Raving Mad

By Dan Clark

Oh Ubisoft, what have you done?

For those who missed it, it was announced today that the sequel to 2011's surprise smash-hit platformer, Rayman Origins, would be available this September on all major platforms. Sounds great right?
Well that would be great if it hadn't already been announced as exclusive for Wii U....and supposed to be out this month (Feb. 23rd). Yeah....ouch.

I think that Rabbid just gave Rayman a reverse headbutt to the nuts....

Of course this has set the forums and Facebook pages on fire with nerd rage, claims of bias, boycotts, and even a Change.org petition.

There are 2 ways to look at this situation. The first is that, regardless of a short term fallout, and some "whiny fanboys", this decision will get the game into the hands of a much larger install base than just the Wii U could possibly offer, which is a good thing for gamers and Ubisoft alike.

The second way is to view this as an cataclysmic mistake on Ubisofts part for a few reason. The first and most obvious being enraging thousands (there are already over 1000 signatures on the petition) of former fans/ potential customers. Next, you choose to delay your game that is scheduled against virtually nothing major in February (except the VERY cool looking, and also uber-delayed Aliens: Colonial Marines) and instead place it head to head with one of the most anticipated games of the year, Grand Theft Auto 5.

It's kind of a big deal

All this brings me to my take. I have never bought, or played a Rayman game. I tried a demo of Rayman Origins when it first came out and was put off by the floaty controls and never really thought twice about it. But a few months back, if you listen to the show, you will remember my and Heath's excitement when first seeing Wii U in the wild at our local Gamestop. We marveled at how well the touch screen worked, and exclaimed how much fun the on-screen/gamepad co-op worked, and how much just plain fun it was. The game we tried, Rayman Legends. So for the first time, I was 100% dead set to plunk down $60 and buy a Rayman game. Now, I simply won't.

Trolling Heath to death on this stage was particularly fun!

I won't buy Rayman Legends, not out of simple revenge or hate. I won't buy Rayman Legends, even if Ubisoft changes it's mind tomorrow. Why? Because the magic is gone. The trust has been broken. Because selfish actions by the very top of our industry should not be ignored, and certainly not rewarded. But mostly, because by September, I simply won't care anymore, I'll have plenty else to play.

Maybe Ubisoft just needs a "hug"?

-D