Eh, actually having more polygons or larger textures on models doesn't cost extra, artists work in higher rest then downscale anyway, getting game in 4K just means it would cost less... Higher display resolutions literally doesn't cost a thing, it's a monitor setting. Optimizing game to run well, sure, that's always part of development along with testing and bugfixing.
It's modeling entire cities and making cutscenes and quests that takes a huge toll on development time, and again, we're looking either for a remake, which will need everything modeled from scratch anyway (i.e. Narshe on a scale of Midgar in Remake), or the other option, which is just re-releasing old games with redrawn sprites and better backgrounds (Pixel Remaster route). There isn't an in-between when they can do all that work to make the city in 3D, but in lesser resolution to save money. That's not how design works, It's all or nothing. Either modeling the whole world and dungeons that were 2D before in full detail, or not.
As to Tomb Raider sales, there's a caveat that a lot of the times they were in bundles, with extreme discounts, or blatantly given away for free, I don't know how much those figures include those though. But Square dropping Lara being a bad move is very obvious. Then again, I wouldn't want them to sit on the franchise doing nothing with it.
I hope Crystal Dynamics actually make a new sequel.
