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[foxbeldin]

Two days ago, Brian Horton the game director of ROTTR made a passionate statement on tombraiderforums. Haven't seen a thread talking about this so, i guess it's thread worthy.

For context, he's answering in a thread debating chartzzz numbers and the 300k estimate for the first week of sales.

Microsoft and Square are very happy with Rise and the dev team, thanks for the concerns. Crystal and Eidos Montreal made a game we are proud of and we appreciate the overwheling number of positive reviews and fan feedback. We're looking forward to the Game Awards next week where we are nominated for Best Action Adventure and Best Performance for Camilla. Wish us luck, hopefully it's just the beginning of the recognition Tomb Raider and Lara Croft receives this year. It's cool to see her on top again for the second game in a row. We're all fans and for me it's been the honor of my career to be a part of such a fantastic legacy. Next year 20th Anniversary!

source

Croft me if old.


update :

Other posts from him.

The dev team is not responsible for sales and therefore we look to reviews and releasing on time to gauge our performance. We acomplished these goals. The press considers Rise of the Tomb Raider a high quality game based on the scores. I don't see any of this as a lie.

Link

I didn't mean to go off topic or patronize, but there was suggestion in the thread that the reported sales numbers reflect poorly on the dev team. Square/Microsoft are happy with Crystal and Eidos Montreal and the game itself. As to the topic of sales, I'm unqualified to discuss it so I won't have anything else to say on this thread. Much love TRF and happy holidays.

Link

 

[Warxard]

Well yeah they already got paid, why wouldn't they be happy.

--

20th anniversary huh? Does this mean Crystal Dynamics is wworking on Tomb Raider 2 anniversary?

 

[Kezen]

They don't seem willing to disclose sales numbers.

I wonder why.

 

[SgtCobra]

He's specifically not talking about the sales numbers is he?

 

[DarkLordMalik]

I will believe it when we see the third game in the trilogy.

 

[Guymelef]

Yeah, they are happy with the game.
About sales...

 

[takriel]

Well yeah they already got paid, why wouldn't they be happy.

--

20th anniversary huh? Does this mean Crystal Dynamics is wworking on Tomb Raider 2 anniversary?

Rise of the Tomb Raider PS4 20th anniversary GOTY edition!

 

[Jumeira]

The game is the best TR game yet, if SQ are happy we'll be getting another one hopefully. Happy to see the devs getting the feedback they deserve. Well done guys.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

I mean, let's be honest: what else is he going to say? I don't think it's unrealistic to presume these sales are far lower than what they had initially expected, but again the blame fully falls on S-E for accepting a bad deal which would not benefit the series in any way other than getting an early payday.

 

[slavesnyder]

We're looking forward to the Game Awards next week where we are nominated for Best Action Adventure and Best Performance for Camilla.

That's a great category. What are the other nominees there?

 

[Chobel]

LOL! He's clearly avoiding the talk about sales.

 

[Tratorn]

He's specifically not talking about the sales numbers is he?

Yes, they're happy with the game, but he doesn't say a word about the sales.

 

[Ghost Slayer]

Rise of the Tomb Raider PS4 20th anniversary GOTY edition!

You mean 1st anniversary?

 

[Nightengale]

Quarterly financials is what I'd trust.

 

[Sulik2]

Its an absolutely fantastic game, they should be happy with it. Sales haven't been great from all evidence, but Microsoft may very well have paid them enough for their timed exclusivity that it covered dev costs so Square would be happy with it regardless.

 

[w0s]

Are launch numbers that important for this game? Seems like this will sell through out the year anyways.

 

[Kayant]

Microsoft and Square are very happy with Rise and the dev team, thanks for the concerns.

That sounds like a spin to specifically not address sales. Being happy about Rise as a whole could reference to many things.

 

[Cyborg]

Well yeah they already got paid, why wouldn't they be happy.

I agree! The game is for sure good but the sales could be better

 

[oti]

This is a terrible statement.

"No no, nothing's on fire. Don't mind the smoke everything is ok- WAIT IS THAT SUPERMAN OVER THERE I THINK IT IS!"

 

[The Jackdog]

That sounds like a spin to specifically not address sales. Being happy about Rise as a whole could reference to many things.

dev doesnt specifically mention sales, MUST BE A SPIN.

 

[Falk]

That's a great category. What are the other nominees there?

Think it's meant to read 'Tomb Raider nominated for Best Performance, credit to Camilla'.

 

[Kayant]

dev doesnt specifically mention sales, MUST BE A SPIN.

PR how does it work... He doesn't have to talk about numbers specifically to address the point.

 

[EventHorizon]

dev doesnt specifically mention sales, MUST BE A SPIN.

It is when they interject themselves in a conversation specifically about the poor sales.

 

[Elios83]

So in a sales thread he's saying that Microsoft and Square are happy with the quality of the game

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

You guys saying they are happy and taking this at face value aren't thinking about this correctly

Even if MS covered a significant part of the cost no publisher/developer is going to be remotely happy that the 6 years trying to build a franchise has resulted in a sequel that will likely sell less than the first game. That is a massive investment in time and energy that they can't recoup.

 

[SolidSnakex]

Are launch numbers that important for this game? Seems like this will sell through out the year anyways.

It's an established IP so you'd expect big sales upfront even if it had legs. Just to put things into perspective, the game sold at most 57k in its opening week in the UK. 2013 sold 183k and Legend sold 90k in their opening weeks.

dev doesnt specifically mention sales, MUST BE A SPIN.

The thread he posted in was specifically about how the sales of the game seem to be low.

 

[Vincent Grayson]

I don't know why they *wouldn't* be happy with the game and the dev team. By most accounts, it's a fantastic game.

The question is, are they happy with the sales?

 

[LordBaztion]

Glad to read, great game, deserves better though.

 

[Shahed]

Of course they are happy with the game and development team. By all accounts I've heard, they've made a very good game. Why wouldn't they be happy?

 

[JeffZero]

The question is, are they happy with the sales?

And the answer, of course, is "no. That would literally be impossible with numbers this low."

 

[RootCause]

And people say money can't buy you hapinness. :3

 

[kadotsu]

No mention of Nixxes who probably worked their ass off to get this game to run on 360.

 

[DriftingSpirit]

We're all happy with the game.

 

[DottyHead]

The Dev team did their job making a great game. The blame can't be on them

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

dev doesnt specifically mention sales, MUST BE A SPIN.

This isn't always true but I find that reading helps give context to things and thus in a crazy way helps me to understand them.

YMMV

 

[Giriath_89]

It's an established IP so you'd expect big sales upfront even if it had legs. Just to put things into perspective, the game sold at most 57k in its opening week in the UK. 2013 sold 183k and Legend sold 90k in their opening weeks.

It actually sold 42k in its opening week in the UK.

CD should definitely be proud of their game, but they and SE are definitely not happy about the sales and the damage done to the IP.

 

[pizzacat]

Why can't he just publicly say how disappointed his team is and how much of a waste it was to make a sequel that sells less than the first one?

Spoiler

lol what are people expecting

 

[LiquidMetal14]

This is easy to say but it's obvious theyboeft a truckload of sales with the boneheaded decision to ignore the game gjest selling platform and a viable PC market for at least a few months to a year.

Why can't he just publicly say how disappointed his team is and how much of a waste it was to make a sequel that sells less than the first one?

Spoiler

lol what are people expecting

To not be treated like idiots really. Transparency in this industry is needing work. This is just as good as a form of PR.

 

[Dougieflesh]

Drawing away attention to the quality of the game instead of the quantity it sold is a solid PR move.

 

[danm999]

I mean, neither Microsoft or Square can have had super high expectations right to this point right?

Timed exclusive not releasing on most platforms until 2016, releasing in a window near BLOPS 3, Halo 5, Fallout 4, Battlefront.

Seems like Square would expect a long tail on sales?

 

[TrounceX]

I'll take this at face value, and they very well should be happy with the game and the development team.

Sales, well, all I can say is that game companies need to STOP releasing everything in a few week span in the Fall. I would love to play Rise, but is it going to get my attention ahead of Halo 5 and Fallout 4? No chance. I'll be picking this up later. If it had come out next Spring, yeah I probably would have bought it at full price.

I don't know, it's so obvious to me, but I'm not a sales or marketing person. Clearly there is a reason they want to release all the biggest games at this time of the year and take the chance of being eaten alive by competition. But an exclusive action-adventure game with no online presence would be high on my list of suspected casualties.

 

[scitek]

Of course they are happy with the game and development team. By all accounts I've heard, they've made a very good game. Why wouldn't they be happy?

Because it's not selling as well as they'd hoped it would. Making a quality game is one thing, meeting your publisher's expectations is another.

 

[OléGunner]

Tomb bomba.
By all accounts sales are pretty turgid and they have harmed long term franchise potential.

But what else was the director going to say? Of course they made a great game but overall this title won't get they eyeballs it deserved from TR fans.

 

[Conduit]

Microsoft and Square are very happy with Rise and the dev team, thanks for the concerns.

Yeah! Another exclusive deal. Bring it on!

 

[Machina]

They were the ones that threw them under the Fallout bus so they should go soft on them. Stupidest idea ever.

 

[Catvoca]

I thought this thread was about Ryse at first lol - I don't think anyone was happy with that game.

 

[cameron]

The feeling is probably not mutual.

The dev team can't be happy with how SE/MS managed the game.

 

[SolidSnakex]

It actually sold 42k in its opening week in the UK.

Wasn't that just for the Xbox One version? The 360 version is supposed to move it closer to the 57k figure.

 

[staticneuron]

It is when they interject themselves in a conversation specifically about the poor sales.

The thread he posted in was specifically about how the sales of the game seem to be low.

It never ceases to amaze me how many are quick to post in a thread without reading source for context and clarification. Yes, it is obvious given the charts we have heard about already and no statements about total sales numbers.


But I still thought the game was pretty fun. It felt like a step up over the reboot in terms of tone and gameplay, imo.

 

[Y2Kev]

I wish people would move on. It's already announced for other platforms, Phil already "decided" to not do these anymore, and it's obvious how this one performed. No need to beat a dead horse.