Ubisoft has turned Tom Clancy into an established cornerstone brand. When people think of shooter titles set in realistic near-future conflicts, assuming they don't think of Call of Duty 4 or SOCOM, they'll think of Rainbow Six or Ghost Recon. Ubisoft has managed to keep these titles similar yet distinct and launched them very successfully on next-gen platforms.
Not content to sit on their laurels, Ubisoft is launching a brand new IP in the Clancy-verse. Adding to the uniqueness of this gesture, the title called EndWar will be a strategy title specifically designed for consoles, both rarities. To get a better grasp on how this was going to be achieved, we talked with Senior Brand Manager for EndWar Scott Sappenfield about the war to end all wars.
"One of our biggest questions we've had to deal with is 'How do we deal with this stigma of strategy games on consoles?' "
Some old fogies remember when Clancy meant Hunt for the Red October
Tom Clancy is a name that means a diverse number of things. To some, the name invokes the images of exciting movies; to others, it reminds them of techno-thriller novels; and for still others it reminds them of one or more series of video games. Ubisoft is conscious of these diverse feelings and takes them into account with EndWar.
"The thing about Clancy is that it's a brand beyond games. It means different things to different people, but the most unique thing is the personal connection with consumers. Our sub-brands have all developed unique personalities and we have to make sure we're true to each brand," describes Sappenfield. "Tom Clancy is such a strong brand, we have to make sure that EndWar lives up to that legacy. GRAW is all about special forces, Rainbow Six is counter-terrorist and Splinter Cell is high level espionage, so what does [EndWar] stand for? This is really Tom Clancy's version of World War III as a reflection of his uncanny ability to predict the future. One example of that: the plot of the book and game starts out with rapidly raising oil prices!"
There's no denying the strength of the Clancy brand, but Clancy's name is thrown around so much on Ubisoft's titles, you'd think he was a principle designer on these games. So how much is Tom Clancy actually involved in these games? Having never found any sufficient evidence one way or another, we asked Sappenfield point blank. He responded, "When it comes to EndWar specifically, [his involvement] was approval of the storyline. He has this uncanny ability to predict military future, so he reviews the military storylines to make sure they're genuine. Ubisoft actually purchased the Clancy name as a brand, so going forward, we'll stay true to his ideas and we have many advisers on how to maintain that, but we'll be evolving it more on our own."
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