Paris-based games publisher and developer Ubisoft released its financial results for the first fiscal quarter today. The company posted total sales of $75.8 million for the April-June period, which is about 6 percent lower than the same period last year. Ubisoft remains optimistic about the rest of the fiscal year, with its expectations based on several highly anticipated games.

　　Ubisoft's big seller was Spinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, which sold 1 million units during the first fiscal quarter, fueled by the game's June release for the PlayStation 2. Sales of Pandora tomorrow total 2.7 million since its intial release in March, not including the recent GameCube version, which did not factor into the first-quarter numbers. The critically acclaimed PC shooter Far Cry also contributed by selling 730,000 units in its first four months and becoming the top-selling game for the company in April and May.

　　Looking ahead, Ubisoft expects to see sales grow 10 percent over the entire fiscal year, with sales for the next three months in the $63-$66 million range. According to Ubisoft, the continuation of current franchises should drive sales, including Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, console versions of Far Cry, the sequel to Prince of Persia, and Pandora Tomorrow for the GameCube. The World War II shooter Brothers in Arms, which took best PC action game at E3, is also expected to do well when it is released in October.

　　In addition to expanding recently, including hiring more than 300 employees last year, Ubisoft is now among the top five independent publishers in Europe and is ranked number seven in the US. Its position in the UK is especially strong, where it is the second largest independent publisher.