My issue as an Xbox owner is, yeah, Microsoft game me squat. I get no benefit from this. They didn't pay to make my experience better; they paid so everyone else would have a lesser experience.
This is much more frustrating when they openly said "we don't have our own action adventure game to compete with Uncharted" in justifying the move... so, rather than create one, they just decided to buy it.
This painted them as bullies holding something a majority of Tomb Raider players wanted for ransom and, rather than make people want an Xbox One, made them just hate the company for using their money to get between them and their gaming hobby.
And Xbox owners, I've seen, are upset because Microsoft has all these deep pockets and squandered them on this deal, rather than investing in one of their many struggling studios or properties. It's not like they don't OWN a library of some of the greatest adventure games of all time after they bought RARE. But, no, let's NOT make a new Conker, or Banjo-Kazooie, or Perfect Dark, or Battletoads, or Jet Force Gemini, or even Blast Corp or Kameo...
For perspective, Microsoft spent over $400 million securing the rights to an NFL app for Xbox... the same amount Rockstar and 2K Games spent creating Grand Theft Auto V. Let that sink in.
TiberiusEsuriens said:
Ben's original article makes several very valid points. Key is that without the Microsoft cash influx into this game, it would most likely not exist at all. Unfortunately we're likely to never get the full story, because "We don't have faith in this game by itself" and "We needed outside funding to pull it off" are terrible things for a marketing team to say. If this industry only had more transparency, I don't think we'd be complaining about it. (nearly as much)
Square Enix announced a sequel to this game AGES ago. It was always going to happen. In fact, according to Square Enix's financial reports, Tomb Raider is one of their most profitable and successful games this ENTIRE console generation, and has surpassed nearly 7 million in sales. A sequel was never in question. Square Enix was just being stupid when they said it was "disappointing" their estimates after one single solitary month (of selling 3 million copies), because they didn't think the game would have the legs it did to keep selling. They were wrong and the game was one of the brightest feathers in their cap (especially compared to how much money Final Fantasy XIV's launch, lackluster FF13 sequels, and other disasters cost them).
Square Enix isn't some poor indie studio hurting for money. The series has always thrived on Playstation and PC, more so than Xbox. The PS4 version outsold the Xbox One version nearly two-to-one, and now the PS4 is outselling the Xbox One itself 3-to-1. If Square Enix was disappointed in Tomb Raider's sales at first, needing over 5 million to be profitable, there aren't even 5 million Xbox Ones in people's homes yet globally. They cut off PC as well, with over 65 million Steam users as potential buyers. PS4 just crossed 10 million sold to customers, tracking to be nearly 30 million by Holiday 2015 when this game ships.
I have no idea how much money Xbox gave them, but I simply don't see how locking off 80% of your audience is a financially sound investment. Worse, the PR hit does damage that money simply can't buy back. Microsoft came across as bullies and Square Enix looked like they were willing to screw over their most hardcore, loyal, and supportive fans in favor of a quick buck.
I don't think it was worth it.
