The talk of this week's Gamescom trade show is the surprise revelation that Rise of The Tomb Raider, the sequel to last year's franchise reboot, is to be an Xbox exclusive of sorts. Much of the gaming media, in no small part due to Microsoft's opaque statements on the subject, initially misreported that the game would be a lifetime exclusive, destined never to appear on non-Xbox platforms at all. But, after much dancing around the issue by various company mouthpieces, Microsoft's Phil Spencer did finally admit that Rise of The Tomb Raider's platform monogamy does indeed have a time limit, albeit in his trademark clear as mud vernacular.
The internet has been flinging a lot of bile in Crystal Dynamics, Square Enix and Microsoft's direction, questioning the business sense, or a perceived lack of it, behind such a decision.
But the internet is missing the point. Console choice is no longer about individual triple-A system sellers, but rather the combined clout of the few exclusives on each side that remain, plus their ever more contrasting indie to mid-tier lineups. Anybody who thinks Microsoft bought Rise of The Tomb Raider's short-lived affections with the expectation that it, in of itself, will sell more than a handful of Xbox Ones has no idea what they're talking about.
That being said, the parties involved's evasiveness in the face of legitimate lines of questioning by journalists leaves a foul taste in the mouth, and serves as an unwelcome reminder that there's just too much money in the games industry nowadays.
More on other news from Gamescom to follow.
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