Last March Square Enix believed that Tomb Raider's 3.4 million units sold was considered a “weak” sales number. The company dismissed then-president Yoichi Wada for “weak” sales across the board with Tomb Raider selling 3.4 million, Sleeping Dogs 1.75 million, and Hitman: Absolution 3.6 million units. A restructuring was done to the company because of missed sales projections and missed estimates.
Tomb Raider, a game with a budget reportedly nearing $100 million was not considered a financial success until last January, because of its massive budget making it incredibly difficult to break even. If that doesn't disappoint you in some way - that Square Enix's business model was/is broken enough that Tomb Raider had to sell such high numbers to become profitable, then you're not seeing how damaging this AAA publisher mindset can be for the industry.
But, hey, Tomb Raider 2013's birthday was yesterday, and it has been announced that the game will sell over 6 million units by the end of the month, having it have exceeded profit expectations for the publisher.
Square Enix's head of studios, Darrell Gallagher took to the Tomb Raider tumblr blog to post about the game's accomplishments since its release one year ago.
“Tomb Raider (2013) was released to critical acclaim and the team at Crystal has been overwhelmed with the way it was so warmly received by both critics and gamers. With more than 70 nominations and awards on industry “best of lists” at the end of 2013 we have been incredibly flattered with the response and feedback. In early 2014 we brought Tomb Raider to the new generation of consoles with Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition. This has also been very well received, sitting currently as one of the best reviewed titles in the new console launch period and offering a greatly enhanced experience for new gamers and returning fans,” said Gallagher.
Gallagher then went on to say that Tomb Raider 2013 has set franchise records by being the “fastest selling day one and month one in Tomb Raider history”.
Crystal Dynamics are currently working on the Tomb Raider sequel. In the meantime, everyone should buy Sleeping Dogs so Square Enix doesn't drop that amazing IP or turn it into something weird. We need Sleeping Dogs 2, right now!