How would you describe the current state of the games industry?

I think it's a growing industry increasing in the last few years. Information from analysts and our data also suggest than in 2008 the market for software in value will grow close to 20 per cent. It's a bit more complicated to forecast for next year, but we think it will be another 5 to 10 per cent growth year, which means that the market is now very, very big. The machines are young, even the DS is a young machine and it's selling like hell. The Wii is also a young machine which is now reaching a lot of homes and will grow over the next year, it's just the beginning. The 360 is also a young machine and the price point is now allowing more people to enter. For the PS3 it's just the second Christmas, it's very young and still growing.

So we're at the beginning of this cycle, and it's already much much bigger than the previous cycle at the same period. With the machines now selling a lot in Europe and also in Australia and the US, we will think this market will go on growing. It's also a question for us developers to bring enough innovative ideas and enough quality products to bring fun to the gamers so they can go on playing games instead of doing another type of entertainment. This is really something we have to do, but so far, the signs are pretty good.

You mentioned before that Ubisoft was one of the first third-party publishers to
support the Wii in a big way. Have you been happy with the quality of your Wii titles, and why do you think many third-parties have struggled to compete with Nintendo in terms of both quality and sales on the format?

In terms of quality, we have to compete with the master. We have always considered Miyamoto-san as the God of creation in terms of video games and game play. It's not easy to compete with that. That's why to date Nintendo to date is selling the most on the Wii machine. You don't find any product on the level in terms of quality as Mario or Super Smash, Mario Kart, these types of products, they are too good. So it's a real challenge for us to try to increase in quality and be able to produce an experience which is at this kind of level. We're working on it.

We went early with Red Steel at the launch of the machine and we also had the first Rayman, and we have in the making the sequel to Red Steel which we hope will please a lot of gamers. We have another Rabbids game for next year which we think will surprise a lot. And in terms of quality, it will really be ahead of what we have been able to produce so far. It's possible to create better games, but you also have to learn about the machine. It takes a bit of time, some years to understand exactly how to do it and the capabilities of the machine. Also how to use the Wii Remote, which was a brand new controller. It takes a bit of time, but when we concentrate on it we can really increase the quality of what we see on the market.

Is Ubisoft excited by Nintendo's Wii MotionPlus accessory?

We think it's very good. It's a very natural extension of the Wii Remote. It's an excellent way to render movements more precisely and then the gameplay changes. It really becomes a natural way of playing.

Is there any concern it will split the market?

I don't think so. On the contrary, I think it will enhance the quality of the machine. This device, I don't have the info, but I don't think the price point of this device will be very expensive, so I think everybody will be able to afford to buy this extra thing to put on the Wii Remote and that will bring a new experience and increase the fun for everybody. For our Red Steel 2 team, they think it's excellent because it's exactly the kind of device we had hoped for to play with a sword.

Is Ubisoft and other developers behind the eight ball again, though in comparison with Nintendo's in-house teams having much earlier access to that technology? Were you shown the technology before E3 this year?

Actually, this technology is not very complicated to insert into our games. We had the information at the same time as everybody I guess and we are now working with this technology and emcompassing it within all our Wii products. It's not that difficult, it's just an extra thing to learn but it's not like learning a new machine.

So you're confident it will improve titles like Red Steel 2?

Yes, yes, I think so. When we built the first one it was very quick and I think everybody understood that we were fast and that's why there were some drawbacks with the first one, but people are enjoying it because it's pretty unique. So now we will have until next year for more polish of the sequel and I think players will be happy.

It was a shame that you couldn't come out to visit us, but does Ubisoft have any interest in establishing or acquiring an Australian studio?

I will come in February. I promised my team I would come, definitely I want to visit and I hope we will have the opportunity to meet in person. But coming back to your question on acquiring new studios, why not? I was telling you before that in terms of acquisitions we are a bit cautious in terms of major acquisitions or mergers but we have acquired in recent years several studios and brands and we believe that it is the ideal route for us. If we can find some good studios or brands in Australia, then why not? It's really in our agenda to go on trying to find good opportunities.

How much would tax breaks from the Australian government be an incentive to come here, like you currently enjoy in Canada and Singapore? Would that play a significant part in any decision?

Yes, of course. We are really looking at all the different places in the world where there is some talent. If the talent is also combined with some incentives from the government to establish there, then we are really analysing it carefully. We are currently thinking about several possibilities to establish in various countries with really good incentives from the government.

Recently we established our studio in Singapore and we had very good incentive from the government. It's something we are looking at carefully. If we can bring our talent in managing a studio in the local country it's good for the country also because it brings value to the country and if we can use the incentives to increase the quality of our products by putting more energy and funds into the game then I think it's a win/win thing. It's also good for the end user.

Why does Ubisoft have ambitions of getting in to the computer-generated movie business?

What we think is that interactive and linear will get closer and closer. When we look at the way Hollywood is working on CGI movies and when we look at how we are developing interactive games we are seeing more and more similarities. We think within a few years the next-generation of technology will enable us to develop interactive games with graphic quality of the current CGI movies.

We have to learn more about narrative, we have to learn more about the cinematics of the movie industry, what Hollywood is excellent on, and we have to learn new techniques so that we are ready so that when the new generation of machines come to the market we are ready to take this step. Ultimately the dream we have is that we can launch on the market not only a video game brand but also a CGI movie at the same time or a TV series so that we can give more consumers the opportunity to access the brands we create. The dream we have is to be a bit more universal with the brands we have and produce. We believe this will enable us to do that.

So when is it likely that we might see a Ubisoft film or TV production released?

I don't know exactly when we will see the next round of consoles onto the market but it will be four or five years and we are preparing for that moment. It's really a big change of ambition for us but looking at how the interactive entertainment industry is seducing more and more people in this world I think that the future for our industry can be huge. Today very often it is the movie which is later transformed into a video game side product but tomorrow we think that it's not only the movie that will be at the centre but it will be the video game that is at the centre and a lot of entertainment expansions will come from the interactive product.

What else can we expect from Ubisoft over the next few years?

Again, there's the mission to become a more global entertainment company, that is on the horizon. Until then, really what we want to do is understand more about the tastes of our different consumers, which are now very varied. Before we were only concentrating on the hardcore gamer, 14 to 25 male, today we have to understand all the other categories of consumers that are enjoying video games. Little boys and girls, teenagers, women, retired people, it's only the beginning. We have only been delivering games for new audiences in the last couple of years compared to the 20 years experience we have with hardcore gamers.

We still have a lot to learn in terms of what to bring to these new consumers, what will they like tomorrow and in five years. We are trying to anticipate the products of tomorrow and the game today is to bring them more fun and positive things for their lives. That is where we are at. If we can do that and understand what they want, then we will have a place on the podium.

Thanks for your time Alain, I look forward to meeting you in February.