Did Rabbids Really Ruin Rayman?

[Master]

If you really think about it, it's Michel Ancel who ruined Rayman. He created the game series, and thus began the process of having something that could be ruined.

[PluMGMK]

I mean, some of his favourite stuff in the series seems to also be what's drawn ire from the people who've grown up with and loved the games.

Maybe it's the fandom who ruined it

[DitherEmotion]

Personally I think blaming the Rabbids games specifically for the drought of Rayman games for a while is very dumb and doesn't have any legs to stand on if you even remotely look into the history of the series, Ubisoft at the time, and just the general gaming landscape of the late 2000s / early 2010s.

Raving Rabbids 1 came out right at the beginning of the 7th gen, and at that time the gaming landscape quickly separated into two different camps: The hardcore realistic brown shooter PS3 and Xbox crowd and the casual gimmicky Wii and DS game crowd. Most platformer series (including Rayman) fall somewhat in the middle, being too complex for the casual market but too "kiddie" for the hardcore gamers, so in that generation they struggled and were quickly abandoned or set aside for more mainstream IPs. Of course, Raving Rabbids 1 just so happened to be the right game and the right time, when the casual game fad started, so it was a hit and Ubisoft heavily capitalized on it as soon as possible.

It also helped that most of the Rabbids games were very quick and cheap minigame collections, so they could be pumped out at a very rapid pace, while a mainline Rayman game would take much longer to develop and be more costly. Hell, Rayman Origins started development in late 2008, just 2 years after Raving Rabbids 1, and didn't come out until late 2011, during which time they released about 4 Rabbids games. Also, if you look at previous Rayman games, you would see that 3-4 years was the average time gap between releases, so not much really changed when the Rabbids came in, other than Ubisoft now having another cash-cow to milk alongside Assassin's Creed and Just Dance. Of course, spinoff games and portable titles are a different story but I digress.

I don't even like the Rabbids games outside of RRR GBA and Go Home (which I haven't played in years) but it still kinda irks me how people blame them for the lack of proper Rayman content for a while instead of the shoddy state of gaming at that time or even just Ubisoft themselves.

[Hunchman801]

Here's something interesting: Just Dance was a spin-off of RRRTVP. Then in Rayman Origins when they realized the story was terrible, instead of fixing it they just replaced the Reveal cutscene with a Just Dance sequence, which apparently is one of Michel's favourite sequences in the entire series. So the Rabbids found an indirect way to ruin even Rayman Origins, which was supposed to be Rayman's post-Rabbid rehabilitation

Every time I'm reminded of this dumb sequence being one of Michel Ancel's favorites in the entire series, a part of me dies.

[PluMGMK]

It just goes to show how differently he sees the series he created to some of its grumpiest most loyal fans

[Hunchman801]

He certainly takes it way less seriously than some fans, which is not necessarily a bad thing when you see some of the reactions from the community. However, there is probably a middle ground to be found when so many people care so much about Rayman's universe and they'd rather see it consolidated than made into a joke.

[Greengoop]

I think it’s pretty funny, Ancel’s so real for not caring about what the fanbase cares about.

[dr_st]

How can you say Rabbids ruined Rayman when they gave him that fancy golden toilet, a wardrobe and a jukebox?

[PluMGMK]

I think it’s pretty funny, Ancel’s so real for not caring about what the fanbase cares about.

I would find it hilarious if I weren't such a longtime member of said fanbase

[Raymesis]

i have a short answer
YES>:V

[Dastanovich]

Multiple factors did, but it mostly comes down to Montpelier constantly being put on projects outside Rayman, and (from what I can tell) being a bit... stingy with the series?

Not a single mainline game was made without them, ports sure, but I'm talking the 5 big games. They're the primary developer. Recent revival seems to be them loosening their grip on the guy by having Milan be a big part of it too. If all goes super well, who knows, maybe they'll trust them to make Rayman games as well after the remake and R4

[Master]

Rayman 3 was done by UbiSoft Paris. I'm not sure what role, if any, Montpellier had. Michel might have had some involvement, but I believe he's on record as saying he would've done it differently: http://web.archive.org/web/200406041227 ... r03/ancel/

Montpellier would have been working on Beyond Good and Evil at the time Rayman 3 was in production. So yeah, 4 games by Montpellier, but the idea of a mainline Rayman game not made by them isn't novel.