Yesterday we reported that Ubisoft announced the delay of their formerly Wii U exclusive title, Rayman Legends. Many of you were understandably upset by the news, with many of you stating you no longer had an interest in buying the game since the new September release date was too close to the holiday rush that happens in the world of games every year.
Delays in the gaming world are to be expected, but many Nintendo fans believe the loss of an exclusive is a low blow for the platform. It certainly can be baffling to understand why Ubisoft put so much marketing into Rayman Legends as a Wii U exclusive at last year’s E3, only to see it turn around this year, however one must remember that Rayman Origins was a multi-platform title. One of our readers reached out to Ubisoft to express their outrage at the changes and received this reply:
Thank you for your feedback and interest regarding Rayman Legends. We apologize for the disappointment that you are feeling due to the delayed release date, as this was a title that we have all been looking forward to as well. Customer feedback has always been, and will continue to be welcome and useful in future decision making for the company.
We want to try to ensure that when the game is released, it will be as polished as possible. We want to take the time to make sure that the game delivered will hopefully meet and exceed the expectations of the fans of the franchise as well as players that are new to the Rayman franchise.
Unfortunately release dates for video games are subject to change due to many factors, where the ultimate goal is to release the best game possible. We appreciate your understanding as we move forward and hope that you will still be excited to play Rayman Legends later on this year.
Certain anonymous sources on NeoGAF claiming to be a developer have corroborated the above statement, mentioning that the development team has been working in overdrive in order to get the game ready for the February release date. This anonymous source urges fans to be upset with Ubisoft for the news, but not to take it out on the game. As for the loss of platform exclusivity, this is something that should be expected. Ubisoft refused to rule out Xbox 360 and PS3 support when asked about the title.
Ubisoft gave a statement to Digital Spy stating that the delay of the game isn’t a development issue and that it’s purely related to the company wanting to make sure it’s ready for a multi-platform release.
We usually release all of our platforms simultaneously (aside from PC). We’ve made special exception sometimes in the past but it’s definitely just on a case by case basis and not our standard practice.
In this case, Ubisoft recently decided they wanted to release the game on multiple platforms so the decision was made to launch them all at the same time rather than separately.
I know it’s not an elaborate, ‘convincing’ answer, but it’s the simple truth.
So there you have it, folks. Ubisoft has decided to delay the title for multi-platform release, but keep in mind that the developers who have created the game that you’ve followed for all the months shouldn’t be the ones to be punished for this decision. They’ve been working hard to create something that fans can enjoy. We know you’re understandably upset about the delay, but remember that several exclusives are on the way for the Wii U, including Bayonetta 2 which is being published by Nintendo.