Rise of the Tomb Raider Now Exclusive to Xbox One

This is a crapppy thing to do to the series, i'm not the biggest fan of this series but it's more valuable than this.

A friendly reminder: there's a reason that we don't have a "system wars" forum on Giant Bomb. It's fine to be disappointed that you might not get to play a game, but don't get combative about it or take it as a personal slight against you. On the flip side, please don't relish in the disappointment of others or take the position that you "chose the right side" because you happen to own the platform and exclusive game is being released on.

In general, combative and aggressive posting is contrary to the type of healthy and constructive discussion that we want here. Squash the beef and move on or take the war elsewhere.

@playastation said:

I basically take this announcement to mean that I'll be able to buy it on Steam within a year of its release.

If the first entry in a series is exclusive, and then the sequel(s) are multiplatform, that's not really a big deal. The opposite, however, is just a fucking stupid idea. This game came out on 5 platforms (6 if you count Mac). Fuck you, Microsoft and whoever else was involved in this decision. Fuck you for screwing over so many people that may never get to play this game now.

Its okay Silent Hills is PS4 only, but its not okay Rise of the Tomb Raider is XONE only.

Don't worry six months after the game comes out for XBOX One it will come out for PS4 and PC as a Game of the Year Edition or something. This is the gaming industry, they like money more than ANYTHING ELSE. Would be a waste not to get the most out of their product.

well that's a kick in the ol' tombstones.

I'm mad about archery.

That thing she's using in the promo art, what the fuck!

I'll believe it after a year or two, when the game is still an Xbox One exclusive. Right now, I believe the game will get an early start on the Xbox One, but will port over to at least the PC if nothing else within a year. The Xbox One sales won't be enough.

Bloodborne PS4 exclusive: Fuck Yeah SONY!

Rise of the Tomb Raider Xbox1 exclusive: Fuck You Microsoft!

Too bad, I really liked the last one. But I'm not paying hundreds of dollars to play it.

That's not even comparable.

@akeldama: Seriously. Bloodborne is a new IP, Tomb Raider has been on multiple platforms forever. No idea how people don't get that locking up a previously multi-platform release on a single struggling console is a bad idea. It just makes me dislike the arrangement and those who made it.

Sad news. I enjoyed the last Tomb Raider. Guess I won't be playing this one. Sorry Microsoft, I bought Windows. Not interested in your console.

If I didn't own both consoles, I'd maybe be a little flustered. But we can't act surprised. We could have thrown a dart at several of the 2015 multi-plats and guessed this. I honestly am surprised it didn't happen sooner with Dragon Age, Shadow of Mordor, or something else.

Really enjoyed that Tomb Raider reboot, but I guess I won't be playing this one. I'm usually not that bummed about exclusives, but when a series switches to exclusive after the first part was multi-plat its pretty disappointing for me. Oh well, here's hoping for an eventual PC release or eventually I have enough money to get both systems, but for now I can't.

hope Crystal goes under on account of this crappy business decision

Who would've thought of all things Tomb Raider gets people riled up because it's a system exclusive. Crazy times we live in!

I wonder if this means Microsoft will lean toward using Lara Croft to promote the Xbox brand..

Can't blame Microsoft. They need their Uncharted.

No PC version? Guess I won't be playing this game then. A shame, I quite liked the last one.

I'm coming around on the title. Thought it was dumb at first but now... Rise of the Tomb Raider.

Yup, I like it.

Bayonetta 2 - Developed by a 3rd party, published by Nintendo. Announced as an exclusive title.

Dead Rising 3 - Developed by a 3rd party and Microsoft, published by Microsoft. Announced as an exclusive title.

Bloodborne - Developed by a 3rd party and Sony, published by Sony. Announced as an exclusive title.

Rise of the Tomb Raider - Developed by a 3rd party, published by a 3rd party. Not announced as an exclusive title.

How is it hard to understand that this is a different situation? Especially considering that the last Tomb Raider game on PS4 more than doubled the sales of the Xbox One version.

I don't blame MS for this at all, but if I were a shareholder in Square Enix, I'd want the head of the executive who thought this was a good idea. And it's actually WORSE that it's not an actual exclusive title, and that MS is feeding people some "we don't discuss our contracts" crap when people are calling them out on their "exclusivity" bullshit.

If MS actually bought the IP it would be awful for me, but it would be a great for MS. Instead we get some ridiculous "we're not gonna tell" response from someone who isn't developing or even publishing the game, and we're getting that response months after the game was already announced without mentioning any form of exclusivity. Good on Microsoft for a smart move, but fuck Square Enix for not only screwing over the fans who made Tomb Raider such a success, but then forcing them to twist in the wind, and wait to find out how long until they'll finally be able to play the sequel that their money helped finance.

Deadrising 3, arguably the best exclusive launch title last year, is coming to PC.

Ryse, another Xbox One launch title, is coming to PC.

Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare came to PC and is coming to PS4.

Rise of the Tomb Raider is exclusive to Xbox for holiday 2015. That means it'll come out within a year at the very least to PC. People complaining need to read between the lines

Shame that exclusivity money won't be able to buy back the good will from consumers.

@spaceinsomniac: Not to compare Red (or should I say Green) and Blue too much here, but it was actually kinda refreshing to see that Sony guy clarify what was a full-on exclusive and what was a timed exclusive right on the goddamn stage in the middle of the press conference.

Absofuckinglutely. I wish they'd just clarify if "exclusive for holiday 2015" means timed or not.

Bad for me, i loved the the last game so much i bought it on PC and then on PS4 later when the definitive edition launched. I do not love the game enough however to buy the X1, it would take more than a single good game to sway me back onto an Xbox again. If it eventually turns up on PS4 or PC i will definitely pick it up but at the moment there is no Tombraider in my immediate future which does make me a little sad.

Sorry it didn't work out, Lara. Give me a call next time you're in town, okay?

I have an Xbox One so yay I suppose. I'll eventually get a PS4 so I'm not fussed on exclusives either way. I've gone back and forth between preferred consoles over the years. Need to update/get a new PC and hook it up to my TV.

That said, I don't quite get the huge outrage. I thought people complained not that long ago that there weren't enough console exclusives. Now a game gets announced as an exclusive and everyone hates it. Smart by Microsoft depending on how much it cost them. Smart by Square Enix depending on how much they get and if it outweighs how much they may have made by having it on PS4.

Does exclusivity create a false sense of demand (as long as the game is good)?

@spaceinsomniac:

1. Sources for the PS4 sales?

2. They don't owe us an explanation. We aren't shareholders in their company. They have no obligation to share their contract details with us. They're a publicly traded corporation. Want details? Buy their stock. Until then, we are just consumers.

That said, they could've beaten a lot of this bad publicity by at least saying very bluntly that it's a lifetime exclusive or a timed one.

When you have to explain why something is a good decision, it's probably not the best decision.

Maybe we'll get Rise of the Planet of the Tomb Raider on PC or something.

@mbradley1992: Seeing clarification tweets from all sides, I am going to go ahead and say this is time and not a very long one at that. We are probably looking at 6 months at worst (looking at you ryse, RD3). I am willing to bet on it.

Also, if you plan to be doing business for more than a year, you absolutely have an obligations to your customers. You DO owe your customers explanations and clarifications for ANYTHING they want to know or continues to lie/pr speak/be a dick and loose all your customers. This pertains to everything business not just this case. A new car is coming this holiday but this customer came in wanting to by last year model? She said she want the newest model, you refuse to tell her about the new model coming in 1 month because you want to sell right now? Yes, GOOD companies have the obligations to their customers.

I don't really care for this franchise but if DA3 was "exclusive for the holiday" so I bought it on ps4/X1 and it comes out like a month later on PC? Fuck all of that. They have the right to do this but people also have the right to not support it.

Eurogamer: Timed exclusive - It's also cross gen

"I get the reaction I see. If I'm a PlayStation person all of a sudden I feel like, the franchise has gone. I didn't buy the IP. I didn't buy the studio. It's not mine. Where this thing will go over time, just like Dead Rising or Ryse, we'll see what happens with the game. I don't own every iteration of Tomb Raider.

"I don't own them building Tomb Raider on other platforms. I can't talk about the franchise that way. I can talk about the deal I have."

I still think these companies need to look at how they use the word exclusive, especially when it leads to such an outcry like this.

Phil Spencer has confirmed that it's a timed-exclusive. He doesn't say how long they secured it for, but he compared it directly to the Dead Rising 3 and Ryse deals, so my guess is that it's 12-months at most. And so ends the great Tomb Raider War of 2014, or so I hope.

Remember this?

@fattony12000: Haha, what? That's faked, right? You're a faking faker!

Man, this is not the kind of PR you want surrounding your exclusivity deals.

This is super lame news for me, as I was looking forward to playing a new Tomb Raider.

Unfortunately for Microsoft I don't care enough to go out and buy an Xbone. Hopefully at the end of their exclusivity deal this can come out on PS4 or i'll just make do without Tomb Raider in my life.

@spaceinsomniac:

Those are recent developments. In fact those seem to be exceptions to the rule because the general trends have been away from taking IP exclusive. So why is that so hard for some to understand?

People see what they want to see. It doesn't matter if it is or is not really or really not exclusive but I really object to the corporate speak and abuse on what "exclusive" means let alone how this stuff actually works. All of them are throwing money at ISP to make less software. That is a negative move for us no matter what platform one likes.

Jesus, people are really overreacting about this. I can't remember if this is the same response people had to Final Fantasy 7 being PlayStation exclusive, or Resident Evil 4 on Gamecube.

I can't help feeling this is just another one of those "micro$oft is evil, Sony is good" reactions. Seriously guys it's one game. Did you see all the stuff going to the PS4? You will have plenty to do.

Bloodborne is practically a sequel to demon souls. It has almost everything in common with it. My example is not a one to one comparison, but is an exclusive people could be mad about in the same way.

@conmulligan: Which must be why they kept saying "Holiday 2015 exclusive". As the guys pointed out on the Sony stream last night, it was nice that Sony were just upfront about all their timed exclusives. They didn't say how long they'd have them, but they simply said "coming first on PS4" instead of this smoke and mirrors trick that has caused a lot of problems and headaches, mostly for the guys making the game.

I never fake it.

@fattony12000: I am baffled that they would think something like that was acceptable and not delete it instantly.

This news is fine with me. It just went from a pre-order to a "when it's $20 . . . if it has really good reviews" purchase. I have both consoles precisely for exclusives, but I'm not going to play the "but only exclusive because of bullshit" consumer exploitation game. I want single player games on PS4, because it has the extra power and hasn't ever stuttered like mad the way XB1 frequently does when I play games on it.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-08-13-microsoft-confirms-rise-of-the-tomb-raider-xbox-exclusivity-deal-has-a-duration

Pretty much exactly as most people though, expect an ultimate edition 9 months down the line.

For fucks sake, it took them long enough.

But....but I had my torch and pitchfork ready!!

Can't wait until our next controversy of the day.