Rise of the Tomb Raider Now Exclusive to Xbox One

No, but lets put it this way: If Microsoft was producing Life Was Strange then people would understand why it is only on the XBox One. People aren't really that freaked out about Quantum Break either. The problem is that Square-Enix went through a very public and somewhat embarrassing episode where they lamented they sold millions of copies of Tomb Raider and still consider it a failure. So what is their new strategy going forward? Could it be make a smarter or better game? Could it be make a game on better budget? No it was: Make it as big or bigger with Microsoft's cash and going with a smaller distribution base by going exclusive.

In that sense, Square-Enix execs have a point they that they are okay with a plan or strategy if it shifts a bunch of the risk (production cost) to Microsoft instead but that shows how much they care about the ip/franchise.

Word going around that it's only a timed exclusive

Yea but what big third party games has MS managed to keep exclusive to their consoles? Most of their games that aren't first party end up on PC a few months after launch.

I hate that we live in a world where I have to ask "well, how exclusive is it?"

This is stupid. I'll probably have an Xbox by then, but it's stupid. I want a sequel to my game of the year to hit all over.

Such a shame, I really loved Tomb Raider and was excited to play the sequel. :(

No Man's Sky was never announced as a multiplatform; it is also coming to PC.
No Man's Sky is developed by an independent studio and is a new IP.

Tomb Raider was announced as a multiplatform game, it has also always been primarily on Playstation and PC.

These games and their histories are miles apart, and your argument is invalid when trying to compare the two approaches. On the surface they may appear similar but they're not. This move just alienates the fanbase of both Tomb Raider and SE/CD.

Yeah totally comparable. Forget the fact that Hello Games is a small team that can't work on 3 versions at the same time.

@mems1224 said:

Yeah, it probably is just a timed exclusive, but they haven't come out and said as such just yet.

reminds me of how bad i want to play bayonetta 2 but there is no way in hell im buying a wii-u

Never said it made sense for Tomb Raider to be exclusive, in fact it seems odd for third party games to be exclusive to me. Just being a bit sarcastic since a lot of this backlash probably wouldn't be here had it been exclusive to the PS4 instead of the XBox One.

@ddrober2003 said:

Oh, well then I agree with you! People should chill out, at least until we know one way or the other whether it'll come to other platforms.

Exactly.

I guarantee you this backlash would be here if it was PS4 exclusive. That leave Xbox One owners and PC users in the dust. Please get this fanboy shit off Giant Bomb.

Dear fans,

Fuck you. We needed money. Marketing PR bullshit follows.

Sincerely,

All the rage over this whole thing is hilarious.

Timed exclusive I'm sure. SE gets a big cash infusion from MS, has a partner to promote it big time against Uncharted, and then they will release it on other platforms 6-12 months later.

If it's a good game all the detractors will come around in good time. All SE has to do to win back PS4/PC owners is push the graphics a little further and slap a Definitive Edition stamp on the front.

Ok, then basically the same thing Sony did with Bloodborne?

Where is the backlash for Bloodborne being exclusive to PS4? Cause I haven't seen any.

Because MS likely DOESN'T believe in their own lineup. The Xbone has been consistently lagging behind the PS4, and even ditching Kinect hasn't stopped Sony's momentum, so MS is going into the pocketbook to buy an exclusive lineup.

Not that I'm against exclusivity deals, mind you. They're a damned fine way to help a console differentiate itself from competing platforms. However, you're absolutely right that this one in particular is suspicious.

As you mention, it's mid-series, which almost never happens. Also, Square Enix isn't exactly in the best of financial conditions due to the incompetence of previous CEO Yoichi Wada and the protracted FF Versus XIII (now FFXV) development. All signs point to naked desperation on Microsoft's and Square Enix's part. But why? Well, Square Enix is easy to understand, as it'll take time to right the ship, but what about MS? There are already some cool-looking games coming out on the Xbone, such as Sunset Overdrive and Quantum Break. Is MS aware of significant delays in these games' development? Do they not have faith in these titles' ability to succeed?

While we're at it, what if this doesn't work? Tomb Raider's a successful franchise, but it's not exactly a system-selling game series. At absolute best, MS can expect a two million sale bump. What then? Do they buy a new Just Cause? A new Deus Ex? Do they go for the hail mary and try to land Final Fantasy (which would probably take a whole bunch of zeros on that check, I imagine)?

Whatever the reason, it's making for one hell of an interesting generation so far. I for one look forward to Sony's retaliation, if anything.

I have. And it's different. Bloodborne is co-developed by Sony Computer Entertainment Japan. The IP wasn't just bought.

Well now they have nobody to blame but themselves when this new game doesn't meet sales goals again.

Haha, hey, thanks for appreciating my support for the first game Crystal Dynamic! Now I will continue to support you by not buying this one because - surprise - I don't own an Xbone nor do I intend to get one.

It's one thing to put an exclusive out for a console if it's a game that has never been release before, but since the FIRST game was multi-platform, this really rubs me the wrong way. Didn't the first game not do as well as expected? How do they expect to come anywhere near the sales expectations of the first game when it's only available on a console that maybe 10 million people own at this point.

yuck, if this is true, i hope it flops. they should have learned from titanfall

Fuck them then if they don't want my money.

Timed Exclusive? Why exactly are people thinking this will happen? Was Halo a timed exclusive? Crackdown? Forza? Etc..... I understand those games were originally conceived for the Xbox only, but sounds like M$ wanted another.

The wording in the statement seems to point to: NO, this shit is Xbox now, get used to it.

Bloodborne is a new IP and people were speculating it was another Demon's Souls before the title was announced. I consider that a completely different situation than a previously multiplat (which got its start on PS1) becoming exclusive months after its original reveal.

But hey, I do think it would be awesome if Bloodborne were coming to both consoles.

Exactly. It's like saying where is the backlash for Forza being Xbox exclusive? They aren't the same thing at all.

I hadn't played a Tomb Raider since PS1 and I picked up the Definitive Edition on PS4 and loved it. Was really looking forward to the new one. Seems I'll just have to wait a bit longer until the inevitable "game of the year" version or "definitive edition" comes to PS4.

First one was rubbish.

@mems1224: Bloodborne is game co-devleoped with Sony's Studio Japan which is a spiritual successor to Demon's Souls, a game co-developed with Studio Japan. This is not the same situation at all.

No it's the other way around. The fact that they're dancing around the phrase points strongly in the timed exclusive direction. In addition to that CBOAT, a fairly well known and legit leaker, whose information is right 90% of the time says that it's timed as well. This is going to come to other platforms, at least to PC.

Well, I'll be picking this game up on the Xbox One. I'm sure I'll come to other platforms later.

@mems1224: You do know Sony is co developing it right? Thats a bit different than just paying to have it excluded from other platforms. I don't think it matters that much anyway since most exclusives are mostly a few months to a year long.

Welp, Microsoft must have paid a lot of money to make this thing happen. Considering there's a bunch more PS4s out there than XONEs. I'd be surprised if this wasn't timed.

I just can't see how this would be worth the money for Microsoft, I mean, the last Tomb Raider was a cool game but I don't think this is going to move consoles all that much.

@wrecks: Because Squeenix still owns the Tomb Raider IP. There's a reason why Ryse and Dead Rising 3 are coming to PC and that's because both Crytek and Capcom signed a deal where they got to keep the IP rights, even if Microsoft (co)funded the development of Dead Rising 3. Real third party exclusivity doesn't really exist in the west any more.

I think the reason why this exclusivity reveal is so weird is because the game was announced months ago as a sequel to a multiplat game and now it's suddenly exclusive.

Part of me is very sceptical about this announcement. For a while I had to double-check to figure out if it was "timed" or not. It seems like it isn't, but that couldn't stop them from making a GOTY edition for multiple platforms at some point, I suppose.

All those game you mentioned? Developed by Microsoft Game Studios. Even then lets list Mass Effect, Dead Rising, Ryse and Bioshock as the counter arguement.

Halo and Forza are 1st party games. Crackdown was co-developed with MS, and MS owns the IP. Unless Square Enix is surrendering the IP (unlikely), anything's possible.

I think comparisons to practices that other companies are doing to a new franchise are dumb. Like No-Man's-Sky ignores the fact that this is a very small development team, working on an incredibly ambitious game which is a new IP and MS has policies in place that affect their ability to release the game later on Xbox. Bloodborne is a new franchise completely and Sony and Miyazaki had collaborated before on Demon's Souls.

If Final Fantasy XV released on PS4 and Xbox One, then Sony paid up for exclusivity on FF XV-2, (let's say permanent which was how it appeared earlier today) and Xbox FFXV fans who had bought it and would like to continue the story were told they can't, I think they have good reason to be annoyed.

I don't have a Bone, I have no plans on getting a Bone, and with bone-headed announcements like this I have absolutely no desire to get the Xbox One.

I don't know who this is trying to appeal to, either. Sony has a "definitive" version of the latest Tomb Raider coming out really soon and there's a new Lara Croft and friends game coming out by the end of the year. What percentage of Bone users both liked the Tomb Raider reboot and ONLY have a Bone so they directly benefit from exclusive BS like this?

Honestly I wish Microsoft would cut their losses and stop ruining the gaming industry already. To use a wrestling analogy: What if WCW had the kind of money the WWF did back in the day and could buy up their wrestlers to use, drain out and throw back on the curb? How gruesome would The Monday Night Wars have been?

@kanerobot: You don't understand. This was the middle of a story arc that many PS4 owners were engrossed in, that's why we're pissed off.

Kinda shitty to release the sequel to what was a multi-platform game as an exclusive. I liked the first, but not enough to justify spend 400-500 on a console to see its sequel. Oh well.

@zirilius: I can understand PS4 owners wanting to get it on PS4 "even though they own an XBox." Don't understand boycotting the game though, since why get both platforms unless you wanted to be able to play XBox exclusives? Are these same people going to boycott No Man's Sky?

Still doesn't make sense to me that an XBox only person would be mad. I don't remember people saying they would get an XBone but skip Dead Rising 3 because it was exclusive. It just doesn't track with my life experience as a real response a real person would have.

Would it be better for gamers in general if the game was multiplatform? For sure. But I have never seen gamers (in this case, XBox gamers) 'selflessly' threaten to boycott like this. Maybe I am just out of touch?

everyone has pretty much said what i thought,so i will just say this.i wont miss tomb raider,i still dont want a xbox one,and i still dont like microsoft.doing stuff like this doesnt make me like microsoft more either.its a shame because i was starting to like where microsoft was headed.

I don't mind exclusives when it is something that the platform holder has helped develop, but to just sling a load of money at something already in development, and which the first game in series was multi-platform, is pretty shitty.

Even if this does come out on PS4 in the end, it just seems really anti-consumer. Trying to get people to buy your console by ransoming games doesn't seem the best way to engender good feeling.

@fairbrethees: great contribution. Also your crazy game was great.

Back on topic people know the difference between a co-developed game and what happened here right? I don't think the backlash would be as big if it wasn't announced for everything first.

Meh, OF COURSE there'll be a PC version. I'm giving it a 6 month exclusivity, tops. PS4? Who knows.

@thevgamer: @altairre: @jabbawocky: @yukoasho: Word, word, word, word. I'll keep my hopes up.

Well I was going to buy it and play it...but I won't buy a console just to play it. Hope it comes to pc eventually.