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Sony Senior Product Manager Derides UK Rise Of The Tomb Raider Sales
By all accounts, last week was a great one for gaming. Fallout 4, Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void, and Rise of the Tomb Raider all delivered significant critical acclaim and fan praise.
For one Sony executive, that isn’t enough. Chris Brown, a senior product manager at Sony working on Horizon Zero Dawn, No Man’s Sky, Bloodborne, and Driveclub out of the company’s London office took to Twitter to share his thoughts. Shortly thereafter, Drivelcub director Paul Rustchynsky chimed in to commiserate.
Poor Tomb Raider . UK sales: Rise of the Tomb Raider <63k. And #Fallout4 - despite Microsoft Xbox One support - still sold better on PS4
— Chris Brown (@That_Kid_Chris) November 16, 2015
@That_Kid_Chris Don't worry Tomb Raider will do just fine next year when it's released on PS4 next year ;)
— Paul Rustchynsky (@Rushy33) November 16, 2015
Square Enix told us at Gamescom that Microsoft’s support of the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot is part of what led to the timed exclusivity. "One big group that we always felt helped us was Microsoft," Square Enix CEO Phil Rogers told us. "They've been close friends of Tomb Raider since the reboot and reimagining of where we could take Lara Croft and Tomb Raider. So, the evolution of this relationship deepening with the timed exclusive is a very natural one for us, but a tough decision."
To assuage fans on other platforms, Square Enix announced its PC and PS4 plans in August. Rise of the Tomb Raider will be available on the former early next year. PlayStation 4 owners will be able to join Lara during the holiday season in 2016.
For more on Rise of the Tomb Raider, check out our review.
[Source: Chris Brown on Twitter, Paul Rustchynsky on Twitter via SegmentNext]
Our Take
With Sony’s thin offerings this holiday, this is impolitic, but it also might be a calculated message to all developers and publishers. Given Brown's role as a product manager, this reads as a warning about Xbox One exclusivity. Certainly he doesn't have an issue with the practice (every game he represents is on or coming to PS4 and not Xbox One), but this seems to be a message about siding with the enemy.
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