Games By Matthew Humphries Sep. 4, 2014 10:28 am
Last month Microsoft and Crystal Dynamics managed to upset gamers by announcing that Rise of the Tomb Raider would be an Xbox exclusive. Initially the language suggested the game would never be released for any rival platforms, but that stance soon softened to confirm it was a timed exclusive. Not content with upsetting gamers once, both parties continue to refuse to state how long the exclusive period lasts for.
The way in which this exclusivity deal was handled is ridiculous. What should have been a positive for Microsoft and the Xbox One in particular is now a sore point. And to demonstrate just how much of a joke this situation and deal has turned out to be, a pre-order for the PS4 version of the game has now appeared before the Xbox One and Xbox 360 versions have released.
UK retailer GAME has listed Rise of the Tomb Raider for PS4 on its website with a release date of “TBC 2014.” The placeholder box art amusingly has the “Only On PlayStation” tag on the cover. It’s thought that Microsoft had secured the game for the holidays this year, but it could still turn out to just be a month or so.
I suspect that Microsoft will be calling any retailer that lists the game for pre-order on Sony systems and requesting (demanding?) they take the page down. There’s gamers out there who want this game on a next-gen console, but decided to buy a PS4. Microsoft wants to tempt them to buy an Xbox One with this exclusive, and a PS4 pre-order will diminish the already slim chances of that happening.
Hopefully Microsoft has learned from this fiasco and will handle exclusives differently and better in future. But saying that, if you want a console to get more sales then timed exclusives are not the answer. New gaming IP should be top of the list, as should pricing.
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The way in which this exclusivity deal was handled is ridiculous. What should have been a positive for Microsoft and the Xbox One in particular is now a sore point. And to demonstrate just how much of a joke this situation and deal has turned out to be, a pre-order for the PS4 version of the game has now appeared before the Xbox One and Xbox 360 versions have released.
UK retailer GAME has listed Rise of the Tomb Raider for PS4 on its website with a release date of “TBC 2014.” The placeholder box art amusingly has the “Only On PlayStation” tag on the cover. It’s thought that Microsoft had secured the game for the holidays this year, but it could still turn out to just be a month or so.
I suspect that Microsoft will be calling any retailer that lists the game for pre-order on Sony systems and requesting (demanding?) they take the page down. There’s gamers out there who want this game on a next-gen console, but decided to buy a PS4. Microsoft wants to tempt them to buy an Xbox One with this exclusive, and a PS4 pre-order will diminish the already slim chances of that happening.
Hopefully Microsoft has learned from this fiasco and will handle exclusives differently and better in future. But saying that, if you want a console to get more sales then timed exclusives are not the answer. New gaming IP should be top of the list, as should pricing.
More...
