So, I had initially intended to stay quiet on the whole Rise of the Tomb Raider fiasco. For those that didn’t hear about it, over the weekend Crystal Dynamics and Microsoft announced the the sequel the critically acclaimed Tomb Raider reboot would be making its home exclusively on Xbox/ Xbox One platforms.
In the year 2014 it’s almost beyond the scope of imagination that a non first-party game gets any sort of exclusivity deal, especially one that keeps it only on a single platform (ED Note: it has been announced that Rise of the Tomb Raider will be a timed exclusive after much confusion).
Even stranger is how the original Tomb Raider underperformed in sales overall, yet the Playstation version outsold the Xbox version by a wide margin. Not only that, but the Tomb Raider Definitive Edition was released solely on the Playstation 4 with upscaled graphics.
Look, if you are a console company and you create a first-party game then having that title stick close to home makes perfect sense. Nintendo has their Mario and Zelda’s that help keep them afloat, Sony has their Uncharted and God of War franchises going for them, and Microsoft has the massive Halo beast that always sells well.
I’m not here to expunge on why third-party console exclusivity is a bad thing (it’s very bad for consumers and developers), but instead I’m calling out Crystal Dynamics on their bullshit way of handling the situation. Microsoft gets a pass on this one as they shelled out what I can only imagine is a veritable “butt load” of money to try to claw their way up from a distant second.
Who I really aim all my vitriol at is Crystal Dynamics Head of Studios, Darrell Gallagher with his idiotic response to so-called “fans” in a statement released on the Tomb Raider blog (you can read it here). Before I go off on my tangent let me show you what he said about the situation and then we can dive into it a break it down on why his statement is actually a big middle finger to gamers.
Dear Tomb Raider Community,
As you may have seen, we’ve just announced that Rise of the Tomb Raider, coming Holiday 2015, is exclusively on Xbox. We consider all of you to be the lifeblood of Tomb Raider and the work we do at Crystal. I’d like to give you some insight into this decision, and why we feel this is the very best thing for the Tomb Raider sequel we’re creating at the studio.
Tomb Raider in 2013 was a success due in large part to your continued support. Our goal has always been to deliver something truly special with Rise of the Tomb Raider. Today’s announcement with Microsoft is one step to help us put Tomb Raider on top of action adventure gaming. 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. 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.
This 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.
We know that there are probably many more questions and concerns. Please do send them to us, and we’ll answer to the best of our ability. Meanwhile we’re going all out to try and make something truly special – the most ambitious Tomb Raider game ever built.
Thanks,
Darrell Gallagher
Crystal Dynamics Head of Studios
Wow… Just, wow. That man has a pair of brass balls the size of small country to post that. Hell, it would have done far less harm to just keep quiet and post nothing at all about the deal. Okay, so let’s break down why the above statement was a terrible idea.
“As you may have seen, we’ve just announced that Rise of the Tomb Raider, coming Holiday 2015, is exclusively on Xbox.”
We sure did read that Darrell and none of the thousands of so-called “fans” that bought Tomb Raider on Playstation and PC (thus giving you enough money to make a sequel) are happy about it. But please, continue if you will.
“We consider all of you to be the lifeblood of Tomb Raider and the work we do at Crystal. I’d like to give you some insight into this decision, and why we feel this is the very best thing for the Tomb Raider sequel we’re creating at the studio.”
Well, it seems like it took you only two sentences to shove your foot right square in your mouth. If you, even for a second, considered all of us to be the lifeblood of Tomb Raider then you never would have accepted any sort of exclusivity deal that alienates more than half of the gamers that bought the Tomb Raider reboot you pompous ass.
“Tomb Raider in 2013 was a success due in large part to your continued support. Our goal has always been to deliver something truly special with Rise of the Tomb Raider.”
In large part to the people who bought the game for the Playstation, Playstation 4, and through Steam on PC? Or are you just talking about the Xbox crowd (I own the game for the Xbox 360 myself) and are you making something special just for them?
“Today’s announcement with Microsoft is one step to help us put Tomb Raider on top of action adventure gaming. 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.”
If by “on top of action adventure gaming” you mean competing with Sony’s Uncharted franchise, a series that took its cues from Tomb Raider when said series was wallowing in mediocrity then that’s a fair statement. Unfortunately, it’s that next sentence where you lose discerning consumers. Microsoft hasn’t “seen” the huge potential in Tomb Raider, what they saw was a way to directly compete with Uncharted. Nothing more, nothing less.
“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.”
Fantastic wording there! Really, I’m quite impressed. By saying Crystal Dynamics will be getting “…more than any support we had from them in the past” they are essentially saying that they are getting a lot of money and at the same time very back handily sticking it to Sony by implying that they didn’t offer enough support. Also, the fact that you are more concerned about making the Tomb Raider “brand” the biggest in gaming is down right disturbing. Forget the games guys, we want to build a brand here! Remember when we did that the last time around and ended up putting out Angel of Darkness? Yeah, let’s totally do that again.
“This 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.”
That’s exactly what you are doing jackass.
“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.”
Oh, great! Everyone else gets your little downloadable game to buy and make you more money. Wait, won’t it also be on Xbox platforms too? Oh, and while Xbox owners are playing the sequel PlayStation owners can still play the year old Definitive Edition. See, we really do care about everyone!
“We know that there are probably many more questions and concerns. Please do send them to us, and we’ll answer to the best of our ability.”
I have a question for you: “Why the hell are you treating us like children and alienating over half the user base that allowed you to make this sequel?”
Followup question: “If you did this because Microsoft gave you lots of money, why didn’t you just say that? A lot fewer people would be mad (myself included) if you were just honest.”
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