Assassin's Creed III is a 2012 action-adventure video game set during the American Revolutionary War. It was developed and published by Ubisoft and released on multiple platforms. The game follows Desmond Miles who relives the memories of his ancestor Ratonhnhaké:ton, also known as Connor, an assassin who fights the Templars during the 18th century in the American colonies. Ubisoft launched an extensive marketing campaign to promote the game, including staggered releases across platforms, numerous special editions, pre-order bonuses, and downloadable content. The game became a major commercial success, breaking several sales records as one of Ubisoft's best-selling games.

1. ASSASSIN’S CREED III

2. • Assassin's Creed III
• 2012 action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft
Montreal and published by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox
360,Wii U, and Microsoft Windows. – several platforms to
open up possibilities for a wide audience
• It is the fifth major instalment in the Assassin's
Creed series, and a direct sequel to 2011's Assassin's Creed:
Revelations – therefore has ready audience
• Tony Key, Senior VP of Sales and Marketing at Ubisoft felt
the Colonial American setting would widen the appeal of
the game to a “mainstream audience as the American
Revolution was a key historical event worldwide." said Key.
He added, “Assassin's Creed III is the perfect game for
players who have not tried the brand before to jump into
the franchise."

3. Narrative - The plot is set in a fictional history of real world events and follows the
centuries old struggle between the Assassins, who fight for peace with free will, and
the Templars, who desire peace through control. The framing story is set in the 21st
century and features series protagonist Desmond Miles who relives the memories
of his ancestors to find a way to avert the 2012 apocalypse (post-modern shades of
the Terminator film series). The story is set in the 18th century, before, during and
after the American Revolution from 1753 to 1783, and follows Desmond's half-
English, half-Mohawk ancestor, Ratonhnhaké:ton also known as Connor (another
Terminator reference), as he fights the Templars' attempts to gain control of the
colonies.

4. • Open world - video game level design where a player
can roam freely through a virtual world and is given
considerable freedom in choosing how or when to
approach objectives.
• Third-person perspective with a primary focus on using
Desmond and Connor's combat and stealth abilities to
eliminate targets and explore the environment: 18th-
centry Boston, New York, the American frontier and
portions of the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea can
be explored via the flagship of the Assassin's navy,
the Aquila, captained by Connor himself to complete
side missions away from the primary storyline – variety
of possibilities for the game’s narrative and a nod to the
popular Pirates of the Caribbean movie series.

5. • The game also features a multiplayer component,
allowing players to compete online to complete solo and
team based objectives including assassinations and
evading pursuers – variety of possibilities.
• Several modifications from previous version added to
the audience appeal e.g. new weather simulations and
the seasons can also change - which not only effect
visuals but also gameplay, as snowfall can reduce
visibility for the player and enemies, aiding stealth.

6. • Variety of narrative possibilities to increase appeal –
for example, the player can upgrade the Homestead
manor or Connor's ship and enlist citizens to the
Assassins' cause by completing "Liberation"
missions. They also have a much larger skill set and
there are side missions include investigating
frontiersman rumours about UFOs and Sasquatch -
enigmatic scenarios to hook gamers.
• High level of skill and commitment - Using Connor's
warship, the player can navigate the high seas.
Control of the ship relies on environmental factors
such as wind direction and speed, local presence of
storms, high waves, and rocks.

7. • Multiplayer possibilities - a co-operative mode
named Wolfpack, in which 1–4 players are
charged with killing certain NPCs within a time
limit, through a sequence of 25 stages. It also
features Domination, a team mode where
players will have to capture certain areas of the
map, protecting them from the opposing team.
• Incentive to buy other versions - The Wii
U version of the game has extra features. The
player has the ability to change weapons on the
go and the map is always visible on the Wii U
Gamepad.

9. • Origins – long term plans to hook potential customers.
• Work on Assassin's Creed III began in January 2010
(almost immediately after the release of Assassin's
Creed II).
• In October 2011, Ubisoft announced that the next
instalment of the franchise was to be released before
December 2012.
• In February 2012, Ubisoft officially confirmed the
existence of Assassin's Creed III, and its North American
release date of October 30, 2012.
The Release Campaign 1

10. The Release Campaign 2
• Various official ‘leaks’ to tease the audience:
• e.g. Late February 2012 - Ubisoft -"a major
announcement from Assassin's Creed" was "only
days away" via the series' official Facebook. The
page's cover photo also depicted a snowy and
bleak setting.
• Furthermore, Game Informer, the monthly video
game magazine, confirmed this via an advertising
banner posted on its site with images of the new
assassin standing next to American revolutionary
leader George Washington.

11. The Release Campaign 3
• Building up suspense - The company said it will
announce "all the details" at 5pm on March
5.Additionally, Game Informer revealed its latest cover
feature which includes more artwork of the game's
new main character. On March 2, several screenshots
were leaked ahead of Ubisoft's official reveal, and the
first gameplay details emerged via Game Informer.

12. The Release Campaign 4
• Cinematic trailer on March 5, 2012.
•
• Hyperbole: Ubisoft described the game as the "most
ambitious" project in the company's history, with twice
the production capacity of any previous title from the
publisher.
• Music - The score to Assassin's Creed III was composed
by Scottish composer Lorne Balfe.
•
• The soundtrack was released via digital download on
October 30, 2012.

13. The Release Campaign 5
Release date(s)
Why stagger the release?
PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360
NA October 30, 2012
EU October 31, 2012
AU October 31, 2012
Wii U
NA November 18, 2012
EU November 30, 2012
AU November 30, 2012
Microsoft Windows
NA November 20, 2012
AU November 22, 2012
EU November 23, 2012

15. Marketing initiatives 1
• Ubisoft's senior vice president of sales and
marketing, Tony Key, said the game would
enjoy the biggest marketing commitment in
company history. Assassin's Creed: Double
Pack was released both as a retail purchase for
PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and for download
on PSN, which brings together the
first Assassin's Creed and Assassin's Creed II in
a virtual compilation box.

16. Marketing initiatives 2
• Pre-order bonuses
• Ubisoft has collaborated with several retail outlets on
pre-order bonuses available through several store
chains throughout the world. Which pre-order bonuses
the player received depended upon where they pre-
ordered the game. A free SteelBook collectible
featuring artwork by renowned comic book artist Alex
Ross is available as a pre-order incentive.
•
• The "Captain of the Aquila" DLC pack includes a single
player weapon (The Pirate Boarding Axe) and a single
player skin (The Captain of the Aquila's uniform).

18. Marketing initiatives 3
• Ubisoft Australia put together a "very special,
very limited" edition of Assassin’s Creed III to
auction off in benefit of the Sydney Children's
Hospital Foundation. There are only ten of these
editions in the world, and eight of them will be
auctioned off to raise money for the Sydney
Children's Hospital in Randwick. Each will be
auctioned separately between November 30,
2012 and December 17 – charitable, bur also
great publicity in local and national Australian
media.

19. Marketing initiatives 4
• Releasing various retail editions is another way
to increase profits and capitalise on the potential
market e.g.
• The Freedom Edition features a retail copy of the
game, a steelbook case with cover art drawn by
comic artist Alex Ross, George Washington's
notebook, a 24 cm figurine of the protagonist
Connor and two exclusive lithographs. In-game
content included is two exclusive single player
missions (Ghost of War and Lost Mayan Ruins)
and an additional multiplayer character
(Sharpshooter).

20. Marketing initiatives 5
• On October 3, 2012 Ubisoft officially revealed a
Season Pass for downloadable content (DLC),
made available for a six-month time period on
PlayStation Network and on Xbox Live. The pass
gives purchasers access to the three King
Washington DLC packs, The Hidden Secrets pack
with all the preorder, retailer exclusive, bonus
material, and The Battle Hardened pack,
featuring new maps and characters for
multiplayer. Furthermore, players with the pass
will have access to DLC a week before other
gamers.

22. Success
• On March 30, 2012 - In the three weeks since the game's pre-order
campaign began, numbers had already surpassed the total U.S. pre-
order numbers of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and exceeded 10 x
more than the pre-orders Assassin's Creed: Revelations attracted in
a comparable time frame.
• On October 25, 2012 - the most pre-ordered game in the
company's history, more than doubling pre-orders for Revelations,
the previous record holder. Of course, this publicity itself,
encouraged people to order the game!
• Assassin's Creed III was the best selling game in the United
Kingdom in the week of its release, with the best sales of the series
to date. It was the biggest launch in publisher Ubisoft's history and
the third biggest launch of any game in the UK in 2012. It doubled
the launch week sales of Assassin's Creed II, and beat
2011'sRevelations by over 117,000 copies.