Something is wrong between Square Enix and Microsoft ? Tomb Raider

[binary solo]

Scoobes said:

binary solo said:

RavenXtra said:
How can you state something is obvious without having any information to back you up? Just sounds like conjecture to stir the pot to me.

Conjecture with some justification. The PR contortions coming from MS and CD/SE previously in their attempt to not mention PS4, or PC, ports while not telling an outright lie by saying the game is fully (or console) exclusive, is very suggestive of something breaking within the last couple of days. Going from smoke and mirrors to a crystal clear multiplat, timed exclusive confirmation doesn;t happen without a pretty significant reeason behind it.

It could possibly be that any gag clause in the exclusivity deal expired this week. But it's an odd sort of week for it to expire. Though maybe not so odd. This week doesn't coincide with any major gaming event, so Sony doesn't have a vehicle to make any sort of song and dance about the fact that becomng multiplat is now confirmed. It is also sufficiently in advance of the Xb one release date that any internet buzz about the fact it's confirmed multiplat now will have died down before any RTR marketing really kicks in. It will only be the gaming forum dwellers that keep rolling out the multiplatness leading up to the Nov release date, and we consitute a very small segment of the gaming public.

Perhaps it's a simple as the fact that the PC port is coming early next year and it does seem to be sensible to announce the PC port 6 months before it happens. And there would be a helluva lot of internet noise if the PC port was announced but confirmation of a PS4 port was not. Especially if there was just more smoke and mirrors around the PS4 sitiuation (which there would have to be). CD and SE would be harassed from alll corners of the internet about a PS4 version, so better to announce both at the same time than one now and the other 6 months later.

Some people will still buy XB one for RoTR. But perhaps a few less than would have while there was still a sliver of a chance that PS4 would not get it eventually. While some people might have been deluded, or mis-directed into thinking PS4 was never going to get this game, I don't think anyone was under any illusion that it would not come to PC. So I think PC folks willing to wait were never really considering getting an Xb one just for this, so I don;t think the PC announcement will have any effect on Xb one prospects. 

 

It's also quite possible that for SE to remain quiet about the other versions required a set goal to be reached e.g. a set number of pre-orders, percentage marketshare, X1 consoles sold etc.

When that goal wasn't reached, they were free to announce the other platforms. That's my guess at least.

I'd be surprised if those sorts of milestones would be in a timed exclusivity contract with a "break" clause which specifically allowed SE to anounce additional platforms X weeks prior to launch on the Xb one. End of the day, even for a PC port coming in January, there's no real advantage for SE in annoucing now as opposed to the week after the RoTR release date. The only people likely to be pissed about waiting until after the Xb one release date are likely to be PC gamers who went and bought an Xb one specifically for Tomb Raider. And any PC gamer who would do that in the belief that either the game wouldn't come to PC, or it would be significantly delayed, could reasonably be called an idiot. A PS4 owner who buys a Xb one in November specifically for RoTR would probably still be happy with the purchase, because it means they have the game a whole year before anyone with a PS4 who doesn't buy an Xb one.

If we want to consider possibilities for why announce now, I think we have to seriously consider SE / CD becoming aware of a credible leak, and SE going to MS saying, we're aware of this leak, it has very firm evidence attached to the leak which means as far as anyone is concerned the cat is going to be out of the bag in the next few days and it will be impossible to deny it. So it's better for us to be in control of the information and to pre-empt the leak by making a formal announcement.

The timing is odd, and curious and I think pretty unprecendented. A timed exclusive is either announced as timed up front when the exclusivity is first revealed, or additonal platforms are only announced after the game has launched on the platform that has the exclusivity period. I've never come across a situation where everything possible was said to imply full console exclusivity (at least) without anyone actually telling an outright lie, and then for timed exclusivity to be so openly confirmed just a few months before the game's initial release.