Square CEO on Rise of the Tomb Raider Xbox One exclusivity & Microsoft's passion
"It was never a cold, heartless or thoughtless decision for Square Enix to agree to bring
Rise of the Tomb Raider out as an Xbox One exclusive at launch. As he told Examiner.com, Square Enix CEO of the Americas and Europe Phil Rogers knew it was a decision that would cause disappointment at first, but the ultimate goal in mind was to bring
Tomb Raider into the upper echelon of gaming's top brands.
"I hope fans know that it wasn’t an easy decision. I think any sort of partnership at this level is a decision that took a longtime for us to get to. The decision at a studio level, we took very, very seriously. We knew it would, in the short-term, disappoint fans," Rogers said.
Fan disappointment has certainly been a result of the exclusivity, but with last week's announcement of when the game will come to PS4, at least everything is out in the open now.
Tomb Raider isn't the first franchise to be exclusive to a specific platform, as
Titanfall, Street Fighter and
Plants vs. Zombies can all attest to that.
All of these games chose exclusivity with being the best in mind. They wanted to have a chance to standout from the rest of the pack and have an individual spotlight shown on them, all in the hopes of grasping that brass ring of the elite. Third party exclusives are a reality of our industry today, and they are a product of the fierce competition between great companies like Microsoft and Sony.
When talking with Phil about the deal, it's easy to get the sense that one of the chief reasons why Square Enix decided to go with a timed-exclusive for the next
Tomb Raider is because of one very simple reason: Microsoft's passion for
Tomb Raider. "What we saw in Microsoft, which is probably not as well known, is that Microsoft’s passion for
Tomb Raider is amazing.
"Having been working with us on previous games in a lesser sense, they’ve been supportive. [However], for
Rise of the Tomb Raider, they’ve just brought this passion and belief that has really enabled us to blow people away. People should feel that about Microsoft. Their commitment to
Tomb Raider is just amazing for us," Rogers said.
The level of exposure and spotlight that Microsoft has given
Rise of the Tomb Raider certainly has made the game one of the must-haves for this coming holiday season, even despite that other little game releasing on the same day,
Fallout 4. Rogers spoke about what it means for the company and brand when it continues to
Tomb Raider being showcased on a worldwide stage along with some of the biggest franchises in gaming. "To see
Tomb Raider showcased with
Halo,
Forza and
Gears and see
Tomb Raider there, it’s amazing for us."
"We’re about growing our IP, this is a long-term decision. We’re going to take
Tomb Raider up to the next level. With Microsoft’s belief, passion and sort of muscle to help us deliver, we really think this is going to be an awesome game that people will enjoy for years and years to come," Rogers said.
http://www.examiner.com/article/squ...ider-xbox-one-exclusivity-microsoft-s-passion