Rayman Origins deserves to have been so much more successful

[Pinhead Larry]

I'll start this by saying I'm a /big/ Rayman nerd, so I'm immediately somewhat biased. I won't bore you all with my person e-peen Rayman CV, but needless to say, I love the main games. Rayman 2 is one of my all time favourite games, along with Timesplitters 2 and AssCreed 2.

After waiting for years for a proper new Rayman game, and learning the next one would be 2D, I was glad- then I saw the screenshots and was blown away. I ordered the Collector's Edition for christmas and got it along with my new PS3 and various other games, and completed it a week later. It is astounding. Every single thing about it oozes quality. The graphics are like the sort of cartoon you can't tear your eyes away from, the whimsical music fits the mood perfectly, the animation is sublime, the bosses are fantastic...it's all great.

It was praised to no end by critics. High ratings from pretty much every publication. But what I can't understand is, why doesn't it seem to have gotten the exposure it deserved? I mean, it was advertised up the arse all day long on every channel I watched, but it never even managed to be worthy of a Zero Punctuation.

I just don't understand what it takes to classify a game, particularly a platformer, as classic nowadays. How can Mario be pedalled out for another tiresome trial-and-error exercise and recieve "Best game ever" awards left, right and center, yet Rayman Origins- a game that looks and feels like a work of art- just be brushed over so fast?

This is equal parts question, rant and bitter lament. Origins should've been a new milestone for platformers, and what can be done with graphics.

 

[Tanis]

It's because it's not gritty and brown, which seems to sell these days more than anything else.

Take, for example, one of my favorite series...Klonoa.

Klonoa for the PS1 was a fairly decent puzzle/platformer.
Klonoa 2 for the PS2 was/is probably the BEST pu/pl for the PS2, and rivals many a Mario game.
Klonoa for the GBA, both games, were FANTASTIC pu/pl.
Klonoa for the Wii, a remake of the PS1 game, was one of the best pu/pl for the Wii.

Yet, all the while, this series is about as well known as SMT, pre-P3.

 

[Pinhead Larry]

It's because it's not gritty and brown, which seems to sell these days more than anything else.

Take, for example, one of my favorite series...Klonoa.

Klonoa for the PS1 was a fairly decent puzzle/platformer.
Klonoa 2 for the PS2 was/is probably the BEST pu/pl for the PS2, and rivals many a Mario game.
Klonoa for the GBA, both games, were FANTASTIC pu/pl.
Klonoa for the Wii, a remake of the PS1 game, was one of the best pu/pl for the Wii.

Yet, all the while, this series is about as well known as SMT, pre-P3.

Lutena's Veil (sp?) was horrifically sad. I remember the bit when I think I remember it being Klonoa is sucked into a portal of some sort? I only really remember being really upset by that.

 

[Mr Somewhere]

Of course it deserved more, but Ubisoft are to blame here, it honestly seems like they didn't want it to sell, their decision to release it at such a time is baffling.

Certainly one of the best platformers I've played in recent memory. Though I will have to disagree with you as regards the Mario games, I don't think Origins had that level of polish.

 

[Pinhead Larry]

Its probably because its not a very well known game and its also not really what most people want right now. You say you saw advertisements for the game but I have never even heard of it until I read your post. I honestly thought you were going to be talking about some HD collection when I read the title.

Another thing is people dont really want 2D platformers. The game was not made for the people of today it was made for people who played games ten years ago who want some nostalgia.

Who does Super Mario Galaxy appeal to? There can't be that many people who think to themselves "Oh awesome, another Mario game, that's exactly what I need!"
I'd have played Origins on the strength of the graphics alone, to be honest.

 

[AyreonMaiden]

They screwed themselves when they released it in November, without the fanfare to compete with the other AAA sequels, including their own Assassin's Creed.

It IS a shame, but this wasn't the one game to kill the popular gritty/brown thing or whatever, just like Catherine wasn't the one to usher in mature romances in games or Shadows of the Damned wasn't the one to finally give Suda the credit he deserves in spite of it being nearly devoid of Suda's weirdness. This shit happens all the time, and it sucks.

It's a tough industry, but Rayman Origins is honestly not that special in the grand scheme of things. It's a sidescrolling platformer, not the redefinition of the human condition. It's an atypically cartoon artstyle, not a groundbreaking revelation for console visuals. Isn't that dime a dozen in (cheaper) indie gaming nowadays?

It was priced at 60 bucks when it could have been priced at 40 for the 3DS or Vita and look just as good. Not many want to pay that much to tie themselves to a huge TV in the house in order to bop goombas or collect Lums from right to left for 5 hours. I know I'm waiting for the Vita/3DS version to pay full price for it and as a Mario fanboy, I can say I've never owned NSMBWii for precisely that reason: Too expensive and physically restrictive for nothing special. Personal taste comes into it too; I'll happily play Muramasa but feel a bit ripped off by Rayman because Muramasa is far more visually unique in my eyes.

You could say that Call of Duty or Mario are also unimpressive on the whole, but as I said above, Ubisoft fucked themselves with the marketing for it, especially when it was gonna compete with proven sequels with massive pedigrees and fanbases. Had they done it better, they'd have had a greater hit. Making a good game is only a third of the battle; TELLING people they want the game is the biggest boon now.

 

[DustyDrB]

First of all, I did buy the game...

But blame Ubisoft for releasing it in the middle of the November gridlock. In addition to its little publicity being overshadowed by other releases, a lot of gamers just had to make cuts. And to a lot of these gamers, Rayman Origins was an obvious cut. Look at the way 2D platformers have been marketed lately. With the exception of the Wii, they're typically low-priced downloadable titles. So it's only natural gamers to be averse to buying one at $60, especially when Skyrim, Uncharted 3, Arkham City, Saints Row 3, Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3, and whatever other games released around that time I forgot are right next to it at the same price.

I'm not saying Rayman Origins doesn't deserve to be full-priced, but it's very easy to understand and even sympathize with gamers who chose not to buy it.

 

[Treblaine]

Maybe $60 on disc is simply the wrong price for this game regardless of perfection it is STILL just a 2D plat-former, it really should be a downloadable titled for $15-20, even as high as $25. But not $60. No way.

Also Ubisoft have been asshats recently (spreading bad blood amongst PC gamers will not give you good press) and 2D platformers have hardly been all that popular of recent years/decades except where the form factor forces it such as on portable devices.

Just compare with Splosion man, a 2D movement game but fully 3D and an extremely novel gameplay mechanic and highly kinetic style yet not TOO fast that you can't follow what's going on. And it's a $15 downloadable title.

 

[neonsword13-ops]

I think the time Origins was released ruined it's sales.

Being released after the main game season (Early November) left it as the one game that sat on the shelf lonely but with loads of potential.

Which is quite sad because it's a marvelous game.

 

[Treeinthewoods]

Too expensive, I can get lot's of amazing platformers for a much lower ticket price.

Anybody who wants full price from me needs to put out a little more than a 2D platformer, anybody who wants to sell me a 2D platformer needs to consider the price I'm willing to pay.

 

[Vault101]

I think the relase time might have sotmhing to do with it..soo many peopel are still buried in skyrim

 

[Balobo]

Maybe $60 on disc is simply the wrong price for this game regardless of perfection it is STILL just a 2D plat-former, it really should be a downloadable titled for $15-20, even as high as $25. But not $60. No way.

Also Ubisoft have been asshats recently (spreading bad blood amongst PC gamers will not give you good press) and 2D platformers have hardly been all that popular of recent years/decades except where the form factor forces it such as on portable devices.

Just compare with Splosion man, a 2D movement game but fully 3D and an extremely novel gameplay mechanic and highly kinetic style yet not TOO fast that you can't follow what's going on. And it's a $15 downloadable title.

Too expensive, I can get lot's of amazing platformers for a much lower ticket price.

Anybody who wants full price from me needs to put out a little more than a 2D platformer, anybody who wants to sell me a 2D platformer needs to consider the price I'm willing to pay.

So because it's a 2D platformer means that it shouldn't be the price that it is? Because it's a 2D platformer, it's inherently worse than other genres?

;-; is this how gamers are? /deathofanindustrygeneral

 

[felbot]

still hating on ubisoft so no rayman for me, fuck.

 

[mik1]

so you bought a game and enjoyed it. Congratulations, you successfully fulfilled your roll in the industry. The success or failure of the game should not be your concern.

The people want what the people get and if it's a bunch brown/grey FPS's instead of colorful and whimsical side scrollers, so be it.
Who are we to tell people what games they should and shouldn't buy.

 

[him over there]

Maybe $60 on disc is simply the wrong price for this game regardless of perfection it is STILL just a 2D plat-former, it really should be a downloadable titled for $15-20, even as high as $25. But not $60. No way.

Also Ubisoft have been asshats recently (spreading bad blood amongst PC gamers will not give you good press) and 2D platformers have hardly been all that popular of recent years/decades except where the form factor forces it such as on portable devices.

Just compare with Splosion man, a 2D movement game but fully 3D and an extremely novel gameplay mechanic and highly kinetic style yet not TOO fast that you can't follow what's going on. And it's a $15 downloadable title.

How does the fact the it is a 2d platformer automatically make it worth less than other games? I fail to see the logic in that. It's like saying comedy films should sell for less than action movies