11/9/2022 0 Comments Rise of tomb raider sales![]() "Square Enix isn't doing this because it thinks Microsoft is cool, they're doing it because they're getting well compensated in some way for doing it. Microsoft is throwing money at Square Enix, and it may be in a lower royalty paid to Microsoft on sales, or it could be in subsidizing the game's creation, or the promise of a huge push when it comes to marketing, or it could be all of those things at once. but they can do it on 30 percent less cost for the same amount of units, the return on investment is significantly larger." "So in some cases, even if they only sold the same amount of units. That's what it really means," Zatkin said. "When they're complaining that they only sold X million units, they're complaining that they didn't make as much money as they wanted. Sometimes that means selling the most units, but sometimes it doesn't. They're interested in return on investment, on the largest possible profit. That's not the game Square Enix is playing. Aligning your interests with that of a platform holder is good business: Microsoft is very invested in making Rise of the Tomb Raider a hit, and it can do much to make that happen.Īnd remember, the point is to forget about units sold. But it's very possible they'll also sell more units due to the premium ad placement and promotion. "So even if you sell fewer copies, you get more money per copy," Zatkin explained. "When they're complaining that they only sold X units, they're complaining about not making as much money as they wanted." If the game sells more due to Microsoft's push, and they take less of that money in royalties, Square Enix wins both ways. You're suddenly looking at a deal that could be worth potentially huge amounts of money, with very little formal payment from Microsoft. Imagine a deal where Rise of the Tomb Raider will be given premium advertising and placement on a variety of retail and digital locations, and Square Enix has to pay Microsoft less money as a royalty per game sold, while also getting development support? Microsoft may also offer a reduced royalty rate, which costs the company nothing out of pocket, but which will increase the profits Square Enix sees from every sale. ![]() Platform holders have a lot to offer when it comes to development, and every bit of help frees up the time of the developers and, more importantly, decreases the budget of the game. Microsoft may supply engineers or development talent of its own to make sure the game looks and plays as well as possible, while also offering anything from QA to localization support. It may be promising to help with marketing, which could mean anything from prime, long-term placement on the Xbox One's dashboard to the best displays in retail stores. Microsoft may pay part of the game's development budget. This is where it gets tricky, and the "payment" may not be as simple as check. Microsoft will pay them in some way to make it exclusive." Any game that is made exclusive on a console, that group is paying to be made exclusive. "There are a couple of answers, and one will be money. "Why is Square Enix saying yes to that?" Zatkin asked. But he does know, and understand, the business of exclusivity. He was quick to point out that he has no insider knowledge of this particular deal. I spoke with Geoffrey Zatkin, the founder of CPO of EEDAR. They want exclusive content to bring people to their system." "Why would Microsoft or Sony be interested in picking up a game that wants to be a big seller and a popular game, just for them? That's a fairly obvious answer. Claiming otherwise is ignorant of the realities of development and the business of exclusives. Why would the business people say yes to this deal? Because Square Enix thinks they're going to make more money from it, and it's very possible they're going to sell more units of the game. Everything else is second, and possibly tertiary. That may not mean selling the most units possible, it just means making the most money in order to fund more games. ![]() It's the publisher's job to fund the game and maximize profits. This deal was not made by the developer, a group of people who likely have little to no say in what happens to the game in terms of how it's sold. They have to think of it in terms of profit. They don't necessarily think about success as units sold. Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics are companies that pay its employees and stay in business by making profits on video games. Here's what's hard for gaming fans to do: We need to stop looking at these deals purely through the lens of someone who wants to play the game. The outrage from fans, and the very real sadness of PS4 fans who may not play the game now, is real. Why would Square Enix turn its back on PlayStation 4 customers? Why are they walking away from making the game a hit by limiting its potential audience? Fans of the Tomb Raider series were upset when it was announced that Rise of the Tomb Raider would be an Xbox exclusive upon release. ![]()
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