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Why Shadow Of The Tomb Raider's Developer Isn't Worried About Spider-Man
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Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Marvel's Spider-Man are set to launch back-to-back next month but, according to the team at Eidos Montreal, Lara Croft has nothing to fear from the spandex-wearing wall-crawler. In their eyes, there's more than enough room for two big action titles in September. According to Shadow of the Tomb Raide 's game director...
I'm not worried about Spider-Man. I have friends working on it, so I'm very happy for them too, and I think, you were saying it, it's a great year. And for me, Spider-Man and Shadow of the Tomb Raider can co-exist. It's a different experience. One's way more about movement, the city and things, and this one is way more about exploring and finding things that make life special.
The above comes from a recent interview between COGconnected and a pair of higher-ups from Eidos Montreal. The crew sat down for an interview with Game Director Daniel Bisson and Lead Writer Jill Murray. They were asked if there was any concern over the launch date of Tomb Raider, specifically as it pertains to the launch date of Spider-Man.
Spider-Man, which Insomniac Games recently announced went gold, is set to launch on PlayStation 4 on Sept. 7. Shadow of the Tomb Raider, on the other hand, drops onto the PS4, Xbox One and PC just one week later on Sept. 14. While the Eidos team is correct that the two games appear to offer very different experiences, there's no denying the fact that we're looking at two major action games launching within seven days of each other, so concern over sales of one biting into sales of the other are valid.
Still, we'd argue that Eidos is likely spot-on with their assessment. While we're certain some folks will have to choose between one or the other, there are a few factors that will likely allow both games to do just dandy at retail. For starters, Tomb Raider is the third installment in an ongoing series. That means there are already plenty of gamers invested in this story who are likely very eager to see how the trilogy ends. Also, while Spider-Man is a PS4 exclusive, Tomb Raider is launching on the Xbox One and PC to boot. In other words, the "battle for customers" is primarily taking place on a single platform. Anyone "lost" to Spider-Man on the PS4 will likely be made up on those other platforms. And, again, they're pretty different games offering different experiences.
Of course, these kinds of head-to-head launches aren't uncommon this time of year. The Battlefield and Call of Duty series almost always launch within weeks of each other and, so far, they're both two of the highest-earning series in gaming. So there are plenty of fish in the sea, even if your games are similar. What's important here is that both Spider-Man and Tomb Raider are launching well outside of the window for Red Dead Redemption 2. Considering how many expected fall launches have shifted to early 2019, we figure that particular showdown is one that nobody wants to be a part of.
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