The AC games are notoriously bad for overlong tutorials.  For the first couple games, it made sense; they are quite complicated control-wise.  Now, I think they could get away with having an option to skip the tutorial.  Of course, this would mean building such a thing in, since they meld their tutorials too closely to the story.

Daniel,

I totally understand where you're coming from, and I agree for the most part, particuarly Connor's first section. "What the hell is this hide and seek shit?" I think were the words that came out of my mouth.

That being said, the prologue is killer. I love how it plays on the gamer's assumptions. However, all the tutorial bits that came afterward--sans the naval ship, Pirates of the Caribbean simulator segment--were a bit too much.

I must have been one of the few people who actually enjoyed the first three sequences. I felt they did a great job of setting everything up, and still included fighting so I wasn't too bored. Plus, the last line of Sequence 3 was so worth it. Who saw that coming?

"Once the tutorial was over I set myself loose, and I could finally say, “The game is good. I’m enjoying it!” I was the opposite at this point in the game. The first half of the story was great, but eventually it fizzled out, and took a back seat to Connor's rage. The game felt un-polished. The free running in the cities were terrible, and the chase scenes caused massive frustration. 

I do find it funny that there is a 6 hourish tutorial, but the game doesn't teach you everything. LIke how to level your Artisans, or how to craft or that you can upgrade your ship. Sure you are given a lenghty tutorial on hunting and hiding, but not how to expand your homestead. 

I really wanted to enjoy this game, it is (or was) my favorite franchise. The game feelis like they added to many features, and because of that there wasn't enough time to polish the game. 

You say perhaps they "aren't trying to appeal to new audiences", but at the same time, isn't an overly-long tutorial not giving credit to long-time fans, either? The idea of a tutorial you can skip through makes a lot of sense, but you hit the nail on the head when noting how the story is woven into it.
I'm a little behind, just now playing Brotherhood, but noticing a similar thing. The title implies a "brotherhood" of assassins, but you don't even begin to assemble them until the fourth memory sequence.
There are a massive number of things to do in the Assassin's Creed games, and even after tutorials, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed, as you mentioned. Perhaps the games are simply TOO big?
Of course not. When new players grab a deep RPG or RTS, it's not rare to be tossed to the wolves and really dig to find everything the game offers on your own time. Maybe Ubisoft should start taking that approach.

Brendan Keogh summed up everything that's wrong with Assassin's Creed III (storywise)in a single tweet: 
"NO. GO AWAY DESMOND. I DON'T CARE."

Thing is, the tutorial doesn't even do its job well. The trading system is still a mystery to me, as is how we make money, which I suppose go hand in hand. So many of the abstract mechanics of homestead building, trading, caravans etc left unexplained. Likewise combat is brushed aside and it's something you do almost constantly. Sure they touch on it during your maiden voyage, but never again.

Disappointing game Ubisoft. Assassin's Creed remains about unfulfilled potential.