Ubisoft's on a definite roll this time around, with the company enjoying good sales numbers in the first quarter thanks to a boost afforded by the release of games such as Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360, PS3, PC), Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC), and others. There's just one little snag, however, with the confirmation of Splinter Cell: Conviction's delay. More details in the full article.

Word went round last week that Splinter Cell ConViction (Windows, Xbox 360) was sent "back to the drawing board" after a piece from the latest issue of Xbox 360 World magazine started the whispers. ConViction was delayed to 2008, 2009 last year, but we've heard little since. Ubidays 2008 has come and though Beyond Good and Evil 2, Far Cry 2, and Raving Rabbids managed to sneak some teasers our way, not much word has rolled out from the latest installment to Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series.

Remember when we reported on some news circulating on the internet that  Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction (Xbox 360, PC) will be delayed due to a redesign? Well, Ubisoft has responded to this. To find out what they had to say, head on over to the full article.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction (Xbox 360 and PC) has already been delayed, but it's going to be delayed even further. When can we see this epic stealth action title take off? Read the full article for more details.

Plenty of interesting snippets were packed into Ubisoft's recently released fiscal year 2007 Q3 report, including the promise of a Prince of Persia game in 2008 and another delay of Haze's release. Another noteworthy mention is the upcoming Shaun White snowboarding game. For more details, head over to the full article.

This is a quick follow up to our earlier reports regarding Ubisoft's financial condition for the last six months. Apparently, some of its titles will not be making their respective scheduled release dates.

Ubisoft has announced that PlayStation 3 exclusive Haze will become available sometime during the first quarter of 2008 instead of the original launch later this year in time for the holiday season. More details after the jump!

 

Bad news for Splinter Cell: Conviction (Xbox 360, PC) fans looking to get their hands on a copy of Sam Fisher's latest adventure this holiday season - the game's release date has unfortunately been pushed back to January or March of next year.

This development started to become apparent after the game failed to make an appearance at today's E3. So what could be the reason for the delay? No actual information about that yet, but at the very least, it's not that long a wait - only a few months after the game's previous November release date.

A guess as to just what caused the delay, though, could be the fact that many highly-anticipated titles are also making their debut around the same time, so it's a smart move coming from Ubisoft. We certainly don't want Sam Fisher getting buried by all the other new releases, don't we?

More updates about Splinter Cell: Conviction, so watch this space.

Are you guys familiar with Groove Addicts? They are a group consisting of legendary film composing talent with well known players from the film and TV world and performing artists direct from the studio and tour scene. Their kind of music is oftentimes labeled as a fusion between orchestra and electronic.

Now, you might be interested to know that these same guys are doing the music score for the upcoming Xbox 360 and Games for Windows video game Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction. This is actually the team's first video game project and Ubisoft is totally behind its back.

"It's the most definitive music I have heard to date for the series. I would go so far to call it 'classic Splinter Cell'," commented Ubisoft Montreal's Technical and Artistic Director of Audio Simon Pressey. Likewise, Groove Addicts head Mike Zarin is quite excited as he said,

The fact that this is our first game says a lot about the caliber of music we at Groove Addicts work so very hard to deliver everyday. Michael Nielsen and Kaveh Cohen have a rare knack to consistently create great music in a timely manner, with our clients' vision in mind.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction is expected to be available during this year's holiday season.

Splinter Cell has made its name as one of the best stealth-based action games there is. Shadows and dark corners have always been your best friends, but Splinter Cell: Conviction begs to differ. In an interview with UK site Pro-G, Ubisoft senior producer Mathieu Ferland revealed more about the series' major turn.

Gone are the days of hiding. Ferland defined stealth as "the art of going unnoticed," which means mingling with public is fine too. The "social stealth" philosophy will have Sam Fisher out of his cave and trying other tactics. Similar to the Hitman series, doing your actions while in disguise will play a major role. Using distractions will create safer routes to your objectives than just running, hoping not to be seen.

NPC numbers will reach more than 100 at times, so blending in could be a lot easier. Most areas are casual public places, like museums. Fortunately, Fisher won't be wearing glow-in-the-dark goggles.  Another cool feature is how your environment is very interactive. Sam will be able to pick up objects to use as weapons, or roadblocks to flee from enemies.

Controls are simplified to make sure the player won't be overwhelmed. "If I have a table, for example, I can pick it up and make and aggressive action, like hitting someone with it or pushing them away, or make a stealth action and hide under it to use it as a cover, so it is all contextual and that affects the accessibility of control," said Ferland

That's all for now. We'll keep you informed 'til the game reaches the shelves come Christmas for the PC and Xbox 360.

When Splinter Cell starring Sam Fisher first came out for the original Xbox, critics touted it as the next big thing that could possibly dethrone Solid Snake and the Metal Gear franchise.

For some time, it seemed to go that way as Sam thrilled stealth fans with ninja-like movement in the dark and assassination-style gameplay. The next three installments, however, didn't quite surpass the first, prompting Ubisoft to re-think the whole concept.

Enter the fifth game of the series- Splinter Cell: Conviction which stars Sam Fisher as usual but with a radically different approach to the action. It was revealed that instead of hiding in the dark with your night vision goggles and picking off targets, Sam has to use blending and distractions using crowds in broad daylight to escape enemies. Oh, did we mention that you're fighting lawmen now?

The controls have also been revamped. Doing your business is now a lot less complicated than before with three buttons taking center stage. Aggression, interact and stealth commands will drive you most of the way, so old fans will have a new learning curve.

This caused quite a stir in the Splinter Cell following's ranks. Supporters questioned why the changes had to happen and a lot of them seems to have been displeased. QJ reader Bob says "they're taking the best part of the game away. Hiding in the dark made me feel like a ninja or something."

Still, Splinter Cell producer Mathieu Ferland holds his ground and explains "to us, it's a nice way to expand the brand because Ubisoft is a nice company and you can push it hard with innovation, especially in Splinter Cell, and sometimes when you want to push innovation you need to adapt your creative direction to fit the kind of gameplay you want to provide."

Ferland says that even if the concept behind Conviction's reinvention doesn't do well "you can always go back and do different things." He adds that having Sam in a new position, or a different character to explore light-and-shadow gameplay are among the possibilities. However, the veteran producer expressed his confidence that the new model will work and add depth to the distinguished franchise.