ubidays posts

In another sign that the newly revamped and larger E3 is gaining traction in the games industry, Ubisoft has announced it will not be holding its annual Ubidays press event as it has done in 2007 and 2008. The big press event for the publisher is being retired in favor of showing off its games at other events such as E3.

Ubisoft decided to hold its own Ubidays event after E3 switched over from being a large trade show to a small invite-only media event for the past two years. With E3 going back to a larger trade show format in 2009, Ubisoft will now be showcasing its upcoming games at E3 in early June, along with the new European GamesCon in August and the Tokyo Game Show this fall.

Every Friday to come, we'll present to you some of the biggest downloads at Big Download. Sometimes they'll be the most popular, sometimes the best rated. Sometimes they'll be our own personal favorites! There's a little of each in today's inaugural round-up. Thanks to the launch of Mass Effect, the huge Ubidays press event, and all the other exciting stuff this past week, there's a lot of great stuff to check out. Here are the Big Downloads!

	Beyond Good & Evil 2 Teaser Trailer Ubisoft dropped the bomb on everyoneat the Ubidays press event: the esteemed Beyond Good & Evil is getting a sequel! Here's the first trailer, our most popular download this week.
	Doom 3 Classic Mod Relive the 90s in the Doom 3 Classic Mod. It's a remake of classic Doom in the more modern Doom 3 engine.
	Prince of Persia Ubidays 2008 Teaser Trailer Also from Ubidays, the Prince of Persia trailer shows off the next installment's colorful, gorgeous visual style.
	Mass Effect Combat Video 3 We can't let this week slip without featuring arguably its biggest release, Mass Effect. Here's a combat video depicting zombies and worse.
	Get a Life Half-Life 2 Mod The Get a Life mod for Half-Life 2 has been popular in the Big Download offices these past few days. It's a full-length single-player affair that has you uncovering the mysteries of the protagonist's past.

Most of the time when game publishers hold press events they let the media outlets present what is being shown. Ubisoft has decided to do something a little different and will actually broadcast coverage of next week's Ubidays press event via their Uplay.com web site. Games can sign up to check out the live streaming video event beginning at 1 pm EST on May 28.

We can expect coverage of games that are due out later this fall and early 2009 like Far Cry 2, Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway, Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X., and the currently unnamed Prince of Persia title. We can also expect to get some reveals on some previously unrevealed titles. Ubisoft is currently riding high at the moment thanks to solid sales of games like Assassin's Creed and Rainbow Six Vegas 2 so it should be interesting to see what the publisher has planned for the always busy fall/holiday 2008 timeline.