Watch Dogs delay leaves big gap in Ubisoft's holiday lineup

With two of its major upcoming titles -- Watch Dogs and The Crew -- pushed back to at least April 2014, Ubisoft announced today that it is adjusting its sales projections for the current fiscal year, ending in March. The delay of Watch Dogs in particular means that the game is missing the major holiday shopping season. But the company is confident the move will pay off in the long run. "Our long term goal is to win the next generation. The tough decisions we are taking today to fully realize the major potential of our new creations have an impact on our short-term performance," Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot stated in conjunction with the announcement. "We are convinced that, longer term, they will prove to be the right decisions both in terms of satisfaction for our fans and in terms of value creation for our shareholders," he said. The delay leaves this month's Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag as Ubisoft's biggest release for the holiday quarter. The major impact that the publisher expects Watch Dogs to have on its financials is evident in the sales adjustment. Ubisoft now places its sales projections for the current financial period as between €995 million and €1,045 million ($1.3-1.4 billion U.S.), down from a previous target of €1,420-1450 million ($1.91-1.95 billion U.S.). Watch Dogs was originally scheduled to hit North American shelves on November 19th of this year, timed amidst the launches of Sony and Microsoft's competing next generation consoles. The Crew, which is also affected by the delay, was due for early 2014.