Eidos Pondering Makeover for Lara Croft

Logan Westbrook

Transform, Roll Out, Etc
Feb 21, 2008
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Eidos Pondering Makeover for Lara Croft


After disappointing sales of Tomb Raider: Underworld in the US, publisher Eidos is considering revamping the franchise, including its voluptuous lead, to appeal to a wider audience.

This deficit in sales, supposedly to the tune of half a million copies less than expectations, has apparently cost Eidos somewhere in the region of £20 million, leading the company to reconsider how the series should be developed in the future.

The chief financial officer of Eidos, Robert Brent, had this to say on the idea, "We need to look at everything, as we develop the next game. Look at how Batman changed successfully, from the rather sad character of the Michael Keaton era to the noir style of The Dark Knight."

Of course, the question of whether Tomb Raider can survive another redesign must be raised. After all, Lara had her ample curves reduced in Tomb Raider: Legend, ostensibly to appeal to a wider audience, and Tomb Raider: Underworld saw a shift away from combat with an increased focus on climbing and puzzle solving. Eidos may need to do something drastic if the franchise is to survive.

Source: The Times [http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article5485017.ece] via MCV [http://www.mcvuk.com/news/32902/Eidos-considers-Lara-revamp-to-reverse-sales-slump]




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new_age_reject

Lives in dactylic hexameter.
Dec 28, 2008
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NO they should not!
Dear god they need to let this one die.
I absolutely LOVE the original, the second and at a push, the third.
It's like Hitman, Splinter Cell, Star Wars (apart from the next KOTOR) and many other franchises that do not need any more mediocre games to try and milk some more cash.
Also the problem with the old Batmen is how camp they were and how real the latest was.
 

Doug

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Apr 23, 2008
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For gods sake, why can't they come up with something new? Or at least, replicate the qualities that made the originals good - when they revamp everything, its doing a George Lucas on it. Sometimes it works, with the James Bond and Batman movies, but those are more the exceptions.
 

Apone

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Jan 13, 2008
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Can't they just finish the Blood Omen series instead? It only needs one more game.
 

Doug

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Apr 23, 2008
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Danzorz said:
5.65 percent more cleavage, trust me it's a sales booster.
Ahhh, the EA RTS sales tactic (Red Alert 3). It'll work, probably. That and more thigh, apparently...
 

new_age_reject

Lives in dactylic hexameter.
Dec 28, 2008
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johnx61 said:
new_age_reject said:
NO they should not!
Dear god they need to let this one die.
I absolutely LOVE the original, the second and at a push, the third.
It's like Hitman, Splinter Cell, Star Wars (apart from the next KOTOR) and many other franchises that do not need any more mediocre games to try and milk some more cash.
Also the problem with the old Batmen is how camp they were and how real the latest was.
Wait, did you just call Tim Burton's Batman "camp"?

Do you even know what camp means? I think you should go look it up.

Adam West Batman = camp

Tim Burton Batman = Anything but camp.
Oh doom sorry, I forgot about Burton's Batman.
Hell, he is my second favourite film Batman.
 

Doug

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Apr 23, 2008
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harhol said:
It didn't sell well because they released it at the worst possible time. Competing with half a dozen AAA titles was never going to work, especially since Tomb Raider is no longer a AAA franchise. Arrogance from Eidos perhaps?
Hell yes! For starters, they claim they were remaking the game to do it "properly", and then they are surprised when the world doesn't lap up the game like its brand new and AAAAAAA quality... very arrogant - about 0.6 EA's on the arrogance scanner ;)
 

Samah

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Jul 7, 2008
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Doug said:
...when they revamp everything, its doing a George Lucas on it.
wait... remake "Raiders of the Lost Ark"? Of course! We can replace all the guns with walkie talkies!
 

Aardvark

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Sep 9, 2008
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Fire her into space. She can look for lost, ancient alien artifacts there. If she survives the vacuum.
 

darthzew

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Jun 19, 2008
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A change isn't yet the option... no, not yet. First, they need to abandon Lara for a few years and THEN make a big comeback with something bigger, better, and awesomer.
 

SomeBritishDude

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Nov 1, 2007
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I've play a good chunk of the new Tomb Raider on a friends xbox and its honestly, though i'd never thought I'd say this, the current Tomb Raider is better than the current Prince of Persia.

The problem is that people just don't associat Lara with quality anymore, plus she gets a bad rap for being all about the boobs and no gameplay. Theres a decent ass on her as well you know.

Also, the game is still a constant battle with the camera sadly.