Speaking exclusively to Gamesindustry.biz, Ubisoft Game Designer Michael de Plater acknowledges that the festive holiday season is a “brutal” duration to release new IPs and that many good games could fall wayside as a result.

“It’s a bit tough to launch a new IP exactly at Christmas when you’re head-to-head with blockbuster sequels. It’s interesting to see a number of big titles, like Heavy Rain, being targeted at 2010 to avoid the Christmas rush,” he explained. “And Ubisoft’s got Ruse coming out in 2010. Even God of War 3′s in 2010, that’s how brutal it is. I mean, you’ve got Assassins Creed 2, Modern Warfare 2, Mass Effect 2.”

“To me, it’s been a period of enormous change, and the last four years I would say has been the time when games have actually surpassed movies as the premium blockbuster entertainment,” he continues.

Speaking of, the summer is basically an empty season for video games. I don’t know why developers and publishers can’t just space things out because, like I said, the summer season is basically empty for video games.

Ubisoft has confirmed the multiplayer mode for the newest version of Splinter Cell: Conviction that was unveiled at this years E3.

“We’re going to have a multiplayer, but I can’t talk about it anymore than that. It’s part of the things we’re going to announce during the summer,” producer Alexandre Parizeau told Joystiq.

Joystiq then went on to ask about the possibility of their being downloadable content within the game’s future.

“DLC? Yes, it’s always part of our strategies. We always want to keep the content fresh, so as soon as the team is done with the game we can move on and continue expanding the experience,” he added.

Multiplayer historically plays an important role in the Splinter Cell series, but Ubisoft has – until now – been cagey about this next instalment, which is exclusive to Xbox 360.

[Multiplayer confirmed for SC: Conviction via EuroGamer]

Following the recent showcase during the Microsoft keynote, we have just received latest screens for UbiSoft’s upcoming title Splinter Cell: Conviction. As you can see, the game has really “gone back to the drawing borad” changing its perceptive from what it once was.

Coming exclusively to Xbox 360 this fall, unleash the ferocious skills of renegade agent Sam Fisher and uncover a deadly terrorist plot in “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction.” Completely reinvented and revolutionized, “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction” ushers in a new breed of action gameplay leaving players fully immersed in the life of the world’s most dangerous spy.

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It has been a long time since we have even heard the name, Cipher Complex, and many of us may have forgotten this very promising stealth/action title that looked alot like a bloody Splinter Cell. But, we have some very great news, which comes the day after Christmas. Apparently, the game is still in the works at its developer, Edge of Reality.

According to PS3Center.net, one of the people that worked on the game, Binu Phillip, has confirmed that Cipher Complex is indeed still in the works. And now, however, Phillip as left the team for a much bigger developer, but he didn’t say who.

As I was saying, Phillip informed that “the game is indeed still being worked on”, but for some given reason Edge of Reality can’t comment further on it “at the moment”.

Cipher Complex is a 3rd person stealth action title announced in 2006 and it’s Edge of Reality’s first big budget title. It hopes to breathe a breath of fresh air into the genre by being a more fast paced stealth action title, as opposed to the slinking and stalking MGS and Splinter Cell titles.

While many of us are home for the Holidays celebrating, one of the many people that helped make Splinter Cell what it is today has been hospitalize thanks to a unruly terrorist attack. According to CBA, Canadian actor Michael Rudder “took three bullets” during the horrifying Mumbai attacks – which happened around Wednesday. The actor had been in the restaurant of the Oberoi Hotel when militants stormed in. According to Bobbie Garvey, vice-president of the U.S.-based Synchronicity Foundation.

After being hit by three bullets, Rudder “was taken to the hospital. He did have surgery [that was] very successful. He was in intensive care for a little while, but he is very stable and he is healing at the moment,” she added.

Rudder was one of two Canadians from the Synchronicity delegation wounded in the attacks. Rudder is a voice actor who has played roles in cartoons, commercials and video games, including top sellers Assassin’s Creed, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six 3 and – somewhat ironically – terrorist-slaying black ops game Splinter Cell. He has also performed in the animated PBS series Postcards From Buster.

[Canadian actor recovering in Mumbai after being shot via CBA ]

According to a rumor posted on the SarcasticGamer website, the voice of Sam Fisher will not be making his return in latest Splinter Cell installment. Sam Fisher was voiced by Michael Ironside, and it seems that an internal dispute is paving the way for a new voice talent in coming Splinter Cell games. According to inside sources at Ubisoft, Ironside and Ubisoft have been at odds for some time:

"He was getting to way too egotistical about the project and extremely difficult to work with. He was also asking for a sh*t load of money… He pretty much tied his own noose."

No official reply from Ubisoft on this matter, but that’s probably because Conviction remains very much up in the air.

[Voice Of Sam Fisher Leaves Ubisoft? via PSXExtreme]

Ubisoft has just finished the opening day of the Ubidays conference and the has not been a single word about Splinter Cell Conviction. The evidence does suggests that Ubisoft planned to show the game during the event. The Ubidays event was the ideal time to slip in a few words on the upcoming Splinter Cell. Could this mean that the rumors going around happen to be real?

Heres a good question Ubisoft, Wheres Sam?