Ubisoft announces new Rayman Legends demo for the Wii U

Yesterday Ubisoft announced great news — Rayman Legends (previously a Wii U exclusive) will be headed to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Such fantastic news had to be paired with bad news, so just for balance: Rayman Legends will be delayed until September 2013. Perhaps Ubisoft thought that by pairing the news they could soften the blow. It didn't work.

The Rayman Legends community took to forums in an uproar; they even started a petition on Change.org to have the game release for the Wii U on the original release date. They wanted their frustration to be heard! Little did the fans know, they weren't alone in their frustration. An anonymous Rayman Legends developer spoke out on NeoGaf sharing how disheartened the developers were and how "shitty" the industry is. Ubisoft didn't play opossum to the frustration of their fans; in fact, they took to Facebook looking to assuage the frustration of their fans posting: "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." Yes! Ubisoft was listening to your plight. Surely they would deliver on what the community wanted.

In a different world perhaps. The Facebook post went on to announce that Wii U owners would be receiving a new demo to keep them busy until September. It was merely an attempt to put a band-aid on a wound. Instead, it was salt. The game itself is actually completed, but Ubisoft appears to be withholding the game so it can be released on all platforms at the same time. The Wii U game market is pretty sparse right now, they could make a nice profit by releasing it this month (as previously arranged). By releasing the game in September, Ubisoft could be shooting themselves in the foot. September marks the release of Grand Theft Auto 5, a game that will be tough to compete against.

It wouldn't hurt to release Rayman Legends for the Wii U earlier than on the Xbox 360 or PS3. In terms of PR, it would benefit the company, seeing as this fiasco could give them a bad rap. Either way, I'm pulling for the fans on this one.

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