In an effort to capitalise on projected growth for and this year, CEO said his company will be moving away from investing heavily in game development.

"With a view to further reducing our exposure to the DS," Guillemot stated, "we intend to continue to refocus our resources on our major franchises and on the 360 and PS3."

The decision to avoid further investment in Nintendo's handheld is the result of two distinct factors. First, the underwhelming performance of key Ubisoft titles makes it an unattractive proposition for the French publisher.

Second, the rise of and iPod touch has been more lucrative for the company. Recently, Ubisoft broke with partner Gameloft to release iPhone games on its own. II: Discovery will be the first major title released by Ubisoft to the App Store next month.

By Tracy Erickson