In a tough economic climate, third party publishers more than ever are counting on success for its latest games, particularly if they happen to be big name releases. Ubisoft is no different, having released several such titles throughout the year with more just in time for the holiday shopping season. The publisher is definitely keeping tabs on its new Prince of Persia title in particular.

Speaking at the UBS Global Media Conference, Ubisoft CFO Alain Martinez believes selling 2.5 to 3 million copies of the new action adventure game should be realistic. Ideally, sales should hit 4-5 million units for it to lead to positive gains. The worst scenario would be sales of 1.5 million units, in which case the title would have a negative impact on the company.

Ubisoft is also having to shift gears on its other franchise releases, like Far Cry 2. Not the explosive seller it could have been, the company is now hoping for steadier sales over a longer period of time. That's in line with the "evergreen" strategy many publishers are aiming for with certain mass market titles.

In light of all this, Ubisoft is pledging continued commitment to quality. The publisher is hesitant on relying on review scores as a metric for success, considering some of its better selling titles don't always the A-grade. Assassin's Creed outstripped Ubisoft's sales expectations to become one of the fastest selling new franchises yet, and it wasn't even totally on top of reviewers' lists.  According to Martinez:

"To be honest, when Assassin's Creed launched and got 82 percent, we were desperate, and we thought we were going to die.

"It's not ratings that mean everything, but we think quality and innovation are the key."

Then again, he could just be saying all that to give one in the eye to EA CEO John Riccitiello, who often points to Metacritic's aggregate scoring in order to gauge reaction to his company's titles.