rayman-origins
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Vita launch pushes software in UK, Syndicate debuts in top ten
The Vita's launch in the UK saw 23 games hit the shelves for the handheld, but only two titles accounted for 50 percent of sales. Uncharted: Golden Abyss was at the top of the Chart-Track UK charts this past week, representing 31 percent of week one Vita software sales. FIFA Football took second with 18 percent of first week sales.Syndicate was the biggest non-Vita launch of the week, hacking into the charts in seventh place. Mistwalker's The Last Story premiered at number 15; it was announced last week the game will make its way to North America this summer.Check out the UK top ten after the break.
Rayman Origins leaps onto Vita with screens and trailer
The surprisingly profitable Rayman Origins begins its 2012 hop from platform to platform on Vita, followed by 3DS on March 20, and PC on March 29. Yes, you should play it.
Rayman Origins is actually profitable for Ubisoft
Rayman Origins has been profitable for publisher Ubisoft and the company feels the title will be an evergreen success. Although the publisher didn't share sales figures or what the budget was for the title on today's investor call, Rayman Origins' apparent lack of sales success didn't make it a complete financial failure."Two successes more than compensated for the performance of Rayman: Origins, Tintin and the non-dance Kinect titles," said Alain Martinez, chief financial officer for Ubisoft on today's call. "We believe Rayman: Origins, which is rated 89 percent on Metacritic with enthusiast reviews and is already profitable, has the capacity to become a long-term seller for the company."Rayman Origins, which has been a critical darling for combining classic platforming with lush visuals, is currently in process of being ported to every platform in existence. We keep hope alive for a sequel some day, but we'd be just as happy if UbiArt was widely available for indie designers to utilize.
Rayman Origins coming to PC March 29, retail versions DRM free
With the announcement of release dates for 3DS and Vita, there are vanishingly few platforms left that won't have Rayman Origins. Now the PC joins the platforming party, with a release in both Europe and the United States on March 29. The PC version retains the 4-player co-op functionality of the console versions, and also retains its local-only restriction.Surprisingly, the retail release will have no DRM. The download version, for "all e-shops including Steam," will use "only an activation key." Pre-orders of the digital Origins from the Ubishop will also include a free copy of Rayman 2.[Thanks, Mitchell.]
Rayman Origins comes to 3DS in North America March 20
You'll be able to take a little happiness (and a lot of frustration) with you wherever you go starting March 20, when Ubisoft releases the 3DS version of the delightful Rayman Origins in North America. The European version will arrive on March 16.If you would prefer to explore Rayman's world with a slightly bigger, but still handheld, screen, Rayman Origins will be among the games available alongside the PlayStation Vita's First Edition bundle on Feb. 15. %Gallery-145462%Update: Originally had completely the wrong date. The most wrong.
FIFA 12 defends its UK sales championship, Rayman ascends
FIFA 12 ain't goin' nowhere, as the footie phenom holds the top spot on the UK sales charts for a fifth consecutive week. Chart-Track notes the title has already made more money than any other FIFA title to date, and is now tied for the second best chart-topping run of the franchise. It still has a bit to go though to beat FIFA World Cup 98, which had a record 11-week run.Skyrim flies up one spot into second, spinning Just Dance 3 into third. The Zumba hit parade keeps stomping along, with Zumba Fitness maintaining sixth and Zumba Fitness 2 sliding down one spot to eighth, making room for Saints Row: The Third. Holla!Thanks to some price promotion, the criminally ignored Rayman: Origins finally finds a spot in the top ten, spinning up eight spots into ninth place. Dubstep past the break for the UK top ten.
3DS demos coming to eShop in North America, starting with Resident Evil
Downloadable 3DS demos were promised as part of the last big firmware update. They started showing up in Japan in December, and they're finally making their way to North America, starting with tomorrow's demo of Resident Evil: Revelations. Next week, on January 26, Sega will follow with a demo of Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, allowing you to satisfy your curiosity about the mascot minigame collection without anyone else ever knowing. Upcoming demos coming at unspecified dates include Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D and Rayman Origins.
Rayman Origins 3DS brings beauty to Europe on March 16, still no NA launch date
While it sadly didn't make it into our top ten list for 2011, Rayman Origins is arguably one of the most beautiful games of 2011, if not ever. And now our starved-for-visuals friends across the pond with 3DSes get to experience it before us. Well, okay, we only assume they'll get first crack -- Ubisoft has yet to comment on a North American launch date, instead affixing a vague Q1 2012 time-frame to the title. Rayman Origins will launch on the 3DS on March 16 across Europe, Official Nintendo Magazine confirms. Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii versions have been available in the region since back in November. We've contacted Ubisoft to see when Rayman Origins 3DS will launch in North America and will update this post accordingly.
Best of the Rest: Richard's picks of 2011
Rayman Origins If you asked what my favorite game of the 2011 was, I would tell you it was Dark Souls, which made the number eight slot in our prestigious top ten. If, however, you asked me which game instilled me with the most pure, unbridled joy, I would say it was Rayman Origins without a moment's hesitation. Providing both a fresh experience and an invigorating jolt of nostalgia for the days when platformers were king, Rayman Origins is a must-play.
Best of the Rest: Arthur's picks of 2011
Battlefield 3 I love Battlefield 3. I love it almost as much as it seems to hate its players. At least, that's the way it feels sometimes, trying to get into a game, trying to get correctly squaded up, trying to find a server with room, having to use a server browser on consoles in 2011, downloading 2 GIGABYTE patches ... y u no luv me, BF3? But when it does love me, it loves me so well ... and there I go, into that cycle of abuse again.
Gamestop deals: $75 gift card with new Xbox 360, Rayman Origins for $30
This year's great platformer nobody bought, Rayman Origins, is just one of the alluring items on sale in GameStop's new year sale. Now you can fix that by totally buying Rayman: Origins for $30. Just a suggestion! If you're looking to upgrade that crummy launch unit or finally see what this "next gen" is all about, GameStop is also offering a pretty sweet Xbox 360 package. A 250GB Xbox 360 S without Kinect will net shoppers a $75 gift card. If you want Kinect, GameStop has knocked off $20, bringing it down to $129.99. This GameStop sale lasts until January 3, so you'll need to act relatively quickly. For the full weekly ad, hit up the source link below.
Portal 2 crowned best game of 2011 by the Associated Press
The AP has unleashed its list of top ten games this year and ... it's a pretty competent list. Not only did Bastion make the cut, but so did Rayman Origins and, as you may have guessed from the headline to this very post, Portal 2. Valve's game took top honors, followed by Skyrim and then Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Rounding out the top five are Bastion and Rocksteady's sequel, Batman: Arkham City. In a year so full of great games, we envy AP's finished list -- for us, the work of choosing our favorite games of 2011 is only about to begin.
Rayman Origins trailer blurs the line between collection and rescue
Coins? Magical baubles? Caged critters and distressed nymphs? They're all just points in that game completion percentage, you know.
The Joystiq Show - 012: Desert Bus to Skyrim
Big games are still hitting shelves, and at least one member of this episode's Now Playing segment would argue that one of them is a hurdle to marriage – see what you've done Todd Howard? It's not all Justin pouring love on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim though, Griffin has a few things to say about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and Richard has some kind words for Rayman Origins. In Part 2 Richard chats with Jamie Dillion, Project Manager at Child's Play. If you are not familiar with this Penny Arcade-founded charity for children's hospitals, you may just be a bad person, but here's where you can turn it all around. This week's show final segment continues the philanthropic trend with an interview with LoadingReadyRun's Graham Stark, Paul Saunders, and Kathleen De Vere about their annual masochistic charity drive, Desert Bus for Hope. Part 1 (1:40) - Now Playing: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and Rayman Origins Part 2 (47:22) - Interview: Child's Play Part 3 (1:04:09) - Interview: Desert Bus for Hope Get the podcast: [iTunes] Subscribe to the Joystiq Podcast in iTunes [Zune] Subscribe to the Joystiq Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace [RSS] Add the Joystiq Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Host: Richard Mitchell (@SenseiRAM) Guests: Jamie Dillion, Graham Stark (@graham_lrr), Paul Saunders, and Kathleen De Vere (@kathleen_lrr) Producer: Jonathan Downin (@jonathandownin - Game Thing Daily) Production Coordinator: Richard Mitchell Music: Trash80 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim View the full guest list and stream the show after the break.
Rayman Origins review: Everybody loves Rayman
When I was a kid, video games didn't have "features," at least not in the way we know them today. There was no online multiplayer, no leaderboards, no persistent character progression. There were no detailed stat tracking services (with social integration, of course). If anything, a game might have had local multiplayer which, in those days, we simply called "two-player." Like the games of my youth, Rayman Origins has almost no modern features. What it does have is an overwhelming sense of joy that I haven't felt for a very long time. %Gallery-130910%
Rayman Origins demo due next week
If you've yet to become acquainted with Rayman, you'll be able to participate in a brief meet-and-greet next week, when a Rayman Origins demo comes to Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. He's animated, rambunctious, and extremely French, so don't be shy about shaking his hand. Just don't cause an inappropriate stir when you realize there's no arm attached to it. According to Ubisoft, the demo offers three playable maps, lifted from the full platformer's "Jungle," "Ocean" and "Food" worlds, as well as an unlockable costume. And in case you missed it back there: Food World. World of Food. The demo hits Europe on November 9th, which should coincide with the North American PSN update on November 8. We'll confirm that date with Ubisoft in the meanwhile. Update: Ubisoft confirms that the demo's also coming to North America next week.%Gallery-138472%
Rayman Origins Collector's Edition is exclusive to Europe
Ubisoft's limbless helicopter-head hero is appearing with a little more physical fanfare in Europe. The publisher is wrapping his gorgeous return to 2D, Rayman Origins, in a Collector's Edition for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this November. Even the packaging itself is special. The quality of the 50-page art book will likely match the visuals we've seen coming from the UbiArt framework (which integrates high-resolution illustrations and pairs them with a skeletal animation system), and the soundtrack will probably be described as "whimsical," but forget all that. The box itself folds into a cute diorama depicting mischief makers Rayman and Globox. Ubisoft has confirmed to Joystiq that this edition of Rayman Origins, currently listed at GBP 54.99 on Amazon UK, is only coming to Europe -- soon to be the origin of quite a few imports, we imagine.
Rayman shows 10 ways to 'bubblize' enemies
Rayman Origins' euphemism of "bubblize" for "murder" is genius. In the above clip, watch Rayman and friends pound, slap, kick, eat and crush their opponents with their bubbly instinct.
Music to our ears: Rayman Origins coming this November
!-- This new trailer for Rayman Origins treats us to a release window for the lovingly animated 2D platformer: November 2011. It also treats us to a sweetly serene moment of diegetic music ... followed immediately by a scene of what appears to be Rayman assaulting an angry neighbor with her own husband's head. The included Ubi fact sheet doesn't specify which platforms will see their version of Rayman in November; Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, and 3DS seem like safe assumptions ... but probably not PlayStation Vita, since that system won't even be out in North America or Europe by then.%Gallery-130912%%Gallery-130911%%Gallery-130910%.
Ubisoft announces development of six Vita games, including Assassin's Creed and Lumines
Ubisoft is coming out strong in support of the PlayStation Vita, because it's a video game system and that's what Ubisoft does. In advance of Sony's Gamescom presser today, the company announced development of six titles for the handheld, including an Asphalt racing game, Assassin's Creed, Dungeon Hunter Alliance (above), Rayman Origins, and Michael Jackson: The Experience. Perhaps most exciting, the PSP launch standout Lumines is returning on PlayStation Vita. Along with the announcement, Ubisoft shared screens of Rayman, Asphalt, and Dungeon Hunter. No dates were provided for any of these, but expect at least a few of them at the system's launch, because, again, that's what Ubisoft does.%Gallery-130765%
