24-03-24, 03:42 | #1 |
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Why did Anniversary not sell well?
I finished Tomb Raider Anniversary yesterday after I took a long break from the game. My question is why didn't sell well? Was it marketing? Game bugs?
I did get frustrated with the game but I managed to over come those challenges such as Adrenaline Dodge etc. I've heard things such as Anniversary had cut content from the original Tomb Raider 1 but I'm not sure if that is true. I would like a detailed response/answer to this. |
24-03-24, 04:17 | #2 |
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The biggest reason was because they hardly marketed it at all. This was before remasters/remakes had become as popular as they are nowadays, and I'd say Eidos was mostly banking on the positive reception of Legend to guarantee sales for Anniversary.
They also completely missed the actual 10th anniversary and had to work alongside another company to even get it out the door. But all in all, I'd say it was just a cash grab to help contribute toward Underworld, much like Chronicles was for AoD. |
24-03-24, 09:07 | #3 |
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It was a smaller, last minute project with barely any marketing at all. I would say "less" than "not well" because Eidos never complained about TRA's performance and I guess it didn't need to do a lot.
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24-03-24, 16:45 | #4 |
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The answer is obvious now that the Aspyr remasters are out
Anniversary was a bad remake in all ways except the fluid and surprisingly comfortable control scheme, and occasionally the ambient music. The Cistern comes to mind as a highlight. It almost captures the glory of the original with St. Francis Folly, but the rest of the levels are a letdown. Egypt and Atlantis were hit especially hard, what made them great was mercilessly stripped away.
The negative features include
Pretty bad considering that a "mere" remaster quickly became more popular than Anniversary ever did. Despite the lack of polish in some areas, Aspyr went in the right direction and most importantly - they respected the games' original look and feel. Crystal's remake ditched all that was good and timeless about the original, and replaced it with their Legend formula. They ruined TR1 by chasing current trends and at last even they can't ignore the fact that what they introduced into Tomb Raider, no-one really cared about. It was all in vain. The main selling points of LAU were HD graphics and unlockable outfits, and possibly the goth-chick villain Amanda. Last edited by Jackanory; 25-03-24 at 17:15. |
25-03-24, 01:00 | #5 |
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Jackanory was adrenaline dodge in the original game? I haven't played any Tomb Raiders prior to Angel of Darkness. And if Anniversary was a separate game away from Legend and Underworld series would have it made a difference?
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25-03-24, 01:10 | #6 | |
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It being tied to the Legend timeline wasn't really a issue on its own, it's more that it tried to hamfist the original timeline's storyline into Legend's canon and as a result it probably affected development decisions, like Natla retroactively becoming Lara's archenemy in Anniversary and subsequently Underworld. Then outside of the game itself, there's also the issue that they never really wanted to make it in the first place supposedly, and that it was really only done to keep Core's own 10th anniversary game from seeing the light of day. It's well known at this point that it was a sour point for quite a long time. Last edited by Jathom95; 25-03-24 at 01:24. |
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25-03-24, 01:22 | #7 |
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Jathom95, thanks for the reply. I'm no expert in the earlier games in terms of origin, game play etc. I also don't want to go down the rabbit hole of which Tomb Raider game is worse because that is just a matter of opinion.
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25-03-24, 01:33 | #8 | |
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I have my own thoughts about the series from Legend-onwards, but I don't begrudge anyone for liking what they like with these games. At the end of the day, that's what they are. And we can always be critical and constructive, and have mature discussion on those topics in the process. |
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25-03-24, 10:44 | #9 |
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Questions from Jackanory response
1.Levels have been shrunken and seem less expansive than the originals. Especially evident in Palace Midas and the "City" of Vilcabamba. Transitional corridors with time sinks such as spiked pits added between big areas that need to load "invisibly" in the background.
Were the spike pits in the original or were they used as you said "to load invisible" parts of the game in the background? 2.Traversal-related items such as swing poles added to places where they don't make any sense, they make Anniversary levels seem even more "gamey". Were there some swing poles in the original or none? Or did they just add them to seem more "gamey"? 3.Combat with animals feels artificial and repetitive. It goes "Lara gets knocked down, animal waits patiently for her to get up again. Repeat until Lara shoots it down." The anger-meter dodge maneuver gets old fast. Is this referring to Adrenaline Dodge as well? Because it was being a boring repetitive mechanic without any variation between the bosses and animals? And that there weren't really in other ways in combat to make the game more interesting in that regard? |
25-03-24, 17:39 | #10 | ||||
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Last edited by Jackanory; 26-03-24 at 16:46. |
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