Ubisoft: Rayman Origins turned a profit, could be “long-term seller”

Under-appreciated gem was doing fine all along, says publisher

Words: Tom_Goulter on February 15, 2012

Rayman Origins “can be too tough for some,” we said at the time of release, “but we’re betting even the more casual players will soon find themselves hopelessly addicted.” That turned out to be a sound bet. With the game's sales never making headlines, many feared that the title could become another beloved failure – but Ubisoft's revealed that actually, Michel Ansel's 2D reinvention of his own signature character did just fine.

While exact budget or sales figures weren't released in the conference-call between Ubi and its investors, the company confirmed that Rayman: Origins has turned a profit and "has the capacity to become a long-term seller for the company." Which is great news, showing that even in a climate of aggressively-hyped cookie-cutter Big Guns Army Mans titles, a title like Origins can still hold its own. But an article about a commercially-successful videogame in which we don't get to berate you for neglecting Psychonauts or Okami? This is scarcely the Internet as we know it...

Platforms:

3DS, PC, PS Vita, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii

Topics:

Rayman, Ubisoft

17 comments

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birdman1041 - February 18, 2012 3:56 a.m.

Long live the 2D platformer!
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ChaosEternal - February 17, 2012 10:07 a.m.

I'm glad this is selling well, I had Rayman Advance, Rayman 2 on the computer, and Rayman 3 on the GBA, and I loved them all. They were fantastic games with a beautiful and unique art style. I regret trading the two GBA Rayman games years ago. If I found them again, I would buy them.
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HaVoK308 - February 16, 2012 8:31 p.m.

Very good news! One of the Best platformers in ages in my opinion. And definitely one of the most beautiful games this generation.
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cory-smith - February 16, 2012 7:47 a.m.

Ubisoft in early 2011: "If Beyond Good & Evil HD sells well, we'll consider making Beyond Good & Evil." It sold well, no response. Ubisoft in late 2011: "We will consider making Beyond Good & Evil 2 if Rayman Origins sells well." Now that Rayman Origins is making you a profit start making Beyond Good & Evil 2 already! Or are you going to screw us over again and use your money to make another lazer-tag video game that is never released?
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El Dango - February 16, 2012 9:55 a.m.

Michel Ancel, the creator of both BG&E and Rayman, has said that BG&E2 is going to wait until consoles are powerful enough to run it. Apparently it's a pretty huge project.
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inkyspot - February 16, 2012 5:06 a.m.

Glad o see they did turn in a profit. I will be picking it up when it comes cheaper, at the current price I think it's too much for me. I'll pay ^0 for a ME3, a GTA 5, a Uncharted, I can go on and on, but this, as beautiful as I thought it was, the starting price was too much. Wasn't this originally set to be a DLC title anyeay? Curious to confirm this rumor.
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bebl09 - February 17, 2012 7:46 a.m.

You'd pay 1 for it? You know, cause any number ^0 = 1.
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mattdark - February 15, 2012 11:13 p.m.

To me, this just means the game was way overpriced what it first came out. Dont get me wrong, I love the game. But at £40/$60, its quite a steep price for what you get. To say they still turned a profit after many stores dive-bombed the price down within weeks of its release (Most stores in the UK have it for around £20-25 now) Only makes me feel this would have worked better as a PSN/XBLA downloadable. Put it in as a £10/$15 dollar download, and you might have seen more sales, as people wouldnt be so put off by the higher prices. And probably just as good a profit, seeing as its done so well already as it sails just a little short of the bargain-bin prices...
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V22Dreamcast - February 15, 2012 7:58 p.m.

Two words: YES! YES! So much fun that if I get a PS Vita, I'll buy the game all over again.
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Spiderman - February 15, 2012 7:09 p.m.

This is happy news. Yay!
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eckhartd - February 15, 2012 6:38 p.m.

And there it is! In the second to last sentence...
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BladedFalcon - February 15, 2012 5:20 p.m.

This is excellent news! :D I loved and adored this game. And I have been sad and disappointed (albeit not surprised) that it had sold poorly at first. But well, to ehar it's making a profit is jsut uplifting ^^ Now let's hope this means that Ubisoft will give Ancel more room to breathe and put out equally great games. And for fucks sake, don't release his games in such obviously misguided, busy dates again >_>;
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IceBlueKirby - February 15, 2012 5:19 p.m.

I paid $40 for Origins on Black Friday, and it was worth every penny. I'm happy to hear Ubi not only made money off it, but realizes there is potential for the series in the future, which means we may yet see more amazing 2D platformers before too long. Here's hoping that's what they're getting at, anyway.
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ninjaemperor - February 15, 2012 5:08 p.m.

I am so thrilled to hear this, everyone was so sure it was going to fail(including myself). I think we're all very happy we were wrong.
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doominatorx6 - February 15, 2012 4:44 p.m.

I think it turned a profit because more people took interest after the price drop. Nobody wanted to pay 60 bucks for a 2d platformer. I haven't played it (yet, and I've been told I really should), but I wouldn't pay that much for that sort of game. 20-30 bucks for a game like this is a much fairer price, and I guess everyone thought the same, hence why the sales went from "shit" to "profitable."
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BladedFalcon - February 15, 2012 5:09 p.m.

I did want to pay 60 bucks for a 2D Platformer, and guess what? it was completely worth it. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that 2D games are nowadays never nearly as popular as 3D ones. But i don't really like it when people make comments like: "Oh, it's a 2D game, so it automatically means it can't be worth full price." I mean, I'm sorry, but when a game is fully featured, extremely well polished, and with more offline content than your average TPS or FPS, how is NOT worth full price? Game-play and content wise I can guarantee you it offers more variety and depth than a good chunk of full priced games. Just because it's not on 3D, doesn't mean is less of a game.
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Japanaman - February 15, 2012 4:41 p.m.

How on Earth did that game turn a profit? It was $19.99 on any console at Toys R Us two weeks in a row and most retailers were selling it for $30. The game had just barely come out and already it was selling for 50% off or more. Maybe they sold a lot of copies which helped them make a profit, but typically when a game goes on sale so quickly, it reeks. But then again, Saints Row: The Third was $29.99 a month after release at Best Buy and it is a great game.
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