Tomb Raider stretches to 6 million sold, one year later
Has any franchise reboot endured more scrutiny and debate over its degrees of success (or is it failure?) than 2013's Tomb Raider? Perhaps it's apt fallout from Lara Croft's rugged origin story, in which she proves herself against wolves, wild cultists and supernatural weather.
Tomb Raider's commercial splash has gone from "'biggest opening" to "weak," back to "profitable" and onward to exceeding "profit expectations," according to a fan-facing note from Square Enix's head of studios, Darrell Gallagher. Looking back at the year since Tomb Raider first launched, Gallagher plays the referee and makes the call fans have been waiting for: "By the end of this month we will surpass 6 million units for our Tomb Raider reboot, and, having achieved profitability back in 2013 Tomb Raider has exceeded profit expectations and continues to make significant contributions to our overall financial performance."
Publisher Square Enix was never going to get an instant Call of Duty caliber hit out of the story-driven Tomb Raider, but this affirmed success becomes important when we see doom hanging over major AAA studios, investing years into a game that hits – but doesn't hit quite hard enough. For now, Lara Croft appears to be a viable business again, even if she's not yet swimming in it. And let's get some actual swimming in the next one, please?
http://www.joystiq.com/2014/03/06/to...ne-year-later/
