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I’m Not Mad, I’m Just Disappointed About Rayman Legends
On the one hand, I am happy to see Rayman Legends coming to other consoles. I had the privilege of checking out the game at E3 last year and writing an extended hands-on preview of the game for a recent issue of the magazine. Rayman Legends is one of the games I am most excited to play this year, and I am happy that the available audience that will get to play it has effectively tripled. I am rooting for the Wii U, and this is a blow to the system’s health, but in the long run, I want more people to be able to play the games that I think will be great, rather than claim supreme exclusivity.
On the other hand, however, I am not happy that the finished game is going to stew for seven months while it gets ported.
I have only gotten upset about three delays in my life. Usually my backlog is so intimidating that I don’t mind seeing a game I am excited about get pushed back in order to be made better. When Twilight Princess was delayed, I was sad. It was the Zelda game I have been most excited to play in the history of the series’ releases. I still remember receiving the recorded call from GameStop announcing its delay. My heart sank. The other delay I was disappointed in, is one I doubt many will remember: Okami. Okami only received a delay of about two weeks if I remember correctly, but the delay wasn’t announced until the game's original release date. I was a full-time student and working full time, and had painstakingly cleared my schedule to spend all day on the game. I called ahead to see if it was in stock yet on release day, and I was told the game had received a small delay. My heart sank. Third, is the Rayman Legends delay.
Rayman Legends Demo Test Chamber
I have no doubt that the ultimate release will have more content, but I don’t know if I believe the game will be better. If reports are to be believed, the game was delayed explicitly to become a multi-console release, and the team working on the game was on track to have the game finished on time. Why not give us the Wii U version on the original release date? It certainly seems like the decision was made without the best interests of the players and fans in mind, and I struggle to see the logic that this will generate more sales. Rayman Origins suffered because of its holiday release window (it released within a few days of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations), and now it looks like Legends may be in the same boat. This is a game that needs a little bit of elbow room in order to make a splash, and it could have had it in February. Now I fear it may get trampled in the holiday stampede.
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