Of course there's an NDA attached to a deal like this.

Assuming SE broke it just because or for some "good will" is where the funny begins.

The one year release difference between the X1 and PS4 version of RoTR seems like part of a deal MS ironed out.

I never said that, i'm just curious to know why they broke it

Like I said before. Microsoft is probably publishing the PC version themsevlves. Square enix is making the PS4 version so it will take longer for PS4 version to come out.

A lot of publishers/developers bet on the wrong horse before the gen begin. Because Sony had lost so much ground (PS2 -> PS3) and MS had gained (Xbox -> XB360). But believe me, SE wasn't one of them. They pretty much have most of their eggs in PS4 this gen, so far.

I always say it's speculation, but when RotTR was announced, it mentioned no platform. This usually signifies multiplatform (when's the last time you saw an XB or PS logo at the end of a trailer for, say, Assasin's Creed?). It wasn't until 2 whole months later that it all of a sudden was exclusive to XBOne, then "Xbox exclusive" (XB1+XB360), then "holiday exclusive", then timed exclusive. I'm of the thought that MS paid them some money during that time frame to work up a deal, post-game reveal. I have no proof of this, but who announces a game and then doesn't say it's exclusive if it is at the time of announcement? There had to be something going on behind the scenes after it was announced.

So, it wasn't SE betting on the wrong horse. It was SE being approached with a deal. It's not like they voluntarily said "hrmmm....it'd totally be a smart idea to snub the userbase this franchise is most closely associated with. Especially when it has a commanding amount of marketshare"

Not saying you said it, but others have in the thread.

And they clearly broke it because they see lost money on the PS4 version, so they'd rather break an NDA with MS and lose money that way.

Yeah, that's the ticket.

Maybe there was no NDA? Maybe MS is ok with console owners knowing they'll have a year long wait to play it on PS4?

Honestly this seems reminiscent of the RE4 fiasco on Gamecube. Right before the game launched, Capcom announced the PS2 version. Although I doubt anyone from Crystal Dynamics will pull a Mikami and quit the company over it.

Hello you, so ,what did i tell you ? Funny we discussed about that just 24h ago ;)

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.

Shit! So it actually has happened before.