"Assassin's Creed" boosts Ubisoft estimates

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - French video game publisher Ubisoft Entertainment SA raised its revenue and profit estimates on Thursday, citing strength of its "Assassin's Creed" action game.

Ubisoft expected operating income before stock options in its year through March 2008 to be 12 percent of sales, up from a previous estimate of 9 percent, Chief Executive Yves Guillemot told Reuters in an interview.

Revenue would be 840 million euros ($1.23 billion), up from an earlier forecast of 825 million, Guillemot said.

The optimism was due to stronger-than-anticipated sales of Ubisoft's "Assassin's Creed," which launched last month for Microsoft Corp's Xbox 360 and Sony Corp's PlayStation 3 game consoles.

Ubisoft said it has sold 2.5 million copies of the game worldwide so far and expected to sell a total of 5 million copies through next March, 66 percent more than its previous forecasts, Guillemot said.

"Assassin's Creed," which casts players as a 12th-century hit man in the Middle East, met with mixed reviews that praised the game's spectacular graphics and smooth action, but found fault with repetitive game-play and a confusing story.

"There is a difference between the reviews and what gamers are thinking about the game," Guillemot said. "Like all new products and new kinds of products, there is criticism, but overall, gamers love it."

For fiscal 2009, Ubisoft anticipated revenue of 975 million euros, with operating profit of 11 percent, Guillemot said.

The company expected growth next year to come from titles such as a new military strategy franchise and a new installment of its popular "Splinter Cell" series, as well as from new games aimed at girls and casual players, Guillemot said.