Some parts of the interview. You can read the full interview here:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-08-18-xbox-boss-phil-spencer-makes-case-for-tomb-raider-exclusivity-deal
Were you expecting the force of the negative reaction to the announcement? Or did it come as a surprise?
Phil Spencer: I don't know that it's been a surprise. I knew we were going to have to talk about the whole story. And you don't get to do that on stage. On stage you have your moment, with Darrell [Gallagher, head of Crystal Dynamics] there, we're talking about the franchise, what it means, how excited we are by the next release and that it's coming to Xbox exclusively. That's an important point for us.
When you start looking at franchises out there, the one I draw an analogy to is Dead Rising. Our partnership with Capcom around Dead Rising has been good for Dead Rising. We've been able to invest and to raise - maybe it's a bit egotistical - the notoriety of that franchise.
Crystal has been investing in that game and Square has as well, in Tomb Raider as a franchise, and wanting to put it at the highest level, with the big triple-A franchises out there, but that's expensive. For us, as we've been working together on this, it's a nice franchise for us in terms of the genre and how it fits into our first-party portfolio. Do I wish I had an owned IP first-party action adventure game? Absolutely. But I don't right now. This is one that fits well and we had such a good working relationship with them.
And they want to build that game up to the same level as any of the huge triple-A games out there. It used to a big dominant game. Crystal has done a great job in rebuilding it since '09, when they started kickstarting it, but continuing to invest at that level, it takes a partnership.
When people look at something like Dead Rising and where it is right now, I would say for the franchise it's been a good partnership. Now, maybe somebody on PlayStation would say, well no it hasn't, because I haven't played the game. But if I'm Capcom and I think about what that franchise means now... or even like a Titanfall, and our ability to invest with EA to make that launch great. Tomb Raider is no different.
Now, obviously if I'm going to partner on it, I'm a platform holder, I'm hardly going to invest to go make the PlayStation version of any game. It is a business. So when we go invest with a partner on a big franchise, we're going to come with certain needs we have out of the relationship.
I think it's a win/win. It's good for us. We've got certain needs out of it. I think it could be good for them. And, frankly - and I know a lot of people won't like this but I'll say it - I think it can be good for the franchise and good for gaming all up, because it's a franchise that's meant something, and we're going to be able to work with them and invest and try to put the marketing and everything else at a level, and we're active in working with them on the development of the game as well, to try to make it one of those franchises that stands out.
So it was something Square Enix approached you about to see whether you would be up for it, essentially?Phil Spencer: You've got to remember, we talk all the time. '09 was the first time we had them on our E3 stage. They were on our stage this year. They were on our stage last year. We've worked with them for many years. So it's not even like a conversation that's new to us. We've got an ongoing relationship with Crystal around this franchise.
They've seen what we've done with certain games out there that aren't ours. Ryse is another IP. I don't own the Ryse IP, but I was able to invest with Crytek to turn it into a franchise, which isn't easy to do for a studio on their own. I don't own it. They just announced it for PC, and certain people throw stones at me and say, 'you shouldn't let it go out on PC.' I'm like, look, I want Crytek to make money. I want Crytek to be successful. Why would I ever block them from doing something with a game they own?
It really was nothing against any other platform. It's just looking at our portfolio next holiday and saying, this is a great game for us, and we can go really big with it. If we look back on the franchise and this release, it can raise the elevation of what it means in gaming. I'll be happy to be part of that.
I get the reaction I see. If I'm a PlayStation person I feel like, oh, all of a sudden the franchise is going. 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 something else - we'll see where these things go. Just like Ryse. We'll see what happens with the games. I don't own every iteration of Tomb Raider.
But for us and this opportunity,The other aspect to the reaction had to do with the wording of the description of the deal, which was specific. People were wondering whether this game would eventually launch on other platforms. What is the nature of the exclusivity you've secured?
Phil Spencer: I don't own them building Tomb Raider on other platforms, so I'm just not the person to talk to. I can't talk about the franchise that way. I can talk about the deal I have.
So exactly what is the deal you have?
Phil Spencer: I have Tomb Raider shipping next holiday exclusively on Xbox.
Is that Xbox One only?
Phil Spencer: Let me clarify that one. It is Xbox 360 and Xbox One. I want to be clear on that. It is on 360 and Xbox One, and people should take that away. I'm not trying to fake anybody out in terms of where this thing is. What they do with the franchise in the long run is not mine. I just don't control it. So all I can talk about is the deal I have.
I know obviously 360 and Xbox One. I know that part of it. I don't know where else Tomb Raider goes. I don't.
But do you have a timeframe you've agreed upon in terms of the exclusivity you have? Do you have the exclusivity for a certain amount of time? That's what our readers are asking us to try to find out.
Phil Spencer: Yes, the deal has a duration. I didn't buy it. I don't own the franchise.
Can you say how long the duration is?
Phil Spencer: No. And it's not because I'm trying to be a headfake on anybody. It's a deal between us and the partner. People ask me, how much did we pay? There are certain things I'm just not going to talk about because it's a business deal between us and them.
But when people talk to me about Tomb Raider on other platforms, like I said, it's an area I don't feel like it's my position to talk about. I don't own the rights to it on any other platform. Obviously the deal does have a duration. I didn't buy the IP in perpetuity. But it's a real interesting opportunity for us next holiday with our lineup. We've got Halo 5 coming. We showed Quantum Break. To talk about a 2015 release of Tomb Raider on Xbox 360 and Xbox One is great.
Can you understand why there are questions around the nature of your exclusivity deal?
Phil Spencer: I want you to ask me, because I want to get this story out there. This whole thing that, like we just somehow found something that Sony fans love and said hey, if we just drop millions of dollars then they can't go play the game, that's not how it played out.
I'll just put it this way: other people could have done this deal. There was nothing about us that said, we were the only people would could do this deal. If another publisher, another platform wanted to go do this deal, it's a business deal. There's nothing we did somebody else could not have done.
Certain people say, well, nobody else would do a deal like that. Deals like this do happen. It was a great opportunity for us, and of course I'm going to take advantage of that. I think it was a good opportunity for us to partner on this game. And I think it can be a win/win.
In part is it about having an answer to Uncharted 4? The comparison between the last Tomb Raider and Uncharted has been made.
Phil Spencer: Totally. I'm a big fan of Uncharted and I wish we had an action adventure game of that ilk. We've started some, and we've looked at them. But we don't have one today of that quality. This is an opportunity.
People push me as the content guy, shouldn't it all be about the content you're building? I want to own all of the hits on our platform. Well, not all of them - that's too much. But I want to have a stable of hits on our platform that we own. Absolutely. That's fundamental to us having a successful platform. When a unique opportunity comes up, I've got to go look at that. And this was a unique opportunity.
People have asked me before about IP we own, and they'll say, you own all the IP you publish. I'm explicit about it: that's a goal but there will be situations where we don't, and we've talked about those. Ryse is a situation where we don't own the IP.
NNID: FrequentFlyer54
