GameDaily BIZ: Let's start with a question about the PS3, because you were cited a while back as saying that it needed a "significant" price cut. How do you see the battle shaping up?

Yves Guillemot: I think their machine is a great machine ... [customers are paying] for the value of the machine. Very soon there will be lots of great products on both PS3 and Xbox 360. It's a fight between two high-end machines and with another machine that provides more accessibility, which is great for publishers.

A CEO and a gamer

YG: We regularly speak with different studios but there's nothing about to be signed at the moment... that I could announce [laughs]. [Note: this was before the recent acquisition of Digital Kids - Ed.]

BIZ: Speaking of acquisitions, we've heard conflicting reports about Ubisoft and EA. At one point you said their moves were hostile, but then not that long ago you hinted that a possible takeover could be acceptable. Can you clarify your position on this?

YG: From the beginning, we've been saying the best thing for us is independence because that's how we can create the most value for our shareholders and employees. The second option is to [join] an entertainment company where we can, as a group, continue to do our business with the same ability to take risks and stay innovative. And the third option is to deal with another publisher. So there are many possibilities there.

We have shareholders and we have to make sure they see an increase in value, and that's been working out with our innovative products. We think we have good visibility to continue that for the future.

BIZ: So just to be clear, partnering with EA or another publisher remains an option, but it's a third option.

YG: Right, it's a third possibility, but remaining independent is the main thing.

BIZ: Ubisoft had a fantastic fiscal year last year, tripling net income, and for the current fiscal year you said the company will have "its best lineup in its history." What have been the keys for success and what is Ubisoft's strategy to gain even more market share and climb the publisher ladder?

YG: Our strategy is really to look at all the segments of the market... and you need three things to succeed: a brand, technology and people. And very often you need them [in the other order] – people, brand, technology. We're scanning all markets and we go market by market taking the opportunities that are available to increase the number of segments we are in. We don't see limit in that growth and the growth is really coming from the fact that we have people in the company that are well trained, so we have the people. We also have lots of technology because we create our own engines. GRAW [Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter] for example is our own engine, Assassins Creed is our own engine... we also use [Epic's] Unreal but that's less and less important now in the company. So our success is coming from the technology, the people, the amount of risk we take and the fact that when we have a [successful] brand we try to keep it at the level of quality that our consumers expect.

BIZ: As one of the leaders of the video game industry in Europe, do you feel that Europe is often overlooked? How important will Europe be to this console battle?

YG: This console battle is very interesting. Microsoft is very strong in Northern Europe but not as strong in continental Europe, while Sony is very strong in Europe. So the battle there will be quite dramatic for those manufacturers. Europe is also important just because [the Euro is strong now]. For example, we could sell a product in America for $60 and in London we would sell it at a $100 equivalent; even when you take out the VAT it's the equivalent of $85. So the money in Europe can be a big [growth opportunity].

BIZ: EA's John Riccitiello said not that long ago that the game industry is "boring people to death" with "rinse-and-repeat" games and making games harder and harder to play or less accessible. Do you agree with this thinking, and do you think the industry needs to make some radical changes?

YG: I think you have to look at the growth of the industry. Last year the industry improved by more than 15 percent. If we were not doing the right job for our customers, I don't think we would be welcoming new customers to this industry. I think the industry is doing a good job, and in terms of accessibility, that's a big focus for us at Ubisoft. We want to make sure our games are great for hardcore gamers but also great for more casual gamers... so that you can get an enjoyable experience whether your skills are excellent or not as good. On the one hand, he's right that we [as an industry] need to produce product that can be played by everybody, but on the other hand, I think the industry is making lots of progress in actually bringing [to market] more accessible products.

I think Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 took a great step in allowing players [of all kinds] to play the game. GRAW 1 was more difficult than GRAW 2, so we've really been looking at making accessibility an important aspect. We are also working on a system [to help gamers] ... We are working as a company very hard to make sure if you want the help, it'll be either human [help], videos, or the machine itself, which will give you answers to your questions.