Ubisoft CEO adds voice to call for digital sales transparency

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has said everybody will benefit if digital sales figures are made public.

While speaking with GamesIndustry, Guillemot touched on recent comments from ESA boss Michael Gallagher suggesting digital sales transparency would give the industry a boost.

"[Digital sales transparency] gives all the industry better visibility on what's happening. And not just the industry, but all the supporters of the industry and the financial community, as well," Guillemot said.

"So we need to have more information to help the industry continue to grow."

Currently, most information on the financial health of the industry is gleaned from analysts and the NPD's monthly sales reports, neither of which have much information to share on digital sales, painting a gloomy picture of near-constant sales declines. Publisher tend not to go into specifics when they release quarterly reports, either, but Guillemot said it's time to break that habit.

"When you can, you keep all your secrets. Everybody feels that if the other guys knew where they were getting their money from, competitors would jump on that. Which is true," he conceded.

"But what we've seen is that very often, if you receive as much information as you give, it's not negative."

As if to get the ball rolling, Guillemot revealed that far Cry 3: Blood Dragon sold 500,000 copies in its first two months and increased sales of Far Cry 3.