Full Article (IGN)

UK, January 15, 2008 - SCi Entertainment, the publisher currently in charge of the Tomb Raider franchise, looks to be in serious financial trouble following a recent report suggesting that it may run out of money as early as this summer with a life-saving takeover looking increasingly unlikely.

A report in The Sunday Times illustrated the problems facing the company, with chief executive Jane Cavanagh's position described as "untenable" by shareholders increasingly exasperated by the desperate financial situation. An analyst was quoted as saying that, "It seems likely the company will run out of cash by May or June. Since it is now delaying the release of its new games, it will need this extra cash just to keep the lights on."

It is thought that the company would need to borrow £30 million to stay in operation and although Time-Warner and Ubisoft are rumoured to be interested, SCi Entertainment admitted that it "no longer believes that a sale of the company for its full value is likely to be achieved".

The publisher's great white hope for the year, Tomb Raider: Underworld, has been hit by the difficulties, with the release now being pushed back to Christmas 2008.

Oh my. SCi plans for bankruptcy in May and Tomb Raider Underworld is slated to be released seven months later. Since SCi is essentially Eidos' daddy, the Tomb Raider series will be greatly affected, with a good possibility that it may end with TR:U canceled or abandoned entirely come summer.

I hope it's neither.

This is terrible news

I hope SCi Entertainment will be able to resolve their financial problem. They can't cancel or abandon TR:Underworld or the tomb raider franchise. It's too valuble. That itself would be financially suicidal.

I don't know much about how these things work. But couldn't Crystal Dynamics find a new publisher. It would be sad not seeing the Eidos signature on the cover of a tomb raider game but it would be even more disheartening not seeing a tomb raider game at all.

This is terrible news

I hope SCi Entertainment will be able to resolve their financial problem. They can't cancel or abandon TR:Underworld or the tomb raider franchise. It's too valuble. That itself would be financially suicidal.

I don't know much about how these things work. But couldn't Crystal Dynamics find a new publisher. It would be sad not seeing the Eidos signature on the cover of a tomb raider game but it would be even more disheartening not seeing a tomb raider game at all.

Since Eidos essentially owns every grain of the franchise, I'm really not sure what would happen at all if they go under. Could another company buy the rights? Would TR:U have to stop development by anybody because of legal issues (seeing as half would be overseen by one company, and the other by a second)? All this legal mumbo jumbo confuses me.

Maybe we have a lwayer member to answer our questions?

i want them to still release it

maybe this fanssite should all raide money or something to help

what do you think?

i want them to still release it

maybe this fanssite should all raide money or something to help

what do you think?

thats a good idea....i really hope they get it sorted out too.

im sure it will be fine...our lara always pulls through

I completely forgot about this thread, but I think the problem is resolved right now. As of February 29th, Eidos canceled 14 other, less important projects to save money and ensure their "cash cow" franchises such as Tomb Raider and Hitman would survive.

Full Article (Eidos Official Site)

Kinda sucks for the fourteen games and the people working on them, though....

Edited March 8, 200818 yr by VonCroyJr.

Sales of Hitman and TRU will be immense, any shortcomings they have will be gone when the sales come in. TRU will sell about 1million on the first day thats £30,000,000 (distributed throughout the franchise of course)

I'm seriously glad they got things sorted out...

More news....

First off,from last month-http://www.forbes.com/markets/economy/2008...9markets18.html

SCi Entertainment needs to raise $99 million because the costs of terminating a series of ill-conceived computer games had spiraled out of control. In the first half of 2008, it had posted a loss of more than £80 million ($159 million). Another part of the problem is competition from Nintendo, which has driven down the price of the games SCi makes for the Sony Playstation.

"SCi Entertainment is in need of serious change," said Rogers in a press release. Rogers became chief executive of SCi in January, replacing the company's founder, Jane Cavanagh.

In September, SCi had announced that it was in "extremely preliminary" takeover discussions with an unnamed firm. (See: "Lara Croft Has A Suitor") The termination of those discussions, along with a profit warning by SCi Entertainment, spurred pressure from shareholders on Cavanagh to resign, which she did in January.

Analysts have said that while blockbuster games like Tomb Raider and Hitman would be attractive to potential buyers, the operational infrastructure of SCi has probably put at least some suitors off. SCi's other problem is that it has a poor reputation for developing new high-quality games.

Now from this month-http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtm...09/cnsci109.xml

Media giants NBC Universal, Microsoft and Sony are all interested in taking a stake in or forming a joint venture with SCi Entertainment, the ailing publisher of the Tomb Raider and Just Cause video games.

# News about media, technology and telecoms

SCi Entertainment Group's 'Just Cause' video game

SCi needs to raise as much as £55m of fresh capital

SCi's shares have fallen by more than 90pc in the past six months as long-running bid talks collapsed, while a deterioration in trading forced the company to issue a profit warning.

The company, which is under new management after the ousting of founding chief executive Jane Cavanagh, is running out of cash and needs to raise as much as £55m of fresh capital.

New chief executive Phil Rogers has indicated his willingness for an emergency rights issue but is also examining selling a stake to a commercial partner.

NBC Universal is one of the suitors believed to have held talks with SCi last year.

Small update, from an article in today's Metro newspaper...

Seems SCi has now received a takeover proposal, but they are going to try an emergency fund-raising plan.

(sorry for the slight blurriness; I'm way too cheap to buy a scanner so I took a photo of the article instead )

I'm glad SCi got things sorted out. Tomb Raider is one of the longest running video game franchises around, can't just let it go now.

whew! got me scared there for a second! Glad they sorted it out. Cancelling this game will bring shame on them.