'Complex' next-gen development should 'go smoother' next year, says Ubisoft CEO

The complexities of new-generation game development are to blame for the delays to Ubisoft's latest new IPS including Watch Dogs and The Division, but the firm's CEO expects proceedings to 'go smoother' from next year.
"It's harder, because there are so many things to do, so many possibilities," said Yves Guillemot. "We saw that when we launched Watch Dogs. To make sure the mobile works with the seamless multiplayer, with all the things we're bringing, it's more complex. It's always on. There are lots of things to check and control," he toldVenturebeat.
<figure style='background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); font: 14px/23.79px "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; outline: 0px; border: 0px currentColor; width: 460px; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; display: block; white-space: normal; position: relative; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;' class="responsive single-article__canvas single-article__canvas--full zoomhover" title="" data-media992="http://cdn.medialib.computerandvideogames.com/screens/dir_3212/image_321285_460.jpg" data-media768="http://cdn.medialib.computerandvideogames.com/screens/dir_3212/image_321285_700.jpg" data-media480="http://cdn.medialib.computerandvideogames.com/screens/dir_3212/image_321285_480.jpg" data-media="http://cdn.medialib.computerandvideogames.com/screens/dir_3212/image_321285_320.jpg">http://cdn.medialib.computerandvideo...321285_460.jpg</figure>Watch Dogs was originally planned as a PS4 and Xbox One launch window game, but was delayed to spring 2014 due to quality concerns. Likewise, The Division was expected for late 2014, but was recently pushed into 2015.
Blaming new-gen complexities for the delays, Guillemot said development on the new consoles will improve from next year, as developers get to grips with the new hardware and tools.
"We're at the very beginning," he said. "Starting next year, things should go smoother. We're not expecting every game to take longer to make. It's not as complex, I would say, as the jump to PS3. PS3 was extremely difficult to develop on when it came. All our teams had been on Xbox, and they had to learn how to develop for PS3, which was quite difficult at the time."
Guillemot went on to suggest that the multi-studio firm can further streamline development by sharing assets. "Today, we create a car at one studio, and we don't ever re-use that car in any other game. We need to make sure we can re-use more items that people won't care about," he said.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...s-ubisoft-ceo/