1). Holy shit, I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the initial reactions + this stretching out into a 65 page thread. I felt pretty negative about this all, but I didn't quite see this collective reaction coming.
2). I'm pretty disillusioned with the PR these companies tend to employ. It does not seem this is an exclusive exclusive, and MS is just doing their best to maximize the impact of this announcement, unspoken nuances be damned. In that case, what are the details that MS is so reluctant to inject into this situation? Just that Tomb Raider will also come out on the PS4/PC during some preset fiscal year or something along those lines? If so, that should be easy enough to say. Is this not a "timed" exclusive so much as a "not forever/not unconditional" exclusive, in that it all depends on sales and/or MS' willingness to continue providing financial incentives down the line not to release the game on other platforms?
I understand the desire to make this as big a deal as possible, of course. But I'm sure a better balance can be achieved where no one is required to look blatantly deceitful and unwilling to allow basic information to reach people.
3). I could also understand, to a degree, Tomb Raider becoming exclusive in the context of a partnership where MS devoted themselves to helping market or develop the game. There is a certain pedigree to being a "system seller," because suddenly a lot more airtime is devoted to you, and I guess MS sees this as being helpful in that role. I can at least comprehend a scenario where this is a good deal for SE, and I guess it must be if they took it up. They can always release it on different platforms later on, and probably with some success.
I can't shake the feeling, though, that this is just shortsighted. Reducing the risk SE takes on themselves while also reducing the potential reward. We'll see.
