beautiful graphics....that's what I want. Watch dogs was a bit of a murky mess compared to what it was meant to be.... And it was a real shame. If Xbox doesn't always want to be getting referred to as the inferior version of a 3rd party game having a hand in holding the PS4 version back is a very petty way of doing it.
Anyone else seeing the irony here?
...Because this, in itself, has caused uproar, if not actual debates?
If this is true then it's a very poor decision on Ubisoft's part. Why should PS4 owners be downgraded just because its competitors system isn't up to scratch?
Hopefully this isn't the case and/or the guy has been misquoted/misunderstood...
Also, I'm more worried about Rogue.
BF ran at like sub 15-FPS quite a good chunk of the time on PS3, and having been spoiled by the PS4 version I'm hoping they actually downgrade the graphics they used on PS3 to get a more steady framerate, since Rogue is apparently old-gen exclusive.
Ubisoft seem intent on me not buying this game. This is one of the lamest excuses I've ever heard. Why would you stunt your own creativity like that just to avoid a little controversy? The answer is you wouldn't, unless higher ups told you to. Absolutely pathetic from Microsoft and Ubisoft. Very bad PR.
Absolutely marvellous.
https://twitter.com/kazhiraiceo/status/519197975063826432
@Punished_Boss Bwahahaha! That's hilarious!
Well. First, if I were the boss at Ubisoft, the idiot giving these quotes would be giving his resume to different game companies tomorrow. Second, pre-order cancelled. And this just disgusts me, another developer selling out the PS fanbase for MS' $$$. Last gen companies had no problem releasing sh*tty a$$ PS3 ports of games but PS4 owners have to suffer because f'ing MS doesn't want to create hardware as strong as the PS4? Bunch of f'ing bullsh*t! I will not be buying this game and I hope it's a major fail. It won't be, but it would be awesome if it was.
@3Above
Doesn't sound like a conspiracy theory at all to me. It's perfectly logical. The game is aligned with MS' console, MS has an boatload of money and lately is just dumping it in front of developers, makes complete sense to think the same happened here. I don't know what pisses me off more. MS shelling out the dough for this, or the scumbag pukes accepting it. And the copout quote.. to 'avoid debates.' Good Lord, bits wars, format wars, graphics wars, performance wars... the game industry has always thrived on 'debates.' The man who gave that quote is an absolute imbecile for even discussing this, but I'm glad he did. Hopefully Ubiscum receives the hell for it that is deserved.
This game held no interest to me from the beginning so all this B.S. doesn't matter to me. In the end it will sell pretty well cause its a new A.C. game.
Either someone is an idot, or MS pulled a nice wad of money out of it's pocket. I can't see how it could be a good idea, this will create very negative press, and I could see this affecting people on the fence about getting the game (even if it's subconsciously), and that's a bad thing when you have a mountain of holiday games to compete with.
@Jaz007
I think Ubi has AC Unity, AC Rogue, Far Cry 4, The Crew and another Just Dance all lined up for the holidays though. Just Dance is a sure hit and so is FC 4, The Crew could go either way. Both ACs will likely fly off shelves but even if they don't, it's not going to really hurt Ubi, unfortunately.
@Gamer83 - And Watch Dogs on the Wii U Nov 18/21
Fingers crossed for SSB U releasing on 1 of those days.
Since they are making a last gen only game in the series, I couldn't care less about AC anymore, whatever the resolution.
Funny. Big mistake. I've no interest in Unity either way.
I can honestly see this sort of thing becoming par for the course for multi-platform games.
Last gen, parity was pretty much impossible unless PS3 was the lead platform. And that's really what the big publishers want; everyone able to have the same experience of their game, no matter the platform they're playing on as to not affect sales adversely.
There's probably a decent argument for parity of development budgets when targeting the same output for PS4 and XB1 (I don't mean financially).
This does absolutely whiff of Ubi giving M$ a reach around though. I've still got plenty to do on Black Flag, I'm in no rush for more AC.
Avoid debates or avoid sales?
Either way, failed on first and likely succeeded on the second.
Poor show Ubisoft
@rjejr
That would be hilarious.
Im slightly tempted to cancel my preorder. Dont hold the ps4 back if its capable of more. Sony wasnt cut a break on ps3. Microsoft shouldn't be given a break. They deserve what they are going through.
900p at 30 frames? Only 30 frames is pretty bad at a lower resolution.
Ubi, you're gimping it all wrong. tsk tsk... Micro$ and EA are the ones that could use some gimping.
Wildly inappropriate. If I see anything like that again from you, you will be banned. You've been warned. - get2sammyb
and what I mean by that is that both Micro$ and EA have so much money and are in such a position that there untouchable.
Imagine this gen without xbox one.... A world where everyone can play 1080p/60fps on a ps4. And all developers can program in 1080p/60fps without inferior technology to hold them back. This is where I hope xbox will vanish because it is holding back the ps4... piece of vhs-crappy-looking-inferior-xbox-turd. Sod ubisoft games too won't be buying their sold their soul to the devil shannigans.
@bbq_boy Except even PS exclusives don't run at 1080p/60fps, but I guess I shouldn't expect fanboys to say anything rational.
I don't get what people are surprised, Microsoft paid money to have the game be 'best on Xbone' they of course would have never allowed the game to have better resolution on PS4... Sony would have never let Destiny have better resolution on Xbone either if the tables were turned and the Xbone was the more powerful console of the two....
Anyways, I don't care about resolution but the microtransactions are the dealbreaker in this game for me..... I think its the only truly next gen looking game we've been so far though
This is unsurprising but no less frustrating. The Xbox One is a good console, and can output some serious power, especially when exclusives are created for it, but the PS4 is factually the more powerful console, and should not be held back to keep things fair. The fact of the matter is, you buy your console to use it to the best of its abilities and it's completely disrespectful to both the consumer and to Sony to not utilise the tools you have in front of you.
I chose the PS4 as my primary console because I wanted to play next-gen games the way they are meant to be played. Like I said the Xbox One is no slouch, but until developers learn how to design for it better, it's going to show a difference between the two consoles. The SEGA Megadrive and the SNES had a similar issue, as did the Xbox, PS2 and GameCube. A Ferarri is not designed to be comparable to a Nissan Micra, is it?
@Gamer83 - Ha ha Ubi. Ha ha. (Im not good like the P Boss w/ the imbedded images and vids but thats from the Simpsons.)
@Storytime7 and I guess 900/30fps is the new norm just because developers are too lazy or not talented to achieve 1080p/60fps. I guess you probably think full hd or hd ready is no big thing either. Heck a bigmac and a steak are the same thing. Intel i7 versus Intel i5. .. same thing it's just the apps that matter. Lol tell you what I'll swap my lower res monitor for your higher res monitor since you don't care about resolution
@Storytime7 btw I just checked ur profile. U mention not into ps3 remasters but love a metroid remaster. You then rant on about xenoblade. Moan about ps now and games. Seriously ninty fanboy I think youre on the wrong console site. It's clear you loathe ps gaming and consoles. Heck even ur DS avatar spouts fanboy. I'm very happy to ignore your trolling antics
@bbq_boy Except I never stated my opinion on whether resolution/fps matter, all I did was criticize the irrational comment you made towards MS. Also, just because I like Nintendo games doesn't mean I'm a Nintendo fanboy. I like plenty of PS exclusives (Jak and Daxter, Last of Us, Ico, Sotc, etc). Metroid remaster? You mean Zero Mission? That's a remake that completely fixes the problems with the original (areas no longer look the same, controls are better, you start the game with a reasonable amount of health, etc), whereas most PS3 remasters are the original games with improved resolutions and frame rate. Also, the Radiant Historia avatar is not because I'm a Ninty fanboy, it's because I can't be bothered to change the avatar I have on NintendoLife (you know, the sister site to Push Square).
Not interested in the game anyway. Still he's creating just as much if not more aggravation but purposely reducing the resolution. People will complain either way, so why not optimize for each system. Makes me wonder if that's the real reason, or just a front for something he's doesn't want to mention.
We know that the PS4 can run AC 4 Black Flag ad 1080p ad 30 FPS (Not sure about FPS part) so, AC Unity should be able to also run 1080p ad 30 fps also.
Now I don't recall PS4 or Xbone GPU but, I am pretty sure it's better or at less on par with Nvidia Geforce GTX 560/AMD Radeon HD 6870 which is PC recommend GPU http://www.thenerdmag.com/assassins-creed-unity-details-requirements/
Ubisoft attempt on hiding the fact that, Microsoft still pulling the same dirty trick as they did with 360 is resulting in less sales or at less it will if, people in the comment stick with their decision.
It doesn't matter. Sony will have the last laugh when they start releasing there first party games that take full advantage of the PlayStation 4's hardware and blows the XBOX One games out of the water which will also show that certain 3rd party devs have been deliberately holding back the PlayStation versions in favour of a big pay cheque from the greedy and untrustworthy corporation that is Microsoft.
Pre-order cancelled. Well played Ubi!.
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