Games For Boys, Games For Girls

[Andy Chalk]

Games For Boys, Games For Girls

Eidos is hoping a Lara Croft makeover will reignite interest in the Tomb Raider franchise. Andy Chalk has a few better ideas.

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[0over0]

I'd have to agree with Andy on pretty much all counts. Lara didn't become famous as a "realistic" female figure (pun intended)--but as a modern incarnation of a male fantasy (especially a male gamer fantasy).

This past Tomb Raider was pretty good, and I think 1.5 million units sold is pretty decent for a game that's been around so long without changing the basic game mechanics.

What it really comes down to is the bottomline. Companies are hurting in this economic climate and they're trying to squeeze more out of every property--let's hope they don't just end up squeezing it (and others) to death.

 

[ChristmasChild]

The whole tomb raider videogame series went down in qhuality since the Xbox came out. Too much time working on Laura's *physics* and less time on gameplay make for a crappy game

 

[domicius]

I disagree with the premise here. Not only is Tomb Raider a recognisable name, it still offers an experience that is fairly rare in computer games - to whit, area exploration.

It's almost a niche genre with few entries (Prince of Persia series perhaps?), but one which is sufficiently modern to appeal - especially given the appeal parcour has.

I would guess that throwing out the endangered species combat, adding more naturalistic movement (a la Assasin's Creed), keep the current large levels and throw in a male character (Brad Pit-a-like perhaps?) and you're set for the next female friendly release.

Since, after all, without the combat you have a game that really has a very solid premise.

Roll on 2011.

 

[johnman]

How about starting a new ip? If done well theres no reason you can have a sucessful non tomb raider game.

 

[nimrandir]

I have to agree with Mr. Lindstrom that aiming for female appeal is off the mark; my wife was more excited for Underworld than I. From a gameplay standpoint, I would argue that any future Tomb Raider games might consider going the Prince of Persia route by reducing (if not outright omitting) combat to focus on the platforming and puzzle-solving. Also, a camera which requires less manhandling is a must.

However, I think the biggest issue at present is simply, as Andy put it, franchise fatigue. Does the world need a Tomb Raider game every year? Heck, does the world need a game from any franchise every year? <EYE STYLE="evil" TARGET="Activision">

 

[Yog Sothoth]

Since when is selling "only" 1.5 million copies of a game considered a failure? Little Big Planet has sold less than that, and you don't hear anyone calling that game a flop...

If Eidos hadn't released this game during a crowded holiday season, I'm sure that sales would've been stronger....

 

[SomeBritishDude]

I'm probley one of the few people left he's actually a little sad that Laras not doing as well as Eidos origanally thoughts. Having played a Legend and a large chunk of Underworld and, I'd never thought I'd say this, but the curent Tomb Raider is better than the current.

But, there are some major problems with the franchise that havn't changed in all its years of gaming. Manly the combat. It needs to be rethoat, a stealth or cover system would do the game a world of good.

 

[Susan Arendt]

The problem isn't Lara's cup size, it's the fact that too many of her games in a row were complete shite. Angel of Darkness, I am looking square at you. Even if they hadn't been, there's a bit of "been there, done that" to them. There are, after all, only so many tombs to raid before they all start to feel a bit samey.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the character, but she would benefit from a reboot, like Andy said. Some RPG elements, perhaps, or maybe make a co-operative game with Lara and a protege.

 

[Anton P. Nym]

If they "retool" Lara Croft to appeal to female players more, they're missing the boat... Mattel hasn't had to "retool" Barbie, have they? And Barbie's proportions are no less grotesque than Lara's.

Nice try, Eidos, but the easy fix won't fix anything for you. Work on the level design and storyboards more, and fixate on the pretty-pretty less, and maybe then you'll see the renaissance you want.

-- Steve

 

[Yog Sothoth]

If they "retool" Lara Croft to appeal to female players more, they're missing the boat... Mattel hasn't had to "retool" Barbie, have they? And Barbie's proportions are no less grotesque than Lara's.

Nice try, Eidos, but the easy fix won't fix anything for you. Work on the level design and storyboards more, and fixate on the pretty-pretty less, and maybe then you'll see the renaissance you want.

-- Steve

Actually Barbie's proportions were recently altered to be a bit more on the realistic side, if memory serves....

But I agree that Eidos needs to focus on creating good game-play above giving Laura a makeover.... the problem isn't the character, it's the quality of the games themselves....

 

[Taunto]

Ive only played the anniversary game but I just hated it i liked the movies but i just can't bring myself to play it anymore. i agree with the other posts they should just remake lvls change gamepaly and mabye itl be a decent game

 

[ReverseEngineered]

I agree with everything that's been said so far. Eidos, if you're listening, you appear to be the only ones in the industry that believe this is a good idea.

1) Franchises don't last forever.
2) When a franchise loses popularity, name recognition hurts more than it helps. You're better off starting a whole new frachise than trying to turn the tides.
3) A new game should be a different game, not the same thing with different levels.
4) Women play the same games as men. Try to make a game for girls and all you're going to do is lose the boys.

In North America, when trouble comes calling, companies fire employees and give up on all but the safest bets. Elsewhere in the world, people realize, "We must be doing something wrong," and make radical changes to their gameplan. In the short-term they both rise and fall together, but in the long run the companies who invested in something different reap the rewards in the future.

 

[nimrandir]

Actually Barbie's proportions were recently altered to be a bit more on the realistic side, if memory serves....

But I agree that Eidos needs to focus on creating good game-play above giving Laura a makeover.... the problem isn't the character, it's the quality of the games themselves....

At least according to Mattel, they were not shooting for 'realistic' with the Barbie remodel. Rather, her dimensions were altered at the whims of fashion [http://www.motherjones.com/commentary/columns/1997/12/jervis.html].

As I said above, I think game-a-year syndrome is Tomb Raider's biggest problem, but I like Susan's idea of working in a well-done cooperative component. I have a hard time thinking of where role-playing elements would work with the franchise, but Metroid-style gear upgrades for revisiting old areas could be sweet.

 

[Falseprophet]

It would be nice to know what prompted Eidos to pitch this "female-friendly" angle. Have they done any market research that suggests it's a viable direction? Is there a survey of female gamers indicating most of them responding, "you know, I would like that Lara Croft character a whole lot more if she had a breast reduction"?

Of the gamers who like third-person platformers, what proportion are female? And how many of them have radically different tastes from male fans of the same genre?

I'm all for reducing the amount of pointless misogyny and objectification from games out there, whether it means a greater proportion of female gamers or not,(by which I mean the gratuitous kind--I'm cool with visceral sex and sexiness in games where the premise or context support it) though it's generally good business sense to try and appeal to a larger market. And I'm all for better storytelling in games, as long as gameplay's not sacrificed in the process. But without evidence of what the target demographic actually wants, it seems like a waste of time and money. It would be the same if Eidos were saying they wanted to appeal to more black or Hispanic gamers, or gamers from the Midwest, or 25-35 year old gamers.

 

[Grampy_bone]

I'm sure they'll blame piracy next.

 

[Cousin_IT]

The implication as I understood it is that Eidos & Crystal suffered losses & a pretty massive share depreciation because 1 game sold really well instead of really really well? I think they need to think less about revamping their tired franchise & reconsider their entire business strategy & product portfolio if thats the case. Could give us a new (& decent) Commandos game for a start

 

[Asehujiko]

I'm sure they'll blame piracy next.

I give them credit for the fact that they didn't already.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

The implication as I understood it is that Eidos & Crystal suffered losses & a pretty massive share depreciation because 1 game sold really well instead of really really well?

Remember EA's mindset: Game Franchise (x+1) must sell as well or better than Game Franchise (x) because gamers have extraordinarily short memories and no standards, and will buy the same drek over and over again simply because of the title no matter how terrible the last (four, five, six) releases were.

Reference EA Sports for examples.

 

[vulgarshudder]

I'm a girl and I briefly played a tomb raider game in like 2000 or someit, and have no desire to try again. Forgive me if I'm wrong but wasn't Lara's boobs part of the appeal? Anyway I don't want to play this eye rolling strong female type I want effeminate guys with cool hair.
I'll stick to my JRPGs kthanx EA.