Microsoft confirms Rise of the Tomb Raider Xbox exclusivity deal "has a duration"

[soniqstylz]

This is the bit I don't get about the haters.  They'll get the game shortly after Xbox owners and they will get it because MS invested in the game's development. 

 

I guess it's easier to bash Microsoft if you don't let facts get in the way.

 

So you'd rather have no game at all rather than a timed exclusive?

 

You do realise MS are chipping in for development costs? If they didn't, SE didn't think the reboot of TR was profitable enough to do another. 

 

*cough*

MS is also know for the old "Embrace, extend and extinguish" so excuse me for not being so optimistic about them not locking stuff.

 

Even if they made a profit on the hardware this time, while I'm not sure of, I do suspect that software brings the bulk in and while the idea of a Netflix seems noble, it is also more complicated with games. And then you add sharing to it. I honestly have no clue how they'd go about it, but I really doubt it would be financially feasible for MS or anyone else any time soon.

 

We know money changed hands, but do you have a source for this claim you're making? For all I know right now, the money could have been used by the Squeenix execs on hookers.

 

Phil Spencer is quoted as saying they are spending money on marketing and helping with development.

[+Random Stranger Subscriber¹]

This is the bit I don't get about the haters.  They'll get the game shortly after Xbox owners and they will get it because MS invested in the game's development. 

 

I guess it's easier to bash Microsoft if you don't let facts get in the way.

 

Ohh, come on!   That is just not true.   Its funny that you so seriously believe that they would have stopped Tomb Raider franchise, right after such high profile reboot. 

[Polonium]

All hail MS the saviours of Tomb Raider .... Oh wait.

Don't believe all you read. SE made money and didn't need MS to fund the new game. They were offered a wedge of cash to make it timed exclusive. End of.

[trooper11]

MS is also know for the old "Embrace, extend and extinguish" so excuse me for not being so optimistic about them not locking stuff.

That's fine, you can distrust them all you like. My point stands that their current actions are far different from the past in reaction to the changing market.

We will see what path they choose.

Listen, its not a ###### for tat thing. Doesn't matter who does it, its a dirty tactic.

Bottom line is the game isnt exclusive to Xbox so this is now a non event.

Timed exclusives is clearly something MS think can help them this generation, let them try it. I only hope when it proves to be unsuccessful, they spend that sort of money on developing new and refreshing ideas for their platform.

MS and Sony both think timed exclusives can help them. Count the number of times Sony and MS used the words 'first on...' etc. Timed exclusives are all the rage.

Do they work? Well we will see. I would guess that all of the other timed exclusives that didn't get this backlash fare better than this game. The negative pr online will probably hurt X1 sales.

[theyarecomingforyou]

You do realise MS are chipping in for development costs? If they didn't, SE didn't think the reboot of TR was profitable enough to do another. 

That's utter nonsense. The Tomb Raider reboot was extremely successful, despite failing to meet unrealistic internal targets. It was the best selling game in the franchise by a significant margin and outperformed comparable titles. The cost of the sequel will be much lower, given they already have the engine and gameplay from the previous game. The game would have happened without Microsoft, regardless of what either party claims.

 

We heard similar claims about Dead Rising 3, despite the fact it was already in production as a high-end PC title before Microsoft entered into an agreement to make it an XB1 exclusive.

[jakem1]

Ohh, come on!   That is just not true.   Its funny that you so seriously believe that they would have stopped Tomb Raider franchise, right after such high profile reboot. 

 

Sorry to rain on your parade but...

 

 

"Our friends at Microsoft have always seen huge potential in Tomb Raider and have believed in our vision since our first unveil with them on their stage at E3 2011," developer Crystal Dynamics wrote in a blog post accompanying the announcement at Microsoft's Gamescom press briefing. "We know they will get behind this game more than any support we have had from them in the past?we believe this will be a step to really forging the Tomb Raider brand as one of the biggest in gaming, with the help, belief and backing of a major partner like Microsoft."

 

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/08/new-tomb-raider-game-coming-exclusively-to-xbox-one-next-year/

 

Or...

 

 

From a business perspective, it's easy to see why the idea of Xbox exclusivity might be appealing to Square Enix. While last year's Tomb Raider reboot eventually achieved profitability after six million sales, Square Enix's financial reports revealed that even 3.4 million sales in the first month were not enough to meet early targets. Both of those data points suggest a game with a ridiculously large development budget, which needed similarly large sales to make up for it. Industry analyst Billy Pidgeon estimated that, for games like Tomb Raider, total costs could end up "approaching $100 million," meaning the publisher would need sales "in the five to 10 million unit range" to break even.

 

Signing an exclusive deal with a console maker like Microsoft can remove a lot of that risk, giving the publisher a big cash infusion before they've even finished development or sold a single copy. Or the business benefits might come in more indirect forms. As EEDAR CPO Geoffrey Zatkin told Polygon, these exclusivity deals sometimes involve increased marketing, reduced royalty rates, or even the loaning of development talent to the game publisher.

 

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/08/the-business-realities-of-microsofts-tomb-raider-exclusive/

[Luc2k]

TotalBiscuit talks about this in his latest video. I'm halfway in and he's already making some damn good points:

 

 

*cough*

 

Phil Spencer is quoted as saying they are spending money on marketing and helping with development.

Marketing is a no brainer since the game is a timed exclusive and "helping with development", strangely, doesn't sound like "no game without our money".

 

I love how TB addresses the exclusives fanboys and they'll cry when something similar will happen to them.

[spenser.d]

Sorry to rain on your parade but...

 

 

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/08/new-tomb-raider-game-coming-exclusively-to-xbox-one-next-year/

 

Or...

 

 

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/08/the-business-realities-of-microsofts-tomb-raider-exclusive/

 

Careful now, you wouldn't want facts getting in the way of a perfectly nonsensical tirade...

[Polonium]

Of course they are going to say whatever MS want them too... They did at gamescom as well. MS have paid them to be their puppets.

Just because CD say they are getting funding for development doesn't mean jack.

Wake up and smell the beans.

[Luc2k]

Of course they are going to say whatever MS want them too... They did at gamescom as well. MS have paid them to be their puppets.

Just because CD say they are getting funding for development doesn't mean jack.

Wake up and smell the beans.

They can't, they're invested in the Xbox. They need something to make them feel special, even if it hurts all consumers in the long run.

[jakem1]

Of course they are going to say whatever MS want them too... They did at gamescom as well. MS have paid them to be their puppets.

Just because CD say they are getting funding for development doesn't mean jack.

Wake up and smell the beans.

 

If that's what your argument boils down to then you might as well have saved yourself the effort of typing it out. 

[theyarecomingforyou]

TotalBiscuit talks about this in his latest video. I'm halfway in and he's already making some damn good points:

 

Yeah. Microsoft lied by omission when it claimed Rise Of The Tomb Raider was coming Fall 2014 exclusively to XB1. The announcement was utterly disingenuous and it has backfired.

 

Nobody is disputing that Square Enix made the move for business reasons, as it eliminated the risk associated with a AAA game. We get that. The problem is that it screws over fans of the series that game on PC and PS4. This move is bad for gamers - it only benefits Square Enix and Microsoft, which I obviously couldn't care less about. It also raises questions, like will the graphics be dumbed down because the XB1 is the least powerful next-gen platform? Microsoft wouldn't want the game to run better on PS4 than XB1, as was the case with the previous release.

[jakem1]

They can't, they're invested in the Xbox. They need something to make them feel special, even if it hurts all consumers in the long run.

 

As I've already said, all consumers benefit in the long run because you might not have this game at all without Microsoft's investment.  Having to wait a few months longer if you don't want to play it on an Xbox is hardly the end of the world as, at the end of the day, it is just a silly game.

[spenser.d]

They can't, they're invested in the Xbox. They need something to make them feel special, even if it hurts all consumers in the long run.

 

You put too much stock in what TR means to anyone...you're the one blowing it out of proportion after all.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

The new TR wouldn't have came about if it wasn't for this deal? Yeah okay, one of the most successful franchises and iconic characters in the gaming world was about to drop dead in favour of Square and CD going with a completely new IP instead  :rolleyes: We know how the gaming industry loves new IPs instead of milking franchises.

[jakem1]

The new TR wouldn't have came about if it wasn't for this deal? Yeah okay, one of the most successful franchises and iconic characters in the gaming world was about to drop dead in favour of Square and CD going with a completely new IP instead  :rolleyes: We know how the gaming industry loves new IPs instead of milking franchises.

 

That's not what I meant.  The game might have taken longer to release, been less ambitious, etc.  It's obvious that the costs are high for a game like this and it's clear that Square and CD needed help covering them.  Who knows what you might have ended up with without Microsoft's help but it's clearly not going to disadvantage "all consumers".

[spenser.d]

snip

 

Let me ask you why on earth you think it would be in Microsoft's best interest to fork over a boatload of money for a timed exclusive without also ensuring that that money goes toward making the game that much better. It wouldn't be a good deal for them to get a timed exclusive on a pile of crap.

[Luc2k]

As I've already said, all consumers benefit in the long run because you might not have this game at all without Microsoft's investment.  Having to wait a few months longer if you don't want to play it on an Xbox is hardly the end of the world as, at the end of the day, it is just a silly game.

Keep telling yourself that MS saved it. One of the longest franchises in gaming, which has been in worst spots would have been cancelled because it didn't meet Sqeenix bloated projections. Having to wait is not a problem, legitimising this crap is. It's not my fault MS happened to be the ones that actually pulled this stupid move with a significant franchise.

 

At the end of the day, would you have defended Sony the same way you defend MS if they were the ones that went for the deal? I know I would have said the same things, and even if this was a case of someone paying a wad of cash to do the same on PC.

 

You put too much stock in what TR means to anyone...you're the one blowing it out of proportion after all.

It must mean something to somebody since it sold over 6 million and there are people gloating about it being a exclusive and defending an anti-consumer move.

[spenser.d]

It must mean something to somebody since it sold over 6 million and there are people gloating about it being a exclusive.

 

Hooray? It still doesn't make the Xbox One.

[Polonium]

Let me ask you why on earth you think it would be in Microsoft's best interest to fork over a boatload of money for a timed exclusive without also ensuring that that money goes toward making the game that much better. It wouldn't be a good deal for them to get a timed exclusive on a pile of crap.

 

Fair point and I'm glad we are now discussing without the hidden anger, no point in making it personal ... We just have differing opinions.

Of course they don't want it to be rubbish, but the last TR game was anything but rubbish so CD have the engine, they will have written the script already (granted it will no doubt be tweaked as time goes on), and I'm quite sure that CD programmers are capable of writing code for the new gen of consoles and PC. I don't see how MS can help, apart from with advertising.

MS know full well that the definitive TR game sold far far better on PS platform than their own so by getting exclusivity they can try and get more sales of their own, hoping people will rush out to buy an xbone to play it on, thinking it was exclusive. Maybe also they can make sure that the ps4 version is kept to the same level as the xbone, unlike in the last one.

I just don't believe anything MS or SE say here. They didn't need the money. They really don't need advertising as the game sold well. SE were still probably annoyed at Sony for selling their shares?

The whole deal and the way it was put across to the public and media stinks.

[spenser.d]

Fair point and I'm glad we are now discussing without the hidden anger, no point in making it personal ... We just have differing opinions.

Of course they don't want it to be rubbish, but the last TR game was anything but rubbish so CD have the engine, they will have written the script already (granted it will no doubt be tweaked as time goes on), and I'm quite sure that CD programmers are capable of writing code for the new gen of consoles and PC. I don't see how MS can help, apart from with advertising.

MS know full well that the definitive TR game sold far far better on PS platform than their own so by getting exclusivity they can try and get more sales of their own, hoping people will rush out to buy an xbone to play it on, thinking it was exclusive. Maybe also they can make sure that the ps4 version is kept to the same level as the xbone, unlike in the last one.

I just don't believe anything MS or SE say here. They didn't need the money. They really don't need advertising as the game sold well. SE were still probably annoyed at Sony for selling their shares?

The whole deal and the way it was put an as to the public and media stinks.

 

Just because you don't see how they can be helped doesn't mean they can't, or that they're lying to you. Any kind of software dev can always be helped by more money. You get more devs, you get more done. Software dev is never really finished so the more help you have, the better. And they can try more things and do even more that perhaps they planned with that.

 

And there's no anger here, just complete amusement.

[Polonium]

And in the same manner, just because you believe what the devs have said doesn't mean its true.

Bottom line. Nobody outside of the companies in question know what went down and we never will. We are all just guessing.

What really stinks though is the way it was delivered to the media. It was shady. Not to mention taking a game that had sold better elsewhere and making it exclusive.

I get it though, MS are in a hole and have tried everything they can but nothing is working ... It was time to try this tactic.

[Athernar]

Just because you don't see how they can be helped doesn't mean they can't, or that they're lying to you. Any kind of software dev can always be helped by more money. You get more devs, you get more done. Software dev is never really finished so the more help you have, the better. And they can try more things and do even more that perhaps they planned with that.

 

And there's no anger here, just complete amusement.

 

The addition of more money and more devs to Bioware ended up with the release of Dragon Age 2 and the beginning of Bioware's slump into mediocrity. Just sayin'.

[trooper11]

Yeah. Microsoft lied by omission when it claimed Rise Of The Tomb Raider was coming Fall 2014 exclusively to XB1. The announcement was utterly disingenuous and it has backfired.

 

Nobody is disputing that Square Enix made the move for business reasons, as it eliminated the risk associated with a AAA game. We get that. The problem is that it screws over fans of the series that game on PC and PS4. This move is bad for gamers - it only benefits Square Enix and Microsoft, which I obviously couldn't care less about. It also raises questions, like will the graphics be dumbed down because the XB1 is the least powerful next-gen platform? Microsoft wouldn't want the game to run better on PS4 than XB1, as was the case with the previous release.

Its funny that TB would make a video about this now and ignore the other times it has happened recently. I guess it only reached his radar once it affected a pc game since he cares little for consoles. I do agree with most of this points though, this kind of practice is not good for everyone. Its something I hope is done less, and yet we all know this kind of thing must happen for consoles to survive.

Convincing Sony, MS, and Nintendo to not focus as much on exclusive content is a tall order.

I'm not sure how you could prove that MS was lying when it said that the game was launching exclusively on the X1 in 2015.

As far as the graphics being dumbed down, if the latest changes are any indication, I would say that will not be a concern. Multiplatform titles are showing up at the same levels after MS opened up all of the hardware resources to developers. So for instance, Destiny went from being at a lower res on the X1 to reaching parity with the ps4 version. I would say its highly likely that the next Tomb Raider game would have launched at the same graphical level for both consoles regardless of some kind of deal based on that current trend.

Besides, what do you care about the ps4 version? One thing is for sure, the pc version will look better and MS would not stand in the way of that.

They can't, they're invested in the Xbox. They need something to make them feel special, even if it hurts all consumers in the long run.

That's a silly blanket statement. Start throwing out the old fanboy card and you will get this thread closed pretty quickly. How about we try to stay rational about it.

[trooper11]

What really stinks though is the way it was delivered to the media. It was shady. Not to mention taking a game that had sold better elsewhere and making it exclusive.

I don't know about the whole shady argument. I'm on the fence about that point. If they had just said 'coming first exclusively to the X1 in 2015' as MS and Sony usually say, would that have resulted in less of a backlash? I doubt it.

The wording really doesn't matter. People are angry about the move itself.