A Nintendo community
by the fans!
           
 
 + 
Top Ten Reasons Why Delaying Rayman Legends Was a Terrible Decision [top ten]
 
Virtual Boy. Cel-shaded Zelda. 7.9. There've been some shocking reveals and ruffled feathers in Nintendo's past for sure, but I'd argue that none have been as widely-despised as Ubisoft's recent decision to push back Rayman Legends' release date to September. I'd use the word "controversial" here, but that would imply that people have a variety of opinions on the subject...which frankly, isn't really the case outside of some (read: not most) Ubisoft employees.

So let's get down to it, then--the top ten reasons why delaying Rayman Legends was a terrible decision!
02/12/13, 20:14   Edit:  02/12/13, 20:42
 
   
 
They spring it on us a mere three weeks before launch


For some, the game is preordered. Others may have picked it as their brother's birthday present. And plenty more were excited to simply get it at release and enjoy its lavish worlds in one of the Wii U's first must-buy games.

It's not that we aren't used to delays, being Nintendo fans. But less than three weeks before the game was intended to release? They took that dangling carrot and made it a tough pill to swallow.
 
It was synonymous with the Wii U


Rayman Legends was not only the first Wii U game revealed, but it seemed specifically built around the system's capabilities from day one. Murfy was interacting with eyeballs, enemies, lums and others, while the game even featured the figurine-reading sensor on the Wii U GamePad in its trailer.

Nintendo apparently agreed, choosing to focus on Rayman Legends as the one playable demo to showcase the Wii U before launch. They could've easily picked Mario or Nintendo Land for this purpose, but they felt that Legends was a great blend of quality and creativity to show what the system was capable of. This gave the system and the game itself great exposure--important after middling sales of Rayman Origins. Lack of exclusitivity is a common thing in the game industry, but this case stings a bit after such an intimate connection with the system itself. Which brings me to the next point...
 
The PS3 and 360 versions will be altered from the original vision


In numerous interviews, Michel Ancel and his team have stated that they loved the features of the Wii U, and several of Origins' dropped ideas were specifically put into Legends once the Wii U allowed them to execute these gameplay elements. Forcing the team to make the game more conventional is like cramming a square peg into a round hole. It's stifling creativity, and it's clearly not what the developers want to do (more on that point later). It's akin to saying, "Picasso, what's with the mismatched eyeballs? Just make it normal."
 
Hell hath no fury like a Nintendo fan scorned


Nintendo fans are used to getting the shaft. Numerous outlets in the gaming industry treat the Wii and Wii U (and arguably the N64 and GameCube before them) as the red-headed stepchild of the industry. If they aren't "kiddie," then they're "casual," and it's not the kind of stuff that real gamers play.

Naturally, we fans have a bit of a sore spot when it comes to this mentality, and that's only exacerbated by third parties when they screw us over. We praised Capcom when they gave us the REmake and the Capcom 5, then cursed them when they arbitrarily moved most of the games to other systems. We remember EA giving us Mass Effect 3 but not the Trilogy, and Square-Enix leaving us for the PlayStation. So something like this will not easily be forgotten. Sorry if it sounds petty, but c'est la vie.
 
Demo quick fix shows that they just don't get it


Now this was just adding insult to...well, both insult and injury, I guess. But the day Ubisoft announced that Rayman Legends was being delayed and going multiplatform, their Facebook page was absolutely stormed with negative comments. In a misguided attempt at damage control, they scrambled to appease the angry masses with...another playable demo.

Thanks for all your feedback regarding Rayman Legends in all of its forms. We have heard you and we will continue to listen. We understand your frustration and that you want to get your hands on the game.

We are working with the development team to provide you with a new, exclusive demo for the Wii U soon. Stay tuned for more.


Naturally, fans were outraged--if they have "heard" us, why aren't their actions reflecting this? It's a pretty simple solution, guys. This post got even more negative comments than the first one, clocking in at 3100 and counting as of this post.
 
There's a Wii U drought right now


It's been three months since the launch games of Nintendo Land, Mario U, ZombiU, and others. The popular Pikmin 3 and Wonderful 101 are still at least a couple months away. Now is the perfect time to release Rayman Legends--there're no major Wii U games near its release, and tons of gamers are hyped and ready to drop sixty dollars on it. I couldn't picture a better release window in the entire Wii U's life, actually, since this is before Nintendo starts bringing out its major guns this year and the game would see great success.

This point goes hand-in-hand with the next one...
 
Now it'll release against the big hitters of Fall 2013


This just makes zero sense to me, and anyone who's not completely out-of-touch. So instead of releasing during a time when people will flock to buy the game, they throw it in the same month that contains Grand Theft Auto 5, as well as plenty of other options on the Wii U by that time (the aforementioned Pikmin 3), not to mention whatever Nintendo's cooking up for the fall (Wind Waker HD, probably Mario and/or Mario Kart). It boggles my mind.

Wait a minute...I'm getting deja vu. Didn't this happen already, where a great game was overlooked because it released against bigger names?

Oh yeah. With Rayman Origins.
 
It's made Ubisoft as a company look awful--rampant hypocrisy and terrible PR


Ubisoft didn't just shoot themselves in the foot with the handling of this announcement, they blasted that sucker off with a cannon. I don't know where to begin with this, so I'll first link to this great video that succinctly sums up Ubisoft's hypocrisy:



In addition, "We made the tough decision to push back the release so we could offer it on multiple platforms." So why doesn't that excuse work for Assassin's Creed 3? Why not push back the PS3 and 360 versions to coincide with the Wii U release 2 weeks later?

Because Nintendo, that's why.

Not coincidentally, Ubisoft is suddenly looking for a new PR rep.
 
Rayman Legends' developers got the shaft


Let me make something very clear amidst all this negativity: Rayman Legends' (and Origins') developers are a remarkably talented and passionate bunch that have a great deal of my respect. They're excellent at what they do and I definitely want to support them.

Here's the tragedy: they all worked extremely hard on this game to get it done in February, lost time with their families, and got very little sleep in general. Suddenly, the publishers want to make it multiplatform and push it back for no reason, meaning that all that hard work to hit the deadline was basically for naught. They're still there, now working on the other versions. It just sucks, man.

To make matters worse, a lot of people are boycotting the game and Ubisoft because of this terrible decision. It's not that I think this is unreasonable--heck, I'm furious, myself--but I wish there was a way I could support the Montpellier team without supporting the father company. So please keep in mind that this isn't the fault of the guys working on Rayman--they wanted the game to be on the Wii U from the start, and were set to release it this month. They're as mad about this as we are, if not far more.

And look, now Michel Ancel himself has joined in the protest. This thing has gotten big.

Finally, the number one reason...
 
THE GAME IS ALREADY FINISHED


For crying out loud, they've got Rayman hostage! Why's it sitting in a factory somewhere when it could be in thousands of Wii U owners' living rooms? They're delaying it to release in a worse season, to worse sales, ticking off literally EVERYBODY in the process--fans, developers, shareholders, and the friggin' creator of the series, all so it can be ignored and hit the bargain bin one month after release.

Just like its predecessor.
 
So there we have it--one of gaming's flat-out stupidest moves in a very long time. I don't know what's more incredible, that there are this many problems with the decision, or the fact that I had to cut some out just to fit ten. Or the fact that Ubisoft somehow thinks this is still a good idea.

What's the story then? Rumor has it that Microsoft has an exclusitivity deal that doesn't allow multiplatform games to hit opposing systems earlier than their own. I'm not sure if this is true or not, but it sounds dubious and I hope that's not the case.

There's some hope left, however! As more and more fans express their disgust at this decision--including Michel Ancel most recently--Ubisoft's gotta sit up and take notice...right? Let your voice be heard on their Facebook page or company email!

URL to share (right click and copy)
02/12/13, 20:14   Edit:  02/12/13, 20:42
 
Why not sign up for a (free) account?
   
 
@Andrew Eisen

Welcome aboard Andrew!
02/13/13, 02:07
There's only enough room for one Andrew on this website. Sorry Zero but you have to go.
02/13/13, 02:08
@VofEscaflowne

Zero prefers Andy.

EDIT- I forgot about "Big A," too.
02/13/13, 02:10   Edit:  02/13/13, 02:11
@Mr_Mustache
Like, big asshole? Hehe...
02/13/13, 02:32
Excellent list, I love how everybody thinks a different number is what they think is most important. It goes to show that ALL the reasons are important and completely valid reasons why this is all a bunch of shit. Awesome drawings though! Those and @Andrew Eisen posting here are the only highlights of this whole mess.
02/13/13, 03:37   Edit:  02/13/13, 03:38
VofEscaflowne said:
There's only enough room for one Andrew on this website. Sorry Zero but you have to go.

I have to agree with this.

Zero, make sure you leave the keys to NW on your way out

Seriously though, big welcome to Andrew.

Minor celebrities, whoo!
02/13/13, 05:05
Awesome job T-bun!

@Andrew Eisen
You too man, great vid!
02/13/13, 05:10   Edit:  02/13/13, 05:13
tudsworth said:

All they really stand to gain is releasing the game to a much wider audience; of course, releasing the game to a much wider audience really doesn't matter when they're ultimately getting an inferior version of the game. There really aren't many positives to this; the numerous negatives cancel them all out.
TriforceBun said:

I'm racking my brain, but the only things I can come up with are basically Ubi thinking releasing on all systems in the fall would make for better sales. But there are two major reasons (#5 and #4 in the list) why this is faulty, and it's hard to see why they'd think otherwise. Unless they still think the game won't sell on the Wii U for whatever arbitrary reason (Capcom Test Syndrome?).

Yeah, that's the only one I thought of too. But like you said, it seems really faulty. PLUS it totally gets destroyed when you consider this CRAZY idea of- shocker- releasing it elsewhere at a later date.

I think that might be the biggest head-scratcher of them all here. Why on earth would any remotely-reasonable person think delaying the finished Wii U version is anything but a bad idea? It makes quite literally zero sense. None at all. If you release it now and then release it on the other systems later, you still get the full market but you also take advantage of this huge Wii U dry spell. This is nonsense from every angle I can think of!

And usually I'm not that terrible at looking at the (often strange) decisions of publishers, even when it's an unpopular decision. This time, though, my mind is boggled.
02/13/13, 06:07
Nailed it... great thread.

I'm pretty pissed about it, but it sure does suck to punish the developer and risk the future of the series entirely with a boycott or preowned purchase, doesn't it?
02/13/13, 06:29
@Andrew Eisen And I was just saying earlier that we need to get this guy on our podcast again...

@VofEscaflowne Ok. I'm leaving Shadowlink in charge.

@Mr_Mustache GTFO. "Andy"? What am I, a 14 year old white suburban skater kid?

Well... I am half of that. But only half.
02/13/13, 06:34
How did I miss this?

Very well-written. There is clearly something going on in the background here, considering there is no real reason for this (I'm willing to lean toward the MS thing... Heck, Nintendo itself did such dubious practices back in its heyday).

I especially like the art for #8 and #7. Great stuff is oft born from bad situations.
02/13/13, 07:41
Zero said:
@VofEscaflowne Ok. I'm leaving Shadowlink in charge.

Excellent. It's all falling into place.

*Tents fingers*
02/13/13, 08:26
Great job on this list TriforceBun! Also great job on the video featured here Andrew
02/13/13, 08:40
Great Job!! I agree 100 % w/ all your points.

Just like I mentioned in another thread. I will not be buying this game if I have to wait for it and neither should anyone else. Sure, you can say that I am the one who will be missing out on a great game, which does suck. But hey, since I am a one console type of guy, I miss out on a lot of great games on other systems. So, really, its just like adding one more to the pile.

Yea, we need to send a message and just not buy the game. There is nothing new now to play. Ship out the game, hook it up on the eshop and watch the fucker sell, even without any new marketing. Plus, I bet if released now, the Wii U will probably sell the best over the PS3 and 360 versions. Thats what I predict, esp. if the Wii U version ends up releasing in feb. anyways.
02/13/13, 12:01
Awesome work T-Bun, always love your drawing and you hit the nail on the head with every point.

@Andrew Eisen

Welcome to the site, I like your videos and your contribution to the podcast.
02/13/13, 13:07
@Zero

....You're really black?!?
02/13/13, 13:32
@Shadowlink
YES! We finally got control of this place. Well you did, but i'm the obvious choice for a 2nd in-command.
Are the Drop Bears ready to be delivered?
02/13/13, 13:40
@Pokefreak911

I'm tempted to go into a 'You have outlived your usefulness' spiel, just for the lulz. But that may bite me in the ass, so I'll hold off for now

In the meantime, send a contingent of Drop Bears to Rochester.

There's a good fellow.
02/13/13, 13:53
@Shadowlink

....Hey! That's where I live!
02/13/13, 14:15
@TheOldManFromZelda
That's the idea...

@Shadowlink
Sir yes sir.
02/13/13, 14:17
 
 +