THE BUZZ: Carlson Choi, Vice President of Marketing for Namco Bandai, has revealed the publisher’s reasons for including Assassin’s Creed’s Ezio as a guest charcter in Soul Calibur V.

“One of the key focuses of our business when I joined the company is how do we Westernize our portfolio and make it broader. We wanted to bring in a character that works in the Western world. When you look at where Ubisoft is, especially with Ezio, it brings us in the Western market and gets everyone excited about the game,” he said.

“More importantly, the fighting style is so unique it’s a perfect fit in the Soulcalibur world, which is why we went to seek out Ubisoft. We have an opportunity to expand in the Western market, vice-versa for them they can get their character in the Eastern market. For both of us, it’s a win-win situation,” Choi added.

EGM’s TAKE: Adding Ezio to the game will certainly intrigue fans of both titles, but Choi’s explanation makes the whole endeavor seem a bit gimmicky rather than a real merging of brands. We’ll reserve judgment until we see how Ezio plays.

Source: Siliconera