Rise of the Tomb Raider Might be a Timed Exclusive

Foxi4

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One of the big Gamescom bombs was the announcement that Rise of the Tomb Raider, the upcoming next installment in the newly-rebooted Tomb Raider series was to be available exclusively on Xbox One and 360 - turns out that this "exclusivity" is only temporary.​
In an interview with Eurogamer Phil Spencer, the man in charge of the Xbox division, said that "[He] didn't buy it, [he] doesn't own the franchise". This suggests that the game is in fact a timed exclusive only and may come to other platforms in the future. Spencer did not reveal anything regarding the window of exclusivity of the game, but it's fair to expect Rise of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition or something along those lines to come out not too long after the initial release on Xbox during the 2015 holiday season.​
This newsflash hits hard as the Xbox platform lost two of its exclusives as of late - Rise of the Tomb Raider may possibly join Dead Rising 3 and Ryse: Son of Rome in the future.​


:arrow: Source (Kotaku)
 
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Steena

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Players win, retarded companies holding exclusives hostage lose. Even if I did not like the reboot at all, it's still good news for everyone.
 

Foxi4

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Players win, retarded companies holding exclusives hostage lose. Even if I did not like the reboot at all, it's still good news for everyone.
It's good news for PC and PS4 gamers, but definitely not the Xbox brand - exclusives can make or break the system, and this goes beyond the scope of first-party titles. If there were no exclusive console titles gamers would have no reason to own any particular console to begin with - whether that's a good thing or not is up to the individual to decide. I too believe that exclusives add artificial value to the console they're on, but I acknowledge their importance nonetheless - exclusive content often times sells the system it's on.
 
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mightymuffy

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This newsflash hits hard as the Xbox platform lost two of its exclusives as of late - Rise of the Tomb Raider may possibly join Dead Rising 3 and Ryse: Son of Rome in the future.


Dead Rising 3 & Ryse both enjoyed almost a year exclusive to Xbox One (I believe it's actually 10 months for DR3) - that's plenty. As an Xbox One owner I don't exactly feel "hit hard" :lol: - DR3 was a fine game that I spent a good amount of time playing, and am happy that gamers who only have a PC will get to play it now too. The same applies to this Tomb Raider.....

I've got Tomb Raider coming for my Xbox One, Tearaway for my PS4, Smash Bros for my Wii U and so on.... see how better things are when you're not some console exclusive fanboy?? ;)
 

Foxi4

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Dead Rising 3 & Ryse both enjoyed almost a year exclusive to Xbox One (I believe it's actually 10 months for DR3) - that's plenty. As an Xbox One owner I don't exactly feel "hit hard" :lol: - DR3 was a fine game that I spent a good amount of time playing, and am happy that gamers who only have a PC will get to play it now too. The same applies to this Tomb Raider.....

I've got Tomb Raider coming for my Xbox One, Tearaway for my PS4, Smash Bros for my Wii U and so on.... see how better things are when you're not some console exclusive fanboy?? ;)
You're forgetting that the install base for the Xbox One is still relatively small and had those titles remained exclusive to the Xbox One, they would only add to the hardware's "value". As for being a console exclusivity fanboy, as I've mentioned, I'm not a big fan of it. ;)
 

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You're forgetting that the install base for the Xbox One is still relatively small and had those titles remained exclusive to the Xbox One, they would only add to the hardware's "value". As for being a console exclusivity fanboy, as I've mentioned, I'm not a big fan of it. ;)
It's been trounced by the PS4 up till now (and rightly so), but Tomb Raider isn't as big as you think in my opinion.... The Xbox One's fortunes are on the up - it most likely won't catch the PS4 at all but will certainly beat the Wii U by the years end... in context with the debacle that was the pre-launch the One had, the news that TR might actually only be exclusive for x months instead of fully exclusive isn't even on the radar: this news won't stifle sales a jot.

And like I said previously, I'm all for everyone getting to play a certain game - if the news is true it's great news for PS4 (only) owners: especially some of the ones I read on Twitter yesterday that sounded on the brink of slitting their wrists :lol: - gotta love the Sony fanboys, they're 'passionate' I suppose!
 

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I don't think there was ever any doubt that the Xbox One will come in second place - rightfully so, as it's a great machine. It almost matched the Wii U sales in half the time, it'll only sell better and better from now on.
 

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I'm going to use the word "might" until the game is announced for other systems - for now the statement given by Crystal Dynamics is clear and the game is only announced for the Xbox line.
I think it has more with the fact that he seemed to go around the question.

Phil Spencer talked about owning the IP, or buying the franchise. But see, that's not necessarily how a title remains an exclusive. You can just make title-by-title exclusivity deals or long-term serie exclusivity deals (the monster hunter series first to sony and now to nintendo comes to mind), where the manufacturer does not own anything.

This is why many people jumped to the conclusion that it meant it was a timed exclusive, I think. He tried to make it sound like only IPs that get bought remain exclusive, so they could get to say "it's not our fault and you had to expect it" to do damage control.

In a way, he downplayed the exclusivity of exclusives; chances are he did this because he never had the full exclusivity in the first place. Otherwise, he would be bragging left and right and make sure to tell everyone loud and clear that the game would only appear on MS consoles forever, and slap it on your face any chance they get. Not bring up this "I didn't buy it", "well nothing is truly exclusive after all" talk. If that makes any sense.

It's good news for PC and PS4 gamers, but definitely not the Xbox brand - exclusives can make or break the system, and this goes beyond the scope of first-party titles. If there were no exclusive console titles gamers would have no reason to own any particular console to begin with - whether that's a good thing or not is up to the individual to decide. I too believe that exclusives add artificial value to the console they're on, but I acknowledge their importance nonetheless - exclusive content often times sells the system it's on.

There is no doubt that hot exclusives give artificial value to consoles, perhaps the biggest factor in assigning value to them during the first years of their lifetime. But this is a case where manufacturers shot themselves in the foot by making consoles low-tier PCs with the same architecture and just more locks/walls. If you do this, if your system is not unique in the slightest and is just a PC with less options, then you cannot really be surprised that third parties will want to release all content multiplatform. Since porting is almost effortless compared to the old times, it's just that much more convenient for the developers.
I think we should focus on how the consoles themselves (the hardware, the machine) are barely worth owning, rather than how maintaining exclusives is crucial for their lives. Looks like a conceptual design flaw to me, when we are in an age where multiplatforms are widespread and is the way to go.
 

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Funnily enough my PS4 and Wii U bundles cost me a combined £600. That's about $1000. No way I can justify buying an Xbone in the short to medium term.

Well that's what's the situation with most people. They already have PC/PS4 and maybe even Wii U. Why the fuck they would want Xbone with mostly same games but with lower quality.
If someone has Xbone already then cool. Other people who have enjoyed earlier Tomb Raiders on Playstation or PC? Well fuck you if you don't want to spend another 500€ for console that isn't even officially released in your country.
 

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I'm going to use the word "might" until the game is announced for other systems - for now the statement given by Crystal Dynamics is clear and the game is only announced for the Xbox line.


It is a timed exclusive. I remember reading a month ago an interview with Square Enix saying has such. PS4 is due a month later.
 

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It's good news for PC and PS4 gamers, but definitely not the Xbox brand - exclusives can make or break the system, and this goes beyond the scope of first-party titles. If there were no exclusive console titles gamers would have no reason to own any particular console to begin with - whether that's a good thing or not is up to the individual to decide. I too believe that exclusives add artificial value to the console they're on, but I acknowledge their importance nonetheless - exclusive content often times sells the system it's on.

Third Party exclusives are irrelevant and often just build resentment of a brand. Not a great way to get people to cross over. Because that's the point, isn't it? To get people who are enjoying those games to suddenly lose it and cross platforms because it has suddenly become an exclusive. The only problem is, of course, that doesn't work.

Third party exclusives were originally made because of genuine hardware differences or from funding the project from start to finish. Squaresoft was exclusive because SNES did things better than the Genesis, at least the things that Squaresoft cared about. They ditched Nintendo because Nintendo refused to provide the tech they deemed necessary for their future games. Sony provided that tech and Sega, again, did not (3D capabilities were tacked on to the Saturn, Sega was betting on refined 2D for some reason, and were a major pain to implement). Thus, Sony became a temporary "exclusive" platform. It worked out well for both parties but again the hardware was genuinely different.

Fast forward to Squaresoft to Square-Enix transition and exclusives slowly break down as contracts for said exclusions break down, or rather the no compete clauses because lets remember Final Fantasy did make it to PC but it wasn't technically a competing platform so they got away with it.
All of the sudden Final Fantasy is on Gamecube (but not main entries due to financial reasons, they had already focused on PS2 due to previous contract, and also said contract restricted main entries still) and slowly about in the middle of that generation we get broad spectrum third party support, even on the gamecube. Architectures were still different across the board so companies largely stayed with what they felt comfortable with but eventually titles would cross over, like GTA, for instance. Sony actually tried to make a big stink about Square-Enix not re-securing contracts for exclusivity but they pulled back the rhetoric when they realized they'd be stupid to continue it, ala Nintendo lesson.

Then the PS3/360 saga happens. Third party exclusives become even more rare and largely exist at first because of Sony's insistence of the idiotic Cell architecture for gaming. BUT the graphics side of things remain largely the same. So what happens? Studios largely develop for the 360's common architecture first and Sony gets sloppy seconds. Once studios could make that transition more easily it becomes even more apparent and less sloppy. And third party exclusives become largely irrelevant and a money pit. Acquiring studios for exclusives proves largely useless as Microsoft and Rare showed brilliantly. The studio gets the short end of the stick and Microsoft loses money so future projects are in doubt. A terrible relationship. Studios wise up and we see only TIMED exclusives. Because, that ALMOST matters. Makes the platform feel superior but doesn't piss off fans enough to reject your reality and substitute their own. People get money, platforms see slight bumps in sales.

It's suicide to deal in exclusives when you have two platforms that are virtually identical. Yeah, yeah, there are significant differences from a programming standpoint but never before have two console platforms been so damn similar. This will be a timed exclusive. And it may very well be one of the last few. Because even timed exclusives are proving detrimental. People will just wait for the GOTY if you're going to make them wait in the first place. Or they'll wait for a massive discount which is now also available on console platforms just as easily as it is on PC.
 
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Foxi4

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Third Party exclusives are irrelevant (...)
I admire your long argumentation, but... no, they're not. Nobody would remember the N64 fondly if not for games like Banjo-Kazooie, GoldenEye or Conker's Bad Fur Day which back then were third-party exclusives. One of the cornerstones of the PS1's success was the fantastic third-party support and great third-party exclusives such as Tekken, Final Fantasy 7, Metal Gear Solid or Ridge Racer, the last of which has become a staple of the PlayStation brand despite being a Namco title. Your whole argumentation is based on a false premise - an exclusive title is an exclusive regardless who made it, it's a reason to invest in a given system. The only problem that may arise is when a previously multiplatform series goes exclusive, but the initial butthurt quickly subsides.
 

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