Romier S Posted July 31, 2003 Report Share Posted July 31, 2003 :shock: http://ps2.ign.com/articles/431/431241p1.html In a trading statement published today, Eidos Interactive announced it will transfer the development of its famous Tomb Raider franchise to Crystal Dynamics, known for the Legacy of Kain and Gex series, among others. The announcement comes as a surprise and, to a certain extent, a shock. Core Design created the Tomb Raider series (all six of them, plus PC add-on paks) and hand-in-hand with Eidos, the two English companies brought Lara Croft to unsurpassed heights of popularity and global penetration on both the PlayStation and PC. But Core's transition to the current-generation of systems has not boded well, with several forgettable PS2 titles having instantly faded including Thunderstrike: Operation Phoenix, Herdy Gerdy and Project Eden, followed by Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness, an oft-delayed, buggy, unimpressive and disappointing return after nearly three years of development. But in hindsight, it's clear Eidos has been setting up this move all along. First, Core's founder and managing director Jeremy Heath-Smith stepped down from his position on the Eidos board of directors. Internal Eidos reps unofficially told IGN in passing that Crystal Dynamics might take on the series, given the poor critical reception Tomb Raider: Angel of Darknesshas received. And, just two weeks ago, Eidos held a reception at Crystal Dynamics' Menlo Park studio, re-introducing the company's status within the company, with high-level executives attending. Today, Eidos issues this statement, clarifying its intentions: "On 15th July, the Company announced that Jeremy Heath-Smith was stepping down as its Development Director and as Managing Director of Core Design. Since then, the Board has been conducting a review of the Tomb Raider franchise and the studio operations of Core Design. In recognition of the Company's need continually to enhance the value and maximize the commercial opportunity of one of its key franchises, for which all intellectual property rights belong to Eidos, the Board has concluded that it will transfer development of the franchise to its Crystal Dynamics studio in the US." Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness is the first chapter in a three part "book," the second of which is due on PC and PS2 on June 30, 2005. Eidos announced in 2001 its plans to release a new Tomb Raider game each year, however, it appears this sequel has already been pushed back. We'll have more on Tomb Raider in the near future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calvin Posted July 31, 2003 Report Share Posted July 31, 2003 This news isn't all that surprising - though I think Eidos needs to be held accountable for their part in Lara's downfall. The next game had better be on a par with Halo - or she's all done... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romier S Posted July 31, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2003 The next game had better be on a par with Halo I think thats a tad lofty. I'd like to see sales figures on AOD really. Though I've never been much of a Tomb Raider fan anyway (especially the god awful movie. Dont plan on seeing the sequel either). Though CD is fairly adept at creating a good adventure game and the next title could turn out to be very good in thier hands. My only hope is that this shift does not take away concentration from Legacy of Kain Defiance which I am looking forward too (the LOK series, even Blood Omen 2 has always been a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted July 31, 2003 Report Share Posted July 31, 2003 Gamespot was reporting yesterday that Paramount is blaming the poor box office of Cradle of Life on the crappiness of the game. :roll: I'm sure it didn't help, but.... whatever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iainl Posted July 31, 2003 Report Share Posted July 31, 2003 Yeah, I saw that. Tomb Raider 2-5 all sucked, but the first film took loads of cash off unsuspecting punters, despite being dire. Tomb Raider 6 isn't terribly good, and all of a sudden thats the reason that the second film got ignored when there was still a whole stack of other megabudget films kicking around the box office, most of which didn't have sucky prequels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark E Posted July 31, 2003 Report Share Posted July 31, 2003 Yeah, that's totally laughable. The reason I didn't see the second movie is because the first one sucked. I'm not paying money a second time to be disappointed, get a clue Eidos. It's not like I've ever played a Tomb Raider game for more than an hour anyway. But I guess if you need a scapegoat... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Monkey Posted July 31, 2003 Report Share Posted July 31, 2003 Gamespot was reporting yesterday that Paramount is blaming the poor box office of Cradle of Life on the crappiness of the game. Are you serious? That's really funny -- Activision was suing Paramount/Viacom, blaming the sales of Star Trek videogames on the crappiness of the franchise. -j Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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