Ubisoft logo. French videogame powerhouse Ubisoft spent three years crafting a "Prince of Persia" title that brings new-generation videogame technology and a fresh storyline to a winning trilogy.

A Persian-looking prince and princess swinging on tethers dangling from a high ceiling spun and flipped as they desperately battled a veiled villain.

Nearby, people sporting exotic Henna tattoos smoked fruit-flavored tobacco in hookahs and snacked on kabobs as they sat on cushions at low circular tables.

Into the early morning hours on Friday, a nightclub overlooking the San Francisco Bay was transformed by Ubisoft into a scene befitting an artistic new addition to the French videogame powerhouse's "Prince of Persia" franchise.

Ubisoft spent three years crafting a "Prince of Persia" title that brings new-generation videogame technology and a fresh storyline to a winning trilogy.

The invitation-only event here celebrated the planned December 2 release of a "Prince of Persia" designed to take advantage of modern videogame consoles with speedy processors and movie-like graphics capabilities.

"This is a new story for new systems," Ubisoft vice president of sales and marketing Tony Key said after puffing apple-flavored tobacco from a hookah.

"It's a different prince in a different era and a new world to explore. You have a lot more freedom of choice and can accomplish missions in many ways."

Ubisoft videogame designers working in the same studio that created hit videogame "Assassin's Creed" make "Prince of Persia" with a similarly open world for players but built in original combat styles and acrobatic moves.

"Prince of Persia" has a fantasy art style and gives the action-adventure videogame's protagonist a female ally imbued with artificial intelligence to act as ally, guide and, when necessary, savior.

"She helps you fight monsters, shows you the way when needed and never gets in the way," Key said of the animated ally, Elika. "She is completely AI driven; you don't control her."

A fiction storyline that reflects Persian Mythology pits the hero against forces bent on plunging the virtual world into eternal darkness.

The action-adventure title will debut on the heels of Ubisoft's release of "Far Cry 2," an open-world shooter game that sold more than a million copies in its first four weeks in stores.

Ubisoft also just released "Tom Clancy's EndWar," a military strategy game that features voice controls designed to make it enticing to even those unfamiliar with videogame console controls.

The company's holiday season offerings will include a zany "Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party" and "Shaun White Snowboarding" sports titles designed for Nintendo's hot Wii videogame consoles.

Ubisoft's confidence that it is going into the prime year-end holiday season with offerings of appeal to casual as well as hardcore gamers prompted the firm's chief executive recently to raise revenue projections.

"We've had a good run the last several years," Key said, optimistic that videogame sales would flourish despite dismal economic conditions.

"As an industry, we are in such a hot streak that I don't think this train can be derailed to any great degree."

Figures released this week by NPD Group show US sales of videogame hardware and software climbed 18 percent in October as compared with the same month last year.

"Even our retailers who are nervous admit that videogames are the bright spot in the store," Key said.

© 2008 AFP