Honestly, whatever MS paid for a full year of exclusivity was too much. I assume (logically) that they made the deal to sell XB1s. But, I never saw TR as a "system seller" (even though it will likely move some units). But, with confirmation that it is really coming to PS4 (albeit a year later), that undermines the "exclusive" perception that MS was attempting to convey and will likely cut into the small number of XB1s they might have sold because of the deal. Plus, why announce it now??? Why not wait until after the holidays in order to maintain that perception of exclusivity. Even though most of us knew it was coming to PS4 at some point, there was never actual confirmation. AND it is coming to PC shortly after the holidays!!. All this on top of the fact that it is going to be so overshadowed by Fallout 4 launching on the same day. IMO, not a good deal for MS because it had to have cost them $50 million or more, money that could have been spent on a new IP or a "true" exclusive of some sort..
Lara Croft is a gaming icon. There is a reason Sony locked up Tomb Raider back in the PS2 days, keeping it from Sega and Nintendo. The reboot really was a fantastic game, and from the saltiness of this thread, you can tell that the sequel was highly anticipated.
Microsoft is poised to go big or go home again this holiday season. For as strong as their core exclusives are, Tomb Raider is a great game to move people in the direction of the XB1 if they are just entering this generation of consoles. And that's mostly what is missing from the discussion in this thread. most everyone here, including me, are not part of the reason Microsoft made this move.
Microsoft still has a large and possibly loyal base of 360 owners. The horrid launch of the XB1 has peeled off many of those gamers, so Microsoft's number one goal is to lock down that base going forward.
Backwards compatibility, EA Access, the new dashboard, and the subtraction of the Kinect are all aimed at luring their 360 users into making that jump to the XB1 over the PS4. If I were a PS4 owner, I sure would not buy an XB1 just to play a game that is coming a year later.
I do think that RotTR needs to be a 90+ Meteoritic game, and maybe even something like 94 or 95, to really have the effect Microsoft hopes for. And the last game was in the high 80's, so this is not a guarantee at all. But the last game was so good, that if CD played this right, RotTR should be a monster if they made some subtle changes to the game, like putting in bigger and more expansive tombs, and really nail the story.
But then, Tomb Raider is just one part of Phil Spencer's plan to stem the tide of 360 gamers moving to the PS4. It looks like a fanatic holiday season is in store for the XB1. Halo 5, Gears, Forza 6, Madden and EA Access reaching a critical mass of available games could make the XB1 a no brainer for the average consumer looking for a game console.
But then, how much of a difference will winning the holiday season really make? It just depends on how big the move to current gen consoles is this year. It wasn't a difference maker last year.
S4.
