Sam, maybe named after that Fisher fella
Digital personal assistants are en vogue right now, as the likes of Google Home and Amazon Echo find their way into more and more households. Privacy concerns aside, it’s kind of neat casually saying “Hey Google, play ‘The Boys Are Back in Town‘” and then immediately hearing some tasty guitar licks. I’m easily impressed.
Ubisoft has found a more niche use for this technology. Today, it revealed Sam which is a personal assistant that’s exclusive to Ubisoft Club. Sam will talk to you about all things related to Ubisoft games. As Engadget details from a brief demo, it’s the sort of thing that will play trailers and give release dates and mindlessly chat with you about assassins.
This functionality seemingly has limited appeal, but it sounds as if competitive players might find more uses for Sam. It’s able to track stats and offer tips in a way that could theoretically be helpful. Honestly, the most effective use might be for people who have fallen off a persistent game like The Division, and they’re looking to get back in but haven’t kept up with the updates.
Sam is in its infancy now, as it’s in beta and only available in Canada. Ubisoft says that it’s expanding to more markets in the coming months as an integrated feature of the Ubisoft Club app. But one publisher’s library might be too narrow of a scope to warrant a fiddling with a new personal assistant. That’s for everyone to figure out on their own.
