The hits just keep on coming with Day 2 of the legendary Mecca of videogames, E3, and this time it's Ubisoft strutting its stuff for all the videogaming world to see. We give you the facts and just the facts, directly from their exclusive E3 2007 Conference.

The little shindig of Ubisoft's started the crowd off with casual games - namely the MyCoach series, the Petz series, and the rather revolutionary guitar simulator on the DS, Jam Sessions. They then finished up with big three bombshells, all of which with the hardcore gamer demographic's name written on 'em. More about those three later, let's tackle the casuals first.

The full E3 update after the jump!

Ubisoft has released the official UK packshots for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of their highly-anticipated next gen title, Assassin's Creed. Check 'em out below. Remember, these are for the PAL versions of the game.

Assassin's Creed is slated for a global release on November 9 (thanks to MacorgaZ NL (Unregistered) for the heads up). In the meantime, you might want to try your hand at the Assassin's Creed short film contest sponsored by Ubisoft and the Independent Film Channel.

Buy: [Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360)]
Buy: [Assassin's Creed (PS3)]

Ubisoft has finally named a semi-concrete date for the much-awaited video game Assassin's Creed. As you all know, the title will appear on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Games for Windows platforms. It received a lot of media mileage during the recently concluded Ubidays 2007.

Anyway, the announcement came from Ubisoft VP of Marketing Tony Key and the month to watch out for is November. He enthused,

Assassin's Creed is going to be a huge launch for Ubisoft this year along with the added prestige of being the start of this exciting new franchise that is bringing something completely new to the market. We're confident that Assassin's Creed will exceed expectations as a "must-have" title this holiday season...

Tony Key added as well that Ubisoft believes that the title will garner both critical and commercial success. Currently, fans can place pre-orders for the title but it should be noted that it was mentioned before that Assassin's Creed will be available on September 25.

The game follows the story of hired assassin Altair as he tries to end the war during The Third Crusade. Both the PS3 and 360 versions will be playable during this year's E3.


Buy: [Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360)]
Buy: [Assassin's Creed (PS3)]

Reuters reports that game companies are cashing in better and bigger numbers, thanks in large part to Microsoft's Xbox Live network which allows developers to peddle game increments in online stores and make quick bucks to captive audiences.

In particular, the Reuters report pointed to downloadable content as the main factor that makes gaming more expensive than ever for the average Xbox Live user.

The article explains that in addition to the US$50 annual fee that subscribers shell out, downloadable maps and other add-ons are often tagged with prices equivalent to US$10 and higher.

Ubisoft Marketing VP Tony Key says, "The (downloadable maps) are very profitable for us. If you're a 'Rainbow' guy and you don't have the maps, then you can't play a match." With Xbox Live being Microsoft's secret weapon against rival consoles, that says a lot. Reuters estimates some three million users are on the system and are purchasing this type of material regularly. "I doubt there will ever be a Clancy game without the Xbox Live component any more. It's now a key part of the game's DNA," Key affirms.

Compared to games, maps and other upgrades are far easier to make as developers themselves admit that it only takes a tenth of the staff that it took to develop a game to create a new map. That explains why developers and publishers still garner stellar profits even if it took some $25 million to build a title from scratch.

Microsoft has been reported to enforce a hefty 30% royalty charge from materials that are sold in the Live MarketPlace. That translates into US$3 for every US$10 download from the system. Quite a bundle if you do the rest of the math.

You all know that aside from the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 (PS3), and PC video game versions, there is also an up and coming "Assassin's Creed" short film project being developed by Ubisoft.

Anyway, we just got word that publisher Simon & Schuster Pocket Books will be coming up with a three-part novel based on AC. All three books will be written by author Steven Barnes, and the first one will be released this coming October.

The first novel, as well as the next two, will focus on the back-story of main character Altair. Pocket Books Senior Editor Marco Palmieri remarked on the impact of this project to the budding Assassin's Creed fan base:

With the anticipation for Assassin's Creed building every day, it's tremendously exciting to be in partnership with Ubisoft at the launch of this extraordinary franchise. For gamers who can't get enough, the novels will offer a compelling expansion of the Assassin's Creed experience.

Likewise, Ubisoft President for Marketing Tony Key is excited as well as he commented, "The Assassin's Creed books, which begin by layering elements that prequel the game, will only expand upon this adventure to an eager audience of gamers and thrill seekers."

The Assassin's Creed games will be arriving before year's end.