Tomb Raider: Underworld sales disappoint, Lara Croft's appeal is waning
It seems sex no longer sells
Sad news for the industry today. Eidos has revealed that sales of Tomb Raider: Underworld were far below those expected, particularly in the USA, where a particular fondness for puzzle/action games and large breasts can normally be relied upon to keep Lara in residence at Croft Manor.
North American retailers are offering ‘heavy discounts’ on the game, according to an article today on BBC News. In the UK, meanwhile, the price seems pretty much unaffected: for reference, the Xbox 360 version on Amazon is currently £25.94 - more expensive than contemporaries Far Cry 2 and Prince of Persia - although the DS version is cheap at £12.95.
As a consequence, full year revenues will be a whopping £20 to £40 million less than the expected £200 million, forcing Eidos to go to its lenders to thrash out repayment schemes.
Why is this news sad? Because Tomb Raider: Underworld not only belongs to a huge brand, but it’s actually good - we gave both mobile and DS versions a Bronze award in our respective reviews. It seems when a franchise starts to slip under the water, there’s nothing anybody can do to stop it.
