uk release official announcement...kinda

[chemistry_boy]

Have a bit of news regarding the uk release.
This is a reply i received from core...


Hi there,

I was hoping that I'd have some concrete information from our disc duplicators regarding manufacturing dates but I'm still waiting. I therefore felt it unfair to delay relying to your email any longer.

We feel very frustrated as well, we've certainly been working day and night, literally, to get the game finished. Core Design Limited remains committed to the absolute satisfaction of their consumers, and at this time, especially those fans of the Tomb Raider series of games. We sympathise whole heartedly with the undoubted disappointment and frustration that a further delay to the release of The Angel of Darkness inevitably brings. We are adamant that we will not release the game until such time that it is worthy of the 'Tomb Raider' branding and meets the extremely high standards that we have set ourselves. Now that the game is complete the manufacturing is in the hands of our disc duplicators, we are very close.

I will contact you again in the next few days with a definitive release date.

Once again, apologies for the delay and thank you very much for your patience.

Kind regards,
Andrew Thompson
Operations Manager
Core Design Limited


So core are saying development is complete! BUT this is what eidos said...


As of yesterday, the game was still in development, so I'm not sure where all the "gold" rumours are comming from.
To be honest, no official word has been given because we have not been able to give a new estimate on release as of yet.

The US code, differs slightly from the European and although as a company, we were working towards the 20th as a release date, this was sadly, not possible. We are hoping, however, to have the game ready and shipped out by the end of the month to be in stores at the beginning of July.

We would just like to assure you that we have been working round the clock to get Tomb Raider out to our customers, and hope that the wait has not been too inconvenient, if it has, we apologise but it will be with you soon.

Hope this clears things up a bit.



Customer Support | Customer Services
Tel +44 0870 9000 222

Eidos Interactive Ltd
Wimbledon bridge house
1 Hartfield Road
Wimbledon
London SW19 3RU


Any1 else think they are blaming each other for the delay!?!
According to core some bugs ARE being removed from the US version so the UK gamers will get an enhanced version of the game!!

The best solution ive found is to pre order online to ensure u get a copy asap.

Take it easy fellow TR buddies

[Radfad]

I'm no game developement xpert, but shouldn't they have given a release date AFTER they completed the development of the entire game????????????
R u telling us that the game wasn't even complete untill yesterday?????????????
Gezzzzzzzzzzzzzzz,at least they could have told us!!!!!!!

[Crosbie]

It does sound like, since they've got to change UK game code slightly anyway, they're taking the opportunity to maybe fix some issues...

My local Game manager pointed out that if they don't have the game in warehouses by the 30th, they're 'out of business' (I quote). So Friday 4th July is now the expected UK date. They're pushing it right to the line here...

[chemistry_boy]

Thats exactly what i was told about eidos's financial situation.
So july 4th it is then............ not according to game in the uk, theve changed from the 4th to DUNNO!!!
Every store i rang now doesnt know the release date! which is very worrying.

[Iconoclast]

I am getting worried about this situation personally. I mean, if they have delayed to eradicate the manifiold bugs reported in the US version, that is fine, esp this reported slowdown; the game WILL be released sometime in the next year?

[Iconoclast]

Further to the last post, actually I can understand the issue to some extent. My company produces remote control, supportdesk and inventory management software, and I am very aware that bugs, glitches and the like pop up with depressing regularity. Always expect the unexpected, it will happen!

[chemistry_boy]

The slowdown is not a bug the UK gamers will get anyway ( according 2 core )

Apparently since the game was coded in the UK, the slowdown is a result of a rushed PAL to NTSC coversion.

Im v happy about this as us UK gamers ALWAYS get crappy conversions of NTSC games with slowdown, huge black boarders and an extra 6 month wait.

Personally i think it poetic justice so all the US owners should stop complaining as we UK folk have had to put up with this for years now.

I personally dont mind the extra week or so wait ( hopefully ) as they are removing the PROPER bugs from the game ( falling through floors etc ).

Keep raidin them tombs mates!!!

[Ringwraith6]

I am optimistic about the 4th of July release date. I am sure that has situation has already cost them many orders and pre-orders which means lots of money!! I think that it was a big mistake to release the game on seperate release dates in the USA and Europe. Especialy considering the high level of anticipation and the fact that the T.R. series has always had better sales figures in Europe (considering the size and population of the US please correct me if i'm wrong) As i said on another post all we can do is pray that this is THE FINAL release date.

[spanks]

Originally posted by Crosbie
My local Game manager pointed out that if they don't have the game in warehouses by the 30th, they're 'out of business' (I quote). I think he means "out of business" for this week!

Originally posted by chemistry_boy
Thats exactly what i was told about eidos's financial situation. Eidos is in a good financial position with significant cash reserves. Eidos would be profitable even without TR. What are you talking about?

[chemistry_boy]

Well if eidos is in a great financial position then why are they rushing the game out to make this years financial quota?

If there doin ok, why are they so bothered about shipping b4 the end of june,

And correct me if im wrong but eidos havent had a big success for years now.

Unless u count the 4 people that bought herdy gurdy and project eden ( which is a top game btw )

Lets hope the profit timesplitters 2 brought them is enough to cover the redundancy cheques they have to pay there employees......JOKE!

[martino]

Just read this on Gamesradar:

http://gamesradar.msn.co.uk/news/default.asp?subsectionid=157&articleid=65516&pagetype=2

My personal feeling is that the game is due out soon, because I have seen a number of buses with posters on, and there is a 'making of' magazine out on the shelves now. Eidos stand to have a lot of egg on their faces if the publicity machine has gone into overdrive, and yet they fail to deliver product with all this hype.
However, the game won't be out tomorrow (27th June).

[Ringwraith6]

Chemistry_boy is right. I remember reading somewhere that A.O.D. was both Eidos's and Core's last card. They are both really counting on this one! But i now think that with the "marketing strategy" they are using things will not be quite as they expect them. With the bad American reviews, the series of delays, the lack of an official release date and other great titles coming out, it's quite possible that only die-hard T.R. fans will answer Lara's calling on the 4th of July (or wheneever the hell they decide to release it.). I personnaly think that every minute after the 20th June delay equals one lost sale (figure of speach). POST AN OFFICIAL DATE ALREADY EIDOS. WE DESERVE IT.

[Ringwraith6]

COOL NEWS, MARTINO!! Let's hope that they are right!

[chemistry_boy]

Cheers 4 the support ringwraith.

AN OFFICIAL DATE IS NEEDED and more importantly IT NEEDS TO BE MET!!!!

[thumb raider]

phew...lucky i dont have a PS2 and i dont live in USA. otherwise i would have bought it:p

[chemistry_boy]

Martino is right. It wont be the 27th but as soon as it ships the game will be on the shelves.

Eidos wont wait till the traditional friday to release it they will put it out when its done and the stores will sell it the day they recieve it regardless of it being friday or not.

This kinda makes sense of eidos's claims of tomb raider is immenent and it is close along with there total reluctance to commit to a date..

[Iconoclast]

At any rate, I am looking forward to it, and will buy it. Bugs are a fact of life with any software. Even Microsoft, with all their R&D and somewhat large marketing department do not produce perfect software, do they?

[chemistry_boy]

I dont think any1 is bothered by the fact that there are bugs in the game.

What we are concerned about is how they delayed it when the april release date was approaching stating they are fine tuning the game and removing bugs from the code.

Yet here we we are 2 months down the line and the US version of the game is full of bugs...... So what was the april delay for??

I think core/eidos are shooting themselves in the foot as more delays increase the players expectation of a quality product , which judging by the US reviews this game is not.

There is still hope 4 the few UK gamers left who havent cancelled there pre order to recieve a quality game.

I will own the game regardless of what the quality is like cus im a TR fan and im like that!

[spanks]

Originally posted by Ringwraith6
Chemistry_boy is right. I remember reading somewhere that A.O.D. was both Eidos's and Core's last card. Try reading "somewhere" else! According to Yahoo Finance Eidos (EIDSY) has $100 million in cash, no debt, and made $10M in the last six months. Hitman 2, Timesplitters 2, and Championship Manager all sold well over a million copies.

It's probably true that they pushed for AOD to release before the end of this quarter (June 30), but it's not a life or death thing for the company.

[chemistry_boy]

Hitman 2, champ manager 4 and timesplitters 2 may have sold over a million copies..

However these figures fall well short of what the tomb raider games manage to sell... i think chronicles managed 6 million.

Eidos may not be in trouble but they are by no means the company they were 4 years ago.

If u look at thier profits u will see they have fallen every year since the last tomb raider was released. Thats why they are rushing it out, they dont want to post profits being down for the 3rd consecutive year.

[SuzieCroft]

Originally posted by spanks
Try reading "somewhere" else! According to Yahoo Finance Eidos (EIDSY) has $100 million in cash, no debt, and made $10M in the last six months. Hitman 2, Timesplitters 2, and Championship Manager all sold well over a million copies.

It's probably true that they pushed for AOD to release before the end of this quarter (June 30), but it's not a life or death thing for the company.

Really?

Well there was a thing on Sky's business news the other day, and apparently if AOD isn't released by the end of the month, it's expected to be a major financial blow for Eidos, enough so that the company's future was at stake. And if it's enough to warrant a clip of TR3 on an international (UK-based) news station.. ;)

[spanks]

Originally posted by SuzieCroft
Really?

Well there was a thing on Sky's business news the other day, and apparently if AOD isn't released by the end of the month, it's expected to be a major financial blow for Eidos, enough so that the company's future was at stake. And if it's enough to warrant a clip of TR3 on an international (UK-based) news station.. ;) Somebody is overstating things. It's a case of meeting or missing quarterly financial targets.

BTW: Anyone who thought TRAOD might sell 6 million copies should get off the crack!

[ihateusa]

EIdos have sold out. That;s the short and tall of it.

Playing to the masses... Sod them and the horse they rode in on!

I'm really pissed off after al the research I help with...

Jackoffs!

[lizley]

Im telling you guys THAT game will not be released until the new movie is due out to increase the publicity for both the game and the film. I think its called cornering the market !!!

[Ringwraith6]

They can't wait for the movie. The movie is out this August in the UK and they didn't wait for it in the USA. Besides the game has nothing to do with the movie. If they wanted to capitalise on the movies they would've mad a "Tomb Raider: The Movie" game when the last one came out, or they would model the "new" Lara after Angelina Jolie. Besides it would be a joint effort with Paramount (like Enter The Matrix which was supported by Warner Bros., they even have their logo at the start of the game).