called it

Wasn't TR2013 like barely considered a success (financially) by Square Enix? I would think they would want to get it out on as many platforms as possible. The check from Microsoft couldn't have been that big. Since the announcement I've been assuming it was a timed thing.

@patrickklepek: I for sure understand your position and know journalists were in a very tough spot in reporting this. Especially with the statement that square put out which really made it seem like it was exclusive. I guess the thing that really made me question it though was "holiday 2015". That's where it can make it seem like a timed thing and as a reader I would want to hear an official statement from Microsoft or Square using the words lifetime exclusive or something like that before believing it. You are for sure right though, "exclusive" is a pretty straightforward term and the way Microsoft used it was a way to deceive people so I also do understand why journalists reported the story the way they did.

Anyway, I don't really post too much so since I am right now, just want to say I enjoy your work and everyone else's on the site. Thanks for all your efforts. And yes Yoshi's Island is an amazing game!

I remember when they revealed Diablo 3 was coming to Playstation. There was no mention of any other systems, and even Blizzard's blog post about it made it look like it wasn't coming to other platforms. Someone reading those articles alone would get the obvious impression that it was an exclusive, as that's how the entire thing is worded. Then a couple months before release when they revealed the date, the words Xbox 360 were snuck in there.

That's how the language they used at the announcement made it sound.

All this outrage because Public Relations didn't want to say "Timed Exclusive" or "Exclusively Holiday 2015". Just a few extra words and very little of this would of happened, and today's back-peddling on purposefully misleading press releases and statement's would of been avoided.

Well it certainly was a first

"I get the reaction I see," he said. "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."

We didn't buy it! We just tossed a ton of money their way to slightly screw over PS4 owners and give an ego boost to our owners! Completely different.

Please. Sony threatened to withhold PS2 shipments from stores that were pushing the Dreamcast prior to the PS2 launch, and have hardly been practicing nothing but fair and kind treatment to everyone since then. I'm glad someone with more money came along to actually fight them, rather than Sony just beating up on Nintendo and Sega forever.

FIGHT FOR MY LOVE, MEGA CORPORATIONS

Bullshit "exclusive" language is a shoo-in for "Worst New Trend" this year, right?

The only thing worse and more annoying to video game fans than 3rd party exclusives, is lying/misleading about 3rd party exclusives. So tired of this shit, wading through this sea of bullshit trying to figure out what all these various "exclusive" terms mean in each case or what "bonus exclusive content" means and so on. Wish both sides would just throw all their resources into their own studio's exclusives and let 3rd parties sell to everyone, we'd get better games overall when Sony/Microsoft are putting all resources into making their own studios better instead of spending wads of cash just to cockblock each other on the 3rd party front and much less annoying bullshit like this.

Everyone I know said 'probably timed'. Except for journalists, because that doesn't bleed, so it doesn't lead.

Phil Spencer doesn't come off very well in that Eurogamer interview, he really sounds petty talking about what is and isn't his job. I guess Gamescom must be every bit as tiring as E3 for those working the show.

Guys guys good news! We can like Tomb Raider again since it will be playable on the PS4! Thank goodness I was worried for a second that I wouldn't be allowed to like it since it was an XBox One exclusive. I liked it and Uncharted and was a little sad that I had to hate Tomb Raider, but now that I know it will be on the PS4 I can like it again!

Of course. Just depending on the Xbox One for sales would have been a foolish move by the developers. So much money is being put into these big titles for it to only be on the least successful platform this generation so far. Will wait for the PC version, since my PC is pretty much an Xbox One.

I know one thing, I won't buy this until it hits $5 as a 'thank you' for waiting a few extra months to Square.

So as an Xbox One and PS4 owner I was treated poorly? When 90%+(Not a hard number, but the percentage is massive) don't watch these press conferences or keep up on this information, I think you're overstating the damage something like this could potentially do. Absolutely it will have an effect on the sales, will it be enouh to turn the game from a success to a grand failure? .....No.

What I'd tell ya? :P

Like someone else said in the other thread, if SE was disappointed with the first game's sales, then why the hell are they bothering to do this?

(Probably because M$ paid them a fuck-ton of money!)

...Alright, why the hell does M$ think that shelling out enough money for a timed exclusive release is going to help them? Maybe it's because I didn't play the first reboot TR, but this seems like a half-assed attempt to get people to buy an Xbone with a game that probably wouldn't move the needle for a lot of people even if it was a full-on exclusive.

@kanerobot: oh please, I can moan about one "mega corporation" without necessarily supporting another. Anyone who behaves like a dick deserves criticism, even if only in the form of some asinine comments on a website news story.

Piss poor communication with consumers strikes again. Crystal Dynamics' blog was certainly very clear on this being exclusive exclusive and not timed or console exclusive, and plenty of xbox marketing people were on twitter saying the exact same thing to people. So either someone's issuing untrue statements willingly or it's another case of xbox marketing and their partners being ignorant of their deals and still speaking on them publically. Never change, microsoft.

That said, I do hope the game comes out on PC, because the reboot was a pretty good game and I'd like to be able to play it, but I don't want it enough to buy another console for it. It's not exactly bayonetta 2 we're talking about here.

That an effort had to be made to clarify this is a testament to the dishonest way these people talk about exclusives.

I don't know?....still reads to me as Rise of The Tomb Raider is xbox exclusive but the next game in the franchise wont be. Otherwise they'd be using the bs "coming first to xbox" line.

Oh come on this really does not apply in this case. There is no ambiguity in the wording here and when Geoff Keighley tweeted that the official line was "exclusive on XBox for holiday 2015" thus pointing to a timed exclusive Aaron Greenberg even denied that. Patrick is right in that MS deliberately put out misleading information even when asked for clarification and I think that's pretty gross to be honest. I don't like the whole "first on so and so" wording either and am generally against timed exclusivity but at least the "frist on" makes it fairly clear what's up.

Haha I thought it'd take longer!

Good news then, eh? :D, looks like it'll just take a worthwhile wait :)

I see no reason to freak out. I just assume when a company is being vague about their exclusives then it's a timed exclusive.

This time they were the complete opposite of vague though. Both xbox pr and crystal dynamics were very clear on it being exclusive to xbox and that people on other platforms would get the sequel to guardian of light instead.

don't get me wrong i don't think it will cause half the people to quit or anything. I just said it would be interesting to see if it would at all. People have boycotted (for lack of better words) products for less. I know for me this kinda stuff makes me think twice about supporting a company when they do stuff like that. am I the minority? probably but its still A group who exists.

I guess my main interest would be sales for this in general rather than anything else.

Pretty clear it was coming to 360 too.

Now Square gets to sell it for $59.99 Holiday 2015 and for $59.99 Holiday 2016!

Microsoft continues to add more ammo to my reasoning on why I'm going with the PS4 as my first current gen console. Hearing Sony's openness yesterday is so refreshing compared to Microsoft's use of the word "exclusivity". It just makes me leerier of Microsoft during this current generation.

Timed or not, I still do not envy Sony having to go toe-to-toe with Microsoft in spending money on exclusives, as Microsoft seems to have more to throw around.

Yeah, no doubt. They're also in a situation where they have to though, they've pretty much been behind since the very first announcements. They can't change the hardware, so all they can really do is lock down software and make their services awesome. Gold certainly seems like much less of a ripoff now than it was in years past.

Ever thought the defensive crying about this was over the top? It's Microsoft astro-turfing doing what it does on forums world-wide again: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=874010

I advise the administrators and tech on Giantbomb to check registered accounts if they are registered with companies such as PRMax, then publically nuking them.

The console warz has really taken on toll on your sanity hasn't it?

I'm sure he would like to, but the second he does he will be electric shocked by his PR/marketing overlords.

I'm not defending him, I think it's stupid too. But surely YOU wouldn't want to get shocked very time you told the truth now would you?

Figured as much. So what the fuck is going on over at MS? I would like to say they are still under going major restructuring but when your major product is being boned 2:1 by the competitor. Yet another pr fuck up is really not looking good. Hey MS, see that sony conference yesterday and how they handle those exclusive/not exclusive announcement? Just fucking do that! Gaming corporations copy each other all the time about everything, just fucking copy sony pr or something.

lol

Wait... so is this a "news" articular about what we already know? Its not adding anything is it? What an odd thing to go over.

It's a clarification of what before now was a muddled messaged reported differently by different outlets. Exactly what a news article should be. No quote marks needed.

Crystal Dynamics have updated their blog post about the deal since the initial announcement and it still reads: "his 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."

Maybe they just haven't gotten around to it yet, or maybe the language by Spencer isn't all that clear. You can still very much read that like "we own this one, but we don't own the franchise, so hope you can play the next one, I guess?"

You know what? Good on Phil Spencer for at least communicating with people far more directly than Square and Microsoft decided to. I mate hate his weasely face, but this made me like him quite a bit more.

XBOX ONE: Wait... lets us explain what we meant...

I have never seen a company having to like overly explain them selves over and over again. They need to either hire a PR team that knows the proper terms for things or really just keep their mouths shut.

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

I could care less if it was Xbox one only. I have one, and will get a PS4 at some point when there is actually a game on the system I want to own *cough Bloodborne*. Still was kinda cool of him to give away as much as he did. He really shouldnt have from a business stand point, so thats really decent of him to even talk about it!

Wouldn't it be great if Microsoft just created awesome content and services, instead of nearly everything they've been doing for almost two years now?

@blu3v3nom07: Is Silent Hills exclusive to PS4?

I really hope the way Sony clearly communicated their "exclusives" yesterday becomes the new norm, for them and everyone else. Still not thrilled with SE, I tried voting with my wallet, bought the reboot (twice) on PlayStation platforms, talked a few other people into it as well, purchased Guardians of Light twice (once for myself, once for my brother). Since giving them money (as millions of others did) didn't seem to send a clear message, maybe not giving them money will. I'm still passing on Osiris, and if Rise of The Tomb Raider makes it's way to PS4, it will be the first time I buy a used game in a decade; they won't be getting any more of my cash.

Silent Hill games have been fucking garbage in the past few iterations, whereas the new Tomb Raider game was amazing and the franchise showed a lot of promise. I would rather get the new TR game on my PS4 and play SH on my X1. I bought the definitive edition on PS4 and want to try and keep all games in franchise onto one system.