Rise of the Tomb Raider is EXCLUSIVE to Xbox One (for a while)

[fat_moogle]

So this has just been announced as an Xbox One exclusive. All I can say is...WHAT THE HELL?!

[Ayen]

Source (http://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2014/08/12/gamescom-2014-rise-of-the-tomb-raider-ps4-not-happening/)

Might just be a timed exclusive. The PlayStation version of Tomb Raider sold more copies than their Xbox counterpart, so if Square cares about money it will eventually get a PlayStation release. Microsoft must have thrown some money Square's way or something. They've been getting their asses kicked since this generation started so why not make some anticipated games exclusive to get people to buy their crap?

[Shauna]

smurf off squeenix/crystal dynamics

[Bolivar]

It makes some sense as Microsoft unveiled and pushed the new Tomb Raider hard, despite how the sales story turned out. But these kind of deals always work better with new IPs rather than existing franchises, especially when that series is more popular on other platforms. Add in how the Xbox One version of Tomb Raider ran at half the resolution and frame rate as its PS4 counterpart and alienating that (bigger) demographic starts to make less and less sense. I suppose they forgot what happened with Titanfall, which is ironically the point in itself - no one talks about that game anymore. If Respawn can't thrive on a next-gen Xbox community it's hard to imagine how Crystal Dynamics can.

The most bizarre part of this story is that they're positioning this game to go head to head with Uncharted 4, which is being helmed by the lead designers behind The Last of Us and Uncharted 2. I really would not be going for that kind of matchup if I were them.

[Aulayna]

At first I was mad.

Then I realised it'll still get released on PC eventually (see "exclusive" Dead Rising 3).

Then I stopped caring.

[Dat Matt]

_n5E7feJHw0

[Mirage]

It'll never be more than a timed exclusive

[Dat Matt]

http://tombraider.tumblr.com/post/94529480860/rise-of-the-tomb-raider-update

"This doesn’t mean that we’re walking away from our fans who only play on PlayStation or on PC. Those are great systems, with great partners, and amazing communities. We have Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris coming to those platforms this December, and Tomb Raider: The Definitive Edition is available on PS4."

[fat_moogle]

Not walking away? A PSN arcade title and a game that already released last year on PS3 and again this year on PS4? Bore off Square Enix! I thought Tomb Raider was a great game, I played it on PS3 (only rented it when it released as I was strapped for cash) and the ending made me think "I can't wait for the sequel". So when it was announced at E3 this year with a trailer of course I was excited. I'm getting a PS4 in October and Rise of the Tomb Raider was definitely going to be a day one purchase in 2015, obviously not now. I feel that Square Enix will definitely regret their decision.

[Bolivar]

The letter seems to have done more harm than good. They also couldn't possibly have timed it worse this as they just announced the 10 million PS4s sold through.

[Hollycat]

What a way to follow up a game that didn't reach sales expectations.

[fat_moogle]

What a way to follow up a game that didn't reach sales expectations.

It really doesn't make ANY sense. Are Square Enix / Crystal Dynamics THAT stupid as to make Rise of the Tomb Raider a real Xbox One exclusive? I can't see it, personally. We'll see it on PS4 eventually, with all DLC...definitive edition =p

[Lone Wolf Leonhart]

The Tomb Raider series has sold especially well on PlayStation consoles over the years. There must be some big behind the scenes business decisions going on if they came to this outcome.

Having this be an Xbox One exclusive isn't bad news for me, personally. I bought Tomb Raider (2013) For the 360 so I probably would have ended up getting this for the One anyway cause I like to have my "colors match".

As someone who played and enjoyed Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, I can say that PlayStation fans should definitely look forward to the Temple of Osiris. That game will be a LOT of fun if the first one is anything to go by.

[Mo-Nercy]

I don't usually buy games as new releases anymore, so this doesn't anger/confuse me as it once would have.

I don't really understand the point of why they've done this though.

[Uchu]

Was genuinely surprised by this announcement. As people have said above, it will probably land on PC eventually, as for PS4 though, well, I guess it depends on how much money MS has thrown at it.

If it does come to PS4 I can just imagine the backlash and negative comments both MS and SE will receive. "You lied to us..!" "I will never buy SE games again...!" "I sold my kidney for this XBone...!" :blahblah:

[Ayen]

Just give me my PC release. That's the only way I'm going to be able to play this game within the next five or six years.

[Aulayna]

It's a timed deal.

http://kotaku.com/rise-of-the-tomb-raider-isnt-really-an-xbox-exclusive-1620772963

[Ayen]

(both 360 and One)

Oh, I didn't think they'd still be releasing these on last gen by that point. Okay, I'm good.

[Rantz]

This sort of marketing tactic makes me lol. From the Kotaku comments...


Congrats, Microsoft and Square Enix! Hope the smurfton of negative PR and pissed off fans you just generated by the way you handled this "announcement" and "explanation to fans" was worth the 3-6 month exclusivity deal. Next time just take a leaf out of Sony's book and go with "first on Xbox" or "console debut on Xbox", and don't say "PC and PS4 gamers can play the older game instead!"

[fat_moogle]

Silver nailed it on the head.

So I guess this thread title can be changed now?!

[Shauna]

Sorted. ;)

[fat_moogle]

Sorted. ;)
Not quite, it's coming to 360 at the same time as One, so it's no longer just an Xbox One exclusive =p

This reveal was handled really badly.

[Shauna]

360, One, it's all MS.

[Vyk]

Just ugh. I have a 360. We played the original on 360. I might have been willing to support it on 360 eventually. But now it seems more prudent that if I ever support it, I should buy it on PS3 or 4 to help send that message that they're dumb. I feel bad for Crystal Dynamics. I get the impression that Square is treating them poorly in this regard. Always forced to churn out new Tomb Raiders, and then treating what they churn out so poorly. But I guess at least they still exist. Unlike the original developers

[Sephiroth]

I believe this as much as there is no sequel to Final Fantasy X-2. It is called marketing.

[Uchu]

Read the Eurogamer (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-08-13-microsoft-confirms-rise-of-the-tomb-raider-xbox-exclusivity-deal-has-a-duration) article last night about it being timed... my word, the amount of marketing BS that is going on is unreal.

[fat_moogle]

It's crazy how things can spiral on the Internet.
Still going to buy it when it eventually comes to PS4. Wonder how long the deal is for?

[Shauna]

It is a really sad state of affairs that the majority of people who read this news assumed the worst about the companies involved. There was not a single benefit of doubt given to either party. Not that they deserved it, but yeah.

Sad and telling of the state of the industry.

[Bolivar]

I rather think skepticism is a normal and useful component of a healthy consummerate.

Even if it wasn't, most reactions I read were under the (correct) impression that this deal had a duration. Although Microsoft execs initially tried to convince people otherwise:https://mobile.twitter.com/aarongreenberg/status/499201151179685889

[Ayen]

I had a conversation about timed exclusives the other day on Google Plus, and I don't think Microsoft is the only one guilty of this. To quote:


Now, thanks to middleware, you can easily port between, say the 360 and the PS3. There is no technical reason to only put it on one console. So MS and Sony now have to make up Timed Exclusives to force a 3rd party game on their console.

Gamers have figured out that Timed Exclusives are Timed, so they can just wait it out. So to sweeten the pot a little, Marketing throws some BS and tries to confuse everyone into thinking it will ONLY come out for the XBox and hopes you won't read the fine print.

Timed exclusives feel like a last ditch effort to make two similar platforms look better than the other.

[Bolivar]

You'll still get plenty of real 3rd party exclusives going forward, just not from Microsoft. Sony and Nintendo both fund and assist with the development of games like Journey, Bayonetta 2, and Bloodborne, whereas Microsoft largely allowed their internal development teams to shrink last generation as they moved on to pursue Kinect (and this generation with TV). They just don't have the manpower to do anything except pay third parties to stop developing the already-ongoing multiplatform versions of their games.

That's what the Tomb Raider backlash was about and a big reason why so many 360 owners have switched over to PS4.

[Uchu]

I had a conversation about timed exclusives the other day on Google Plus, and I don't think Microsoft is the only one guilty of this. To quote:


Now, thanks to middleware, you can easily port between, say the 360 and the PS3. There is no technical reason to only put it on one console. So MS and Sony now have to make up Timed Exclusives to force a 3rd party game on their console.

Gamers have figured out that Timed Exclusives are Timed, so they can just wait it out. So to sweeten the pot a little, Marketing throws some BS and tries to confuse everyone into thinking it will ONLY come out for the XBox and hopes you won't read the fine print.

Timed exclusives feel like a last ditch effort to make two similar platforms look better than the other.

Always makes me laugh when they announce things like this at press conferences and everybody cheers, when at the same time i'm sitting in my computer chair thinking "Why are you so happy about this...?".