Next Tomb Raider game to be Xbox One exclusive. UPDATE : IT'S A TIMED EXCLUSIVE. HURAAY!

[Psykomantis00]

Guess I'm not playing this one. 

[Murdoch]

So Tomb Raider (2013) has thus far sold 6.5 million copies.

 

Xbone owners just reached 5 million. PS4 has reached 10 million.

 

Considering the lack of sales Square Enix will suffer, Microsoft must've paid through the nose for the rights to that exclusive. I honestly don't think Tomb Raider has the kind of pull required to make people buy a console just to play it though.

 

Quite a bizarre deal tbh.

[kuddlesworth9419]

Like Ryse, Tomb Raider will not sell well at all. Cutting your audience straight off the bat is a terrible idea and I always thought that Square Enix said that Tomb Raider 2013 didn't make enough money for them because they spent way too much in development and marketing, if they haven't sold that problem how are they even going to make back a quarter of that money back.

[Davehaslanded]

So Tomb Raider (2013) has thus far sold 6.5 million copies.

Xbone owners just reached 5 million. PS4 has reached 10 million.

Considering the lack of sales Square Enix will suffer, Microsoft must've paid through the nose for the rights to that exclusive. I honestly don't think Tomb Raider has the kind of pull required to make people buy a console just to play it though.

Quite a bizarre deal tbh.

Excellent post. Couldn't have proven the point any better

[Guest]

So Tomb Raider (2013) has thus far sold 6.5 million copies.

 

Xbone owners just reached 5 million. PS4 has reached 10 million.

 

Considering the lack of sales Square Enix will suffer, Microsoft must've paid through the nose for the rights to that exclusive. I honestly don't think Tomb Raider has the kind of pull required to make people buy a console just to play it though.

 

Quite a bizarre deal tbh.

 

Not exactly bizarre, just extremely shortsighted. Now I don't like repeating myself but it all boils down to their humongous and bloated development costs. Tomb Raider 2013 sold 3.4 million copies in the first month IIRC, as you said 6.5 million total, and it was considered a failure. Now if microsoft offers them a huge pile of cash upfront and promises to promote it even further then it might seem like a "good deal" in the eyes of a complete lunatic. And that's how you have to see these people, as completely mental with ridiculous expectations. They think that a story driven, action adventure/puzzle singleplayer game can compete with call of duty in terms of sales. It's ridiculous and it makes their decisions seem bizarre, but in the end they just don't want to (or simply can't) change their ways and they are trying their best to cling to their current model of doing things. "Cash upfront and a free marketing campaign? Seems like a good deal. Our game was really popular so surely people will just switch to the Xbone for it!" <-- delusional CEOs and marketing people who think that they're still relevant and vastly overestimate the importance of their game.

[Ashaira]

Guys guys. chill the fuck out. They'll port it over to the other platforms once they see the sales numbers tank. one year at most it will be on pc and ps4.

[Askew]

MS can go fuck themselves

Dat member title lol

[jnno]

Honestly this is rubbish, if they make it an exclusive, they will be only hurting their reputation and sales in the long run. How much did Microsoft pay them? Would it cover all the profit they would lose from not having it available on the PC and Playstation?

[Tro]

They don't deserve my money if they make it Xbone exclusive. Screw them. 

[killcomic]

This must be Microsoft's way of showing how commited they are to PC gaming.

[Coombzy]

Since when has Tomb Raider even sold well on an Xbox platform... they will see the hate and say screw the money at least that is what i'm hoping because of what they have now done a shitstorm is coming...

[KamiKatze]

I finished TR 2013 last week, fun game, will get the next one once it's on PC for sub 5€ like the 2013 one was.

[Mister Snow]

Full exclusive you say? Always taught of Square enix as a publisher that had some sense left but obviously I was wrong. Oh well, they can shove it up their ass alongside Xbone.

[polke45]

So Tomb Raider (2013) has thus far sold 6.5 million copies.

 

Xbone owners just reached 5 million. PS4 has reached 10 million.

 

Considering the lack of sales Square Enix will suffer, Microsoft must've paid through the nose for the rights to that exclusive. I honestly don't think Tomb Raider has the kind of pull required to make people buy a console just to play it though.

 

Quite a bizarre deal tbh.

 

There are dedicated fan for the Tomb Raider series, but it wouldn't increase Xbox sales significantly. If they get a Final Fantasy exclusive like a spinoff or what so ever, that would have a bigger impact than this

[pk-man]

It's not a full exclusive guys.  There is an expiration date.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-08-13-microsoft-confirms-rise-of-the-tomb-raider-xbox-exclusivity-deal-has-a-duration?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialoomph

[PortentousLad]

I don't get Square Enix' marketing stratagem, they said that the lasst TR game was a failure because it didn't make enough profit so now they reduce costumer base? to all of the 3 guys that own an XBONE? (supposing that the game won't run on the 360X)

 

Oh well that just means one more game I don't have to buy.

[Socky]

Everyone has a pc, but a lot don't have capable pcs...

I said that

[TBoti]

Just when I started getting excited about young Lara's continued adventures, stupid consoles, they should all be erased, except the Wii line, which is fun with friends.

[Danielm888]

They obviously sold out to Microsoft for a shit ton of money or there trolling us. I think its the money though.

[Xorbot]

I don't have any evidence, but this is my gut feeling.

 

I think it is a timed exclusive.  For the publisher to make this game exclusive, Microsoft would have to AT LEAST buy-out every single potential sale that is lost by not being on PS3, PS4, and PC (and maybe Wii U).  And, from the publisher's perspective, "breaking even" on the buy-out of sales is not enough.  I personally would want an extra 20% to 50% on top of that because of alienating more than half the customers that will now be lost.  Basically, it is very illogical when you analyze it.

 

So my gut feeling tells me that yes, it is a timed-exclusive, but the publisher and developer cannot say that it is timed-exclusive due to a clause in the deal.  The reason for the timed-exclusive (if it exists) is to sell more Xbox One consoles because people cannot play the game elsewhere.  Now, there is a lot of overlap.  Yes, it would be extremely cocky of Microsoft to think that people will rush out and buy Xbox Ones just for Tomb Raider.  However, in reality, even I personally may get an Xbox One.  Not because of Tomb Raider as a single title, but also the fact that I cannot play Halo 1-4 remake either.  I am still not quite there yet, but when games keep going exclusive to a console, I have no choice but to buy it if I am to enjoy these game experiences.  So it is obviously Microsoft's interest to "buy-out" sales of games on other consoles and PC in the interest of selling more Xbox Ones, which in turn translates to increased game sales (since you cannot sell a game to someone who doesn't own a system... leaving out gifts, etc of course).

 

So I think that Microsoft wants to give the illusion that the game is indeed exclusive to Xbox One, and it will be for a period of time.  Perhaps just enough time to increase the sales of their console such that the end of timed-exclusivity becomes irrelevant, and then the publisher of Tomb Raider sequel can go ahead and release their sloppy seconds two or three years down the road when no one will care, and they lost the majority of their fans.

 

Let's not forget this aspect of why PC gamers hate consoles.  It is not always the fact that consoles have incredibly inferior hardware and graphics capabilities.  It is actually the tomfoolery of games being degraded in quality once they arrive on PC as a terrible port, but more importantly it is the fact that games are locked away from PC gamers in the interest of money.  PC gamers and each other side of console gamers being locked out of exclusives are forced into a "hardware tax" whereby they have to pay money for terrible console hardware just to gain access to these gameplay experiences.  To me, it is no different than militants taking over a highway and forcing you to pay a toll to continue using a road they did not build.

[A.D.A.M]

I don't have any evidence, but this is my gut feeling.

 

I think it is a timed exclusive.  For the publisher to make this game exclusive, Microsoft would have to AT LEAST buy-out every single potential sale that is lost by not being on PS3, PS4, and PC (and maybe Wii U).  And, from the publisher's perspective, "breaking even" on the buy-out of sales is not enough.  I personally would want an extra 20% to 50% on top of that because of alienating more than half the customers that will now be lost.  Basically, it is very illogical when you analyze it.

 

So my gut feeling tells me that yes, it is a timed-exclusive, but the publisher and developer cannot say that it is timed-exclusive due to a clause in the deal.  The reason for the timed-exclusive (if it exists) is to sell more Xbox One consoles because people cannot play the game elsewhere.  Now, there is a lot of overlap.  Yes, it would be extremely cocky of Microsoft to think that people will rush out and buy Xbox Ones just for Tomb Raider.  However, in reality, even I personally may get an Xbox One.  Not because of Tomb Raider as a single title, but also the fact that I cannot play Halo 1-4 remake either.  I am still not quite there yet, but when games keep going exclusive to a console, I have no choice but to buy it if I am to enjoy these game experiences.  So it is obviously Microsoft's interest to "buy-out" sales of games on other consoles and PC in the interest of selling more Xbox Ones, which in turn translates to increased game sales (since you cannot sell a game to someone who doesn't own a system... leaving out gifts, etc of course).

 

So I think that Microsoft wants to give the illusion that the game is indeed exclusive to Xbox One, and it will be for a period of time.  Perhaps just enough time to increase the sales of their console such that the end of timed-exclusivity becomes irrelevant, and then the publisher of Tomb Raider sequel can go ahead and release their sloppy seconds two or three years down the road when no one will care, and they lost the majority of their fans.

 

Let's not forget this aspect of why PC gamers hate consoles.  It is not always the fact that consoles have incredibly inferior hardware and graphics capabilities.  It is actually the tomfoolery of games being degraded in quality once they arrive on PC as a terrible port, but more importantly it is the fact that games are locked away from PC gamers in the interest of money.  PC gamers and each other side of console gamers being locked out of exclusives are forced into a "hardware tax" whereby they have to pay money for terrible console hardware just to gain access to these gameplay experiences.  To me, it is no different than militants taking over a highway and forcing you to pay a toll to continue using a road they did not build.

http://time.com/3107526/microsoft-xbox-tomb-raider-exclusive/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+timeblogs%2Fnerd_world+(TIME%3A+Techland)

[Xorbot]

http://time.com/3107526/microsoft-xbox-tomb-raider-exclusive/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+timeblogs%2Fnerd_world+(TIME%3A+Techland)

 

Good, good.

[A.D.A.M]

Good, good.

Theres also a topic in the forum about it being timed

[PhilBoisvert]

Aw cmon!! You dont start a serie and then go "yep, lets make it an exclusive" at the second game!! Microsoft soft I hate you!!!

[Guest]

I love how with the reboot last year, Square was so adamant about how inclusive they were- they diverted resources so they could allow it to run on XP! They wanted 'all the fans' to play it. Now? They're just screwing us all over.