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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!

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02/12/13, 20:14   Edit:  02/12/13, 20:42
 
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@TheOldManFromZelda

Collateral damage. Sorry.
02/13/13, 14:32
@Shadowlink

Good thing I like bears!
02/13/13, 14:58
@TheOldManFromZelda

You like bears?...


...does your wife know?
02/13/13, 15:40
02/13/13, 15:54
TBH the first game was multiplatform and developed with the PS3 and 360 in mind. I actually agree with making the sequel multi platform and letting those original supporters play the game, it just makes sense and it was kind of a fuck you to PS3/360 owners to not get Legends on their systems. I totally see that and I've got friends who are happy about this. It's nowhere near the same as stuff like Far Cry 3 and Splinter Cell which were never on Nintendo consoles and they never will.

The huge problem is the delay. It's just bad, it will hurt the sales because of the other games that are coming out, and now this is kind of a fuck you to Wii U owners. What they could've done is get the Wii U version out right now in February with all its exclusive features, and then a PS3/360 release in September. Would've been the ideal choice.
02/13/13, 16:11
@GelatinousEncore

The first game was multiplatform but the sequel makes use of the GamePad in pretty unique ways. So I think the dismay at the port makes more sense if anything.
02/13/13, 16:15
GelatinousEncore said:
It's nowhere near the same as stuff like Far Cry 3 and Splinter Cell which were never on Nintendo consoles and they never will.

OBJECTION!

Splinter Cell was all over Gamecube, and even made appearances on Wii, DS and 3DS (now available on the eShop, even!).

Far Cry was also on Wii, way back in the day.

Besides, we can't use the excuse "Game X" has never been on a Nintendo system so we shouldn't expect it to be. Remember, Assassin's Creed wasn't on a Nintendo CONSOLE (thought two of them did show up on DS) - yet Assassin's Creed III came out on Wii U.
02/13/13, 16:22
@Andrew Eisen

Thanks for dropping by, and keep up the good work!
02/13/13, 17:10
Brilliant list. I love the original illustrations. Beat that, GamesRadar!

@Andrew Eisen
Hey, it's that guy! Or someone pretending to be him!

Guillaume said:
@TheOldManFromZelda

You like bears?...


...does your wife know?
Say, that reminds me of a Kids in the Hall skit...
02/13/13, 18:02   Edit:  02/13/13, 18:05
Had to make sure to thumbs up this post. Very awesome! Ubisoft...
02/13/13, 18:29
@TheOldManFromZelda

They're sending them to Minnesota.
02/13/13, 23:56
@Mr_Mustache

Whatever helps you sleep at night.

Pay no attention to that spider behind the curtain.
02/14/13, 00:04
@Shadowlink

Lies lies lies, yeah.
02/14/13, 00:36
@GameDadGrant

Please don't ever, ever, ever, ever, ever mention Far Cry: Vengeance. That wasn't a game, it was a cash-in (and a terrible one at that).
02/14/13, 00:45
@Mr_Mustache
You obviously haven't seen our spiders have you?
Shadowlink, show him, 'The Beast'.
02/14/13, 13:47
Pics of Australian spiders have been banned here, on NegativeWorld.org.
02/14/13, 14:14
@Pokefreak911

He's seen them.

@Guillaume

Not banned, just greatly discouraged .

Poor Mustache was having nightmares. I took pity.
02/14/13, 14:18
@Guillaume
...what other deadly and scary creatures do we have here I can post...


@Shadowlink
Nightmares! He would never be able to live here then!!
02/14/13, 14:24
Pokefreak911 said:
@Guillaume
...what other deadly and scary creatures do we have here I can post...

02/14/13, 14:31
@Shadowlink
Perfect. But do they know what it is and what it does?
02/14/13, 14:33
 
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