Uh oh, the Wii U just lost one of its biggest launch window third-party exclusives.
Many early Wii U adopters were gearing up for the February 26 launch of Rayman Legends, but, sadly, the game has been pushed all the way back to September. Why the delay? Because the game is now also being developed for PS3 and Xbox 360, and Ubisoft wants to simul-launch on all three platforms this fall.
Bummer for Wii U owners. Not because the game has been delayed or gone multi-platform — no one should ever be angry about a great game getting as much audience exposure as possible. Legends‘ predecessor, Rayman Origins was multi-platform too so it only makes sense for Ubisoft to cater to that existing fanbase rather than alienate it. The bummer is the cause and timing of the delay. Rayman Legends has been used a lot as a marketing tool for the Wii U and I know of quite a few people, myself included, who either bought or were thinking about buying a Wii U with this game being one of the main reasons why. To come within weeks of it being released only to be told it’s not coming out for another seven months has to be painful. It’d be one thing if the game just needed more time to get polished up, but to hold back the lead version until the others catch up does seem a bit cruel.
By September, Rayman Legends may also lose all the momentum it had been building as an early Wii U system seller. If Nintendo ends up shipping its new 3D Mario, Epic Yarn Yoshi and the Wind Waker remake this fall which appears likely, how many people are still really going to be thinking about the next Rayman? I bet not as many.
But hey, at least Ubisoft will now have two additional platforms to pick up the slack if need be. I know I’ll be playing it on my PS3 or Xbox 360 when the time comes.
Matt Litten is a 28 year old from-the-womb gamer turned video game reviewer/blogger and current editor/owner/operator of VGBlogger.com. Matt got his first taste of gaming as a youngster on the NES and Atari, and the rest is history from there.
In 2004, three years removed from high school and still looking for a career direction in life, Matt landed his first gig in the video game review business writing for the now-defunct website BonusStage.com. After the sad and untimely close of BonusStage, the former staff went on to found VGBlogger.com, and after a short stint as US Site Manager for AceGamez Matt turned his attention to VGBlogger, and to this day is dedicated to making it one of the top video game blogs in all the blogosphere.
Matt is a fair-minded reviewer and lover of games of all platforms and types, big or small, hyped or niche, big-budget or indie. But that doesn't mean he will let poor games slide without a good thrashing when necessary. 
