‘Rise Of The Tomb Raider’ To Be X-Box Exclusive!

The following is an excerpt from Xbox gets Tomb Raider sequel as exclusive title

Microsoft has announced that the next flagship game in its Tomb Raider series is to be an Xbox “exclusive”.

The previous title had also been released for Sony’s PlayStation platform in addition to a version for PCs and Macs.

The title’s developer, Crystal Dynamics, said it believed the tie-up would help it advance the action-adventure game’s brand.

But the studio acknowledged some people would have “concerns”.

The original Tomb Raider game was closely associated with the original PlayStation, which it helped make a success.

One industry watcher described the news as a “decent coup” for Microsoft.

“If you look at the third-party titles that come to market, Tomb Raider is up there as one of the most anticipated third-person action titles,” said Piers Harding-Rolls, head of games at the consultancy IHS.

The following is an excerpt from Sorry Sony: Rise of the Tomb Raider is exclusive to Xbox

During their Gamescom press conference in Germany, Microsoft made the bombshell announcement that Rise of the Tomb Raider would be “exclusive to Xbox.” They didn’t say “timed exclusive” or “console exclusive,” just “exclusive.”

Does that mean the highly-anticipated sequel will never come to the PS4? It’s hard to say, but true third-party exclusives are pretty rare these days. It might take awhile (a year or more, potentially), but there’s some hope for Sony’s fans. If you want to play the game when it launches Holiday 2015, though, you’re going to need to spend the $400 for an Xbox One (if you haven’t already).

It’s not the most fan friendly move, as it severely limits who can enjoy this game (especially considering the PS4 is currently outselling the Xbox One) but as a pure business decision it’s a smart move for Microsoft. Forcing people to buy their console to play major games is a tactic that has worked well for them in the past.

Crystal Dynamics took to Tumblr almost immediately after the announcement to explain their reasoning, saying, “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.”

In other words, “We really liked the idea of the money Microsoft offered us to make this game an exclusive.”