Microsoft made an announcement that practically pissed off the fans and gaming enthusiasts irrespective of the platform (except Xbox 360 and one owners)- Crystal Dynamics’ upcoming Tomb Raider title will be a Xbox exclusive.
The initial announcement said that Rise of the Tomb Raider will be available for 2015 exclusive for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One consoles, but for a temporary period.
Microsoft’s Phil Spencer spoke to another source,“Yes, the deal has a duration. I didn’t buy it. I don’t own the franchise”. The initial announcement was made by both Crystal Dynamics and Microsoft. But the Xbox exclusive raised more boos and questions than pleasing the fans. Its always going to be unusual to see a well known and long running multi-platform gaming franchise to suddenly become an exclusive. but a confirmation from Phil kept things at ease.
Question now remains- exclusive for how long. Understandably, its going to be frustrating to wait for the game to come to the gaming platform near you. It is assumed that Microsoft paid a lot of money to Crystal Dynamics enough to get a timed exclusive, just in time for the holiday next year.
Crystal Dynamics will be happy because they will be getting a hefty sum, and Microsoft will be happy because they are getting an exclusive long enough to keep Xbox owners happy for the holidays. But its simply not looking good for Sony PS3, PS4 and gaming PC owners. If this is how the deal was done, then one has to seriously ask Crystal Dynamics if they weighed in the possibility of earning a bad rep by practically screwing up majority of the gaming population.
Crystal Dynamics may have had their own issues to take an account of, considering that its not going to be cheap for Microsoft to have a timed exclusive for the holiday season in 2015. How bad will it be? Time will tell. But as of now, the announcement from the start should have been clear that it was a ‘timed exclusive’ rather than chopping off major part of your long running and successful fan base. Had the press release been clear from the start, the aggravation could have been reduced. Meanwhile, gamers are practically slaughtering Tomb Raider Facebook page with strings of hate posts and colourful rants.
Source: 1
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