Square Enix CEO resigns

Why is not good? fresh blood and all that?

I'm sure Tomb Raider has surpassed 2 million in sales now. It took Underworld like.. 4 years to sell 3 million so it's not doing badly!

Tomb Raider did do very well sales wise but you can't exclude the costs involved in helping to make those sales. There were 2 development teams/projects to pay for, travel, exclusives, community events and a huge brand marketing campaign. That is not to say it wasn't profitable, but may not be profitable enough for other titles that may have made overall losses for the year.

Yeah, but unfortunately Japan is all about numbers and future sales is not in the current statements. Also it'll need to be a lot more to make up for the huge drop in the forcast of ¥13.5m. Although ¥10m of this is due to restructuring which incurs approx ¥8bn in disposal and evaluation of content which is a one-off/extraordinary loss.

Now I'm curious as to what that content might be

Well at least Europe kinda did ok. Seems it was North America that was the weakest link


www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-03-26-tomb-raider-has-sold-3-4-million-copies-failed-to-hit-expectations?utm_source=eurogamer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=net-daily

Yeah, there were a lot of retailers competing in price over here. I managed to get the Collector's Edition for just £50 and some retailers were selling the standard for less than £30.

I need to say this and I'm just going to say it as blunt as it is, because it's the truth.

Square Enix ran themselves into the ground. They announce games way ahead before the previously announced games before they're finished, have announced games almost decades before the game touches the floor and then they buy all these companies, like Eidos, and expect the franchises that they now own to pull them out of debt, and demanding that one game franchise pull them out of the hole they dug (or significantly pull them out), because of their poor planning, their terrible financial balancing, and the fact that Eastern games are becoming less and less popular in the gaming industry as well as the community today.

And then get frustrated that Tomb Raider didn't pull them out of the millions and millions of dollars (possibly billions) of debt they are in? How, utterly and completely asinine. They knew what they were getting into when they purchased the copyright title of Tomb Raider. And Tomb Raider did a drastic turn around for the better by selling a lot of copies in such a short time.

The game may not have sold a certain amount of copies due to the following reasons:

1. Many classic fans saw the new game and where it was heading and said, "That's not my Lara, I'm not buying it, I'm boycotting it, more or less. I don't want to play like this 'new Lara' ". However, the game was praised for it's balance, it's gameplay, it's story, it's pacing/progression, character inspiration, and more, so they were foolish in keeping their head in the past. Although there is nothing wrong with loving/liking the classics, one must understand, that in order for game series to continue, progression into the newest area of both technology and cinematic approach is dire and ultimately necessary.

2. Many people were confused with the new game, and didn't really know whether to buy the game or not. They were more like, "This is Lara Croft? Where's the boobies and the dual pistols?" Quite a few people were confused with the new approach of Lara Croft (even though it headed into the right direction for both the series and for a sequel).

3. There are so many great games coming out this year and as many people are suffering from economical problems and issues, most people had to choose maybe one or possibly two games in the first six months of the year to purchase, unless they are fortunate enough to not have to make that choice/decision. Many were like, "Bioshock: Infinite or Tomb Raider"? And those who are not Tomb Raider fans and/or are confused, will most likely choose Bioshock. I wanted Bioshock: Infinite myself, but being as loyal as I am to Tomb Raider, I of course chose to purchase that instead and hoped to get the money for Bioshock later. Financial problems are a huge problem with the gaming industry. Too many games are coming out at once and there just isn't enough coins in one's pocket to pay for them all.

4. People who have played the previous Tomb Raider games (TR7, TR8, TRA) were not happy with the outcome, disastified and on the market for a new Tomb Raider game, that looks really bad. "Oh Tomb Raider is coming out with a new game and plot? Pfft, I got that game last time, and it sucked. I'm not wasting my money again when I can Bioshock, or Last of Us, known proven game series that have substational gameplay, story, and re-playability and more." While that audience alone is stereotypicalizing the new game without playing it, they have a point. Would you pay to watch a movie from a series who's predecessor was terrible and barely got a 5/10? Most likely not. Now while I believe people should give the new game a chance, many aren't willing to take that risk via money, bad experience, or hell, just want to get a different game.

So with just these four reasons alone, (and there's more), Square Enix really had the audacity to even think that Tomb Raider would surpass a unachievable goal of 14.9 million copies sold? Let's be honest here; That would never happen. I hope with the new CEO of SE, that he'll get the company back on track and focus on what is important instead of making grand gestures of purchasing companies and not thinking of all of the repercussions that come with that action.

As my fiance said, and it's a very wise and accurate statement: You can't expect a financially successful game to pull out a financially unstable company.

Oh, you little temptress you I wonder what it could be...

Oh no!

*blush* do have a feeling that from a consumer viewpoint it would be hard notice anything that is actually different

I have to pick up that, for some reason TR does have some kind of real fan love wove into it, always has done but it is very apparent with the new one. It's hard to put my finger on it but it is certainly there. Hope your job is okay