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Tomb Raider’s On Xbox Because Square Enix Muffed It

As we all know by now, Rise of the Tomb Raider will be exclusive to Xbox platforms because Microsoft is publishing it.

And why? Because Square Enix sucks, that's why.

Don't blame Microsoft for this. If the former publisher hadn't screwed things up so badly before, this wouldn't have happened. Let's remember what Square Enix's absurd expectations were for this game: Even though it sold exceedingly well, they anticipated 5 million sales in the first month. 3.4 million is fantastic but it wasn't enough. We found out later that the game didn't even break even until around December, and one could argue that the Definitive Edition existed to recoup more expenses.

And how much did they put into it again? $100 million? Are they nuts ? It took until the new year to turn a decent profit and to do that, it needed to hit 6 million copies sold. I know Tomb Raider was a great game but the expected numbers were way out of whack, and this is precisely the reason Tomb Raider is now in the hands of Microsoft. Square Enix flubbed it, period.

They're good at that.

Related Game(s): Rise of the Tomb Raider

Rise Of The Tomb Raider Targeting All Consoles And PC?

Thus far, the platforms aren't totally official.

But if some recent listings at Amazon UK are to be believed, it seems Rise of the Tomb Raider will be coming to both current- and next-gen consoles, as well as PC.

It was initially unveiled during Microsoft's E3 press conference, and most assumed it'd be coming to the PS4 and Xbox One. But now it seems the anticipated follow-up effort will be headed to the PS3 and 360, too, so don't despair if you haven't upgraded your console hardware. It's a little strange, though…the game is still a ways off, and we're already starting to see plenty of games that are only being made for next-gen machines.

Then again, if I was a publisher, I wouldn't want to miss out on selling to the PS3/360 crowd, which numbers around 160 million these days.

Related Game(s): Rise of the Tomb Raider

Rise Of The Tomb Raider: Another Chance For Feminists To Go Nuts

I'm all for great female roles in video games. One of the reasons I really liked Tomb Raider is because Lara Croft was finally more than a top-heavy Barbie Doll, bouncing around and shooting dinosaurs.

Yes, I know. The developers could've done more with her character. I pointed that out in my review .

However, despite all the complaints, you can't deny that the character – and the series – went in the right direction with that reboot. My guess is they'll take yet another step in the right direction with the recently announced Rise of the Tomb Raider . And yet, I can pretty much guarantee that in the months leading up to the game's release (whenever that is), we'll see another boatload of headlines from whining feminists.

You just can't win with these people. They demand that Lara change; she does, and it's not enough. They demand strong female characters in games; we get them, and yet, they spend their time finding all the roles in which women are objectified or sexualized. Could we not conveniently ignore the strides we've taken? What good does that do? If all you want to do is complain, fine. But don't try to pretend you want to bring about fantastic social change within the world of gaming, because it's happening even as we speak. That should at least be acknowledged.

Sure, we've got a long way to go. But we're not regressing . We're going in the right direction; just look at all the great games with strong, respectable, authentic female roles. It goes well beyond Beyond , my friends. And Rise of the Tomb Raider should present us with a Lara that all women should at least be able to respect, right? Can we do that, please?

Related Game(s): Rise of the Tomb Raider

Rise Of The Tomb Raider Announced, Set For Holiday 2015

Now this I want.

Last year's Tomb Raider reboot was a great game, and it successfully infused new life into the once-ailing franchise. We knew developer Crystal Dynamics was working on a follow-up effort and now it's official.

As revealed during Microsoft's E3 press conference, Rise of the Tomb Raider is currently in the works, and it's slated to arrive during the 2015 holiday season. Yes, it was revealed at Microsoft's show but that hardly means it'll be exclusive to the Xbox One; quite obviously, it'll be a multiplatform title…right? Anyway, the debut trailer is below. In it, Lara talks to a psychiatrist about some of her latest adventures, and we also get a peek at a myriad of weapons.

Too bad it won't be out this year but even so, we can't wait!

Related Game(s): Rise of the Tomb Raider