Gamertell

In the wake of what Eidos considered lackluster holiday sales for Tomb Raider Underworld,  developer Crystal Dynamics laid off approximately 30 people on Friday (January 9, 2009), according to Kotaku. Ironically, Crystal Dynamics is the developer hailed for breathing life back into the Tomb Raider franchise after it had become synonymous with sequelitis.

Even Underworld doesn’t seem to be a flop by reasonable standards, having sold 1.5 million units in a crowded holiday season filled with blockbuster titles. The true answer may lie in a look at Eidos’ stock price, which dipped by 25 percent after the company announced the latest Lara Croft installment had failed to meet expectations. Eidos told Joystiq the game didn’t perform as well as the company had hoped.

If Eidos expected to move much more than two million units going against the likes of Fable 2 and Fallout 3, the company’s brass may have been destined for disappointment. A company spokesperson said the restructuring is part of an “increased focus” on the Tomb Raider franchise.

At the beginning of the year (2009), more than one financial article proclaimed the game industry to be “recession proof” (The Economist, NPR). Events like this show that is unfortunately not the case.

The next Eidos title weighted with great expectations is Batman: Arkham Asylum. The game, eagerly anticipated by fans of the superhero, chronicles the chaos that ensues after Batman’s arch nemesis, Joker, purposely imprisons himself in Arkham.

Read [Kotaku]