Microsoft Grabs Rise of the Tomb Raider in Xbox Exclusive - Update

[ShinobiJedi42]

This baffles me. Square Enix was, not too long ago, complaining about Tomb Raider's sales, now they stand to lose sales. I was planning on getting this, but seeing as how I don't want to put down 400 more dollars to get an XBoxOne, I guess this is one sale Square Enix won't get. I imagine it won't be that different for many others.

 

[Objectable]

Whelp. Square Enix is a bunch of idiots
I wonder who's gonna get fired when it doesn't sell enough copies.

 

[JayRPG]

I love this line:

"Our friends at Microsoft have always seen huge potential in Tomb Raider... We know they will get behind this game more than any support we have had from them in the past."

Yeah mate... and your "friends" at Sony have facilitated that potential since 1996;
I especially like that he ends that paragraph basically saying "Microsoft has never given us anything before but this time they offered us a truckload of cash.. uh I mean a truckload of 'support'.. yeah, that'll stick"

"It's the best thing for the Tomb Raider Sequel."

Yeah, making a franchise that has never, ever, been strongly associated to the Xbox brand exclusive to said brand, which is also the biggest under-performer this generation with the least console sales. Oh and please tell us, Crystal Dynamics, how choosing to develop for the less powerful console will make the game better.

I literally have never played a Tomb Raider game and I think this move is completely fucking stupid.

 

[Kameburger]

I wonder if they are going to release it on PS4 in Japan. Xbox One doesn't exist here, but I bet they still want someone to buy the game. I'm quite curious.

 

[lunavixen]

This seriously blows, I was looking forward to having it in either PS3 or PS4 as I don't know whether my PC would be able to run it when it inevitably gets a PC release. Well, so far they've lost a sale from me, as much as I love the TR series.

 

[Olas]

Congratulations Square Enix, you are an honorary winner of the Escapist Bad Idea award

For making your dangerously expensive game exclusive to an unpopular console that has never been associated with the series.

Shine on you crazy diamond.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Boy I can't wait to see Sony or someone do this with Sony and no one call them out on it.

Why would they? Sony's doing extremely well. There'd be nothing conspicuous about a third-party studio handing a priced IP like Tomb Raider. People are balking at this announcement precisely because the Xbone has no credibility.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

Square Enix complains about Tomb Raider "only" selling around 4 million copies.

So they make an exclusive deal with a system that has sold roughly 4-5 million period.

Yeah... this makes zero business sense.

That is just spooky XD There's no way this is gonna work out.

 

[Vault101]

Like others have said, it's a timed exclusive. Everything about it smells of timed exclusive.

If this isn't a timed exclussive I'm ready to officially declare Square Enix mentally insane. Unless Microsoft gave them the biggest shitton of money, and for a lower tier IP like Tomb Raider that seems doubtful.

Most likely timed exclusive. Well its a property war right now. Seems both Sony and Microsoft are snagging up as many exclusive deals as they can.

Y'all keep saying that but...well they said it wasn't even if it feels like theres a good chance of it happening....well somtimes stupid shit happens....

anyway I've already raged enough over this..

Worst thing is, when this game utterly utterly fails to meet even a fraction of their (unrealistic) projected sales figures, they'll probably shelve the franchise permanently.
.

this is what I'm thinking...even if they time it it wont do as well as they want it too so they'll be like "derp toom ray-der no sell" and kill the fucking franchise....only consolation there is most games don't get past the 3rd one unscathed..BUT STILL

They were very careful with their wording, it may very well be just a "2015 Holiday Exclusive" As the way they worded it it leaves it open to be released 2016+.

On top of that MS track record of keeping 3rd party exclusives on the Xbox isn't very good.

[spoiler/]

[/spoiler]

actually I have a theory

BECAUSE this is so utterley stupid and non sensical to the avergae person here, because it makes no sense its actually going to work out GREAT, Tomb Raider will sell copies AND systms in abundance! then it might get released! or something

....well it worked out for the Wii didn't it?

 

[VoidWanderer]

It seems like the name Crystal Dynamics comes from the decisions they make while on crystal meth...

'Hey Microsoft just dumped some more in front of us and they will give us more if we put it on their obviously better sales, judging by those weird white things they showed us while we snort.'

I was going to grab the PS4 version of this game, but for obvious reasons, I will wait until Uncharted 4 comes out which I actually care about now.

 

[Fdzzaigl]

As a PC gamer who owns most Lara Croft games and who actually enjoyed the previous title a lot. Sincerely: screw you microsoft.
Even if I wanted to buy your frekking XBONE (which I don't), I CAN'T even find one in any store around here up unto next month. That's with being in the middle of Europe, a two hour drive from the place where you made the announcement.

You've already lost the console wars with the bullshit at the start, the weak games on them and the fact that you simply can't buy them in many countries that are FAR from being third-world grade. Places where the PS4 was representing pretty much as soon as it popped up.

But apparently they haven't gotten the message and are now planning to spit in the face of gamers some more by making a sequel to a successful multiplatform an exclusive, thereby hoping that people will buy their crap. Well, simply put: no.

 

[Dead Metal]

I believe this is SquarEnix trying to sabotage the Tomb Raider IP. We know that Square hates the Eidos IPs since they were upstaged by them after they bought Eidos.

Once this is out and barely anybody buys it they can say that the IP does not have enough interest from the buying public and can finally justify killing it. Same will happen with Thief and Deus Ex.

 

[V4Viewtiful]

It seems like the name Crystal Dynamics comes from the decisions they make while on crystal meth...

Zing!

Time will tell if this ends up financially beneficial. Lets hope not.

 

[Rozalia1]

... You know I heard someone put it like this. Tomb Raider and Uncharted will release around the same time and being dueling games they might be worried their sales might be eradicated on the PS4 by owners buying uncharted instead of Tomb Raider...so they take Microsoft's money now, avoid Uncharted essentially and in 2016 they release on the other platforms whereupon they believe everyone who is currently angry will buy the game anyway whatever they are saying.
Put like that it does actually sound quite smart...but it can of course backfire and will undoubtedly sour their reputation.

For example I'm not going to be getting Dead Rising 3 for the PC whatever price it gets slapped down to simply because of their exclusivity nonsense. First game being exclusive was fine, second (which was multiplat) having DLC shenanigans I could stomach, the third making the series "exclusive" again just made me go nope.

 

[unstabLized]

I really hope this is a timed exclusive. If it was on PS4, it could be more forgiving for me since I might pick one up anyway, when some more games come out, but Xbox One? Fuck no. I'm staying as far away from Microsoft as possible. Plus Tomb Raider is not a system seller. Far from it.

I really hope it makes it onto PC. Tomb Raider was an awesome game, so much that I played it 2-3 times.

 

[RealRT]

Meanwhile Sony will have the same game but better with Uncharted 4.

 

[BloodSquirrel]

Nintendo or Sony gets an exclusive: "Good job! That's another reason to buy your console!"

MS gets an exclusive: "What? How dare they! I'll show them by refusing to buy their console!"

You can always rely on the Escapist for an absurd level of anti-MS bias.

Given Squeenix's financials, it's quite possible that funding from MS was extremely helpful in getting them game out in the first place.

 

[erbkaiser]

Confirmed to be a timed exclusive [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-08-13-microsoft-confirms-rise-of-the-tomb-raider-xbox-exclusivity-deal-has-a-duration]. Well, that's something. I'll buy it in a year or two on discount for my PS4.

 

[G00N3R7883]

Confirmed to be a timed exclusive [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-08-13-microsoft-confirms-rise-of-the-tomb-raider-xbox-exclusivity-deal-has-a-duration]. Well, that's something. I'll buy it in a year or two on discount for my PS4.

Still shrouded in confusing corporate speak. He kept referring to the "franchise" rather than the specific game Rise of the Tomb Raider. It might mean the game after that can go to other platforms. It might be referring to the Osiris spin off. I am feeling a bit better about this, but I just would like 100% clarity. Hopefully if Microsoft are willing to open up in this interview, SE or CD might be allowed to explain in more detail. I own a 360 as well as my PC so worst case I could potentially enjoy a lower quality version (but I would still feel bad for anyone who missed out).

 

[Tien Shen]

I wonder how much money Microsoft flashed to get CD to jump on a sinking boat. And when the game sales tank due to it being stuck on 1 platform (and not even the market leader), how fast will SE kill the franchise.