People say Jane Cavanagh, the founder of the SCi Entertainment Group, has just released the company's 2007 annual report where they revealed that sequels to the Tomb Raider, Hitman, and some of their other IPs are in development. There's an uneasy air surrounding its emergence, however, since SCi's own investors called for the ousting of Cavanagh a few months ago. To find out more, head on over to the full article.

SCi Entertainment, the company that owns the Tomb Raider franchise, is currently experiencing an upheaval. Owing to falling shares and the lack of offers to purchase the company, shareholders are now demanding for the resignation of Jane Cavanagh, founder and chief executive of the company. Details in the full article.

It looks like Lara Croft won't be getting a new daddy any time soon. Contrary to prior reports that Ubisoft will be vying for SCi Entertainment, the company who owns the rights to one of the video gaming world's most popular female characters, it was announced by a spokesman that "Ubisoft has no intention of making an offer for SCI-Eidos."

Although Ubisoft won't be bidding for any shares to SCi Entertainment, SCi has been considering a number of potential buyers whose identities they were not willing to reveal just yet.

It looks like anybody who's interested in owning the hand of the fair Miss Croft won't find it cheap either. Analysts have reported that SCi management, led by Chief Executive Jane Cavanagh, will not accept anything less than 500 pence (around US$ 10) a share and could lead to something as high as GBP 300 million (US$ 600 million).

The three biggest bidders previously reported were Time Warner, Ubisoft, and an unnamed Chinese company. Ubisoft, however, explained that SCi's valutation did not fit with Ubisoft's "profitability criteria." In other words, the game for SCi's bid was just a little to rich for its blood.

Ubisoft's spokesman explained it further saying "we are looking at other opportunities for external and internal growth which can create more potential value for shareholders."

Eidos apparently believes that Kane & Lynch: Dead Men has the potential to replicate the success of Hitman. According to MCV UK, SCi CEO Jane Cavanagh revealed even though the game hasn't been released yet, a sequel is already in production.

"We've already got Kane & Lynch 2 in production, which just goes to show the belief we have in it as a long-term franchise", Cavanagh said. Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (PS3, Xbox 360, PC) is being developed by IO Interactive, the same studio behind the successful Hitman series.

Eidos is also reportedly pumping a lot of money behind the marketing drive for Kane and Lynch: Dead Men. According to reports from MCV, Eidos is dishing out more money into the game's marketing than it did for any game in the Tomb Raider series.


Buy: [Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (PC)]
Buy: [Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (Xbox 360)]
Buy: [Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (PS3)]

If you're infatuated with Tomb Raider heroine Lara Croft and you want her to be yours alone, you'd better be ready to shell out the big bucks because she doesn't come cheap. About GBP £ 300 (US$ 600 million) should do the trick, though.

Publisher SCi recently announced that it is open to being taken over by third parties, and by extension all its intellectual property including the popular Tomb Raider franchise which has thrilled gamers across three gaming generations.

Share prices of SCi jumped from 37.5p to 375.5p immediately after word hit the streets on the company's willingness to sell out. The most eligible suitors at this point are industry heavyweights Warner Bros., Electronic Arts, and Ubisoft.

Preliminary talks are now being held with interested parties but no details have leaked from the negotiations. What's certain, though, is that CEO Jane Cavanagh and property mogul Robert Tchenguiz will cash in on a very sweet deal.

The Tomb Raider franchise celebrated its 10th anniversary this year with the release of Tomb Raider: Anniversary, which is a remake of the PSX original on the Microsoft Xbox 360, PC, and Sony PlayStation Portable.

It looks like whether we like it or not, more in-game advertising is coming our way as Eidos Interactive has just announced a three-year deal with in-game advertising specialists Double Fusion.

The deal between the two companies will cover ten Eidos titles, all currently in various stages of development. The ads will reportedly range from dynamically-served advertisements, which can be rotated or changed after the games' release, to deep integrations and product placements.

Eidos Interactive Chief Executive Jane Cavanagh had the following to say regarding the deal: "This is an exciting and innovative opportunity for Eidos, we're delighted to be working with Double Fusion and we fully believe that our titles will offer the perfect platform for the right media partners."

  

Tomb Raider: Anniversary for PC and PS2 already dominated UK and German charts (PC version took France too), but our iconic video game babe doesn't stop there. Lara Croft will continue her adventures on the Xbox 360 as Eidos Interactive announced that Tomb Raider Legend owners will be able to download Anniversary in parts.

For the first time ever, a full retail game will be available from Xbox Live Marketplace. The original Tomb Raider was among the first to utilize full 3D technology during the time when transition was still happening. Lara is jumping forward guns ablazing once again, by being the world's first.

Said Jane Cavanagh, Chief Executive, Eidos:

Lara has always been at the forefront of technology and this world first initiative with Microsoft really highlights that fact. Ultimately we also intend to make the title available at retail so that it reaches the maximum possible audience.

First couple of episodes will be up for purchase come September, while the other two will come shortly after. Full game will reach retailers later this year. All four will cost a total of 2,400 Microsoft Points. Croft Manor level will be free, but other cool stuff like picture packs and theme packs will come later for a cost.

It seems that Eidos Interactive will not be releasing any of its big PlayStation 3 titles until next year. This is despite the successful launch of the PS3. The company feels that the console's installed base is not high enough right now and that it is expecting the market to be saturated enough to release big name titles by the second half of 2008.

CEO Jane Cavanagh said, "We believe that PlayStation 3 will be a successful platform, and are developing technology and products for this console." While these are encouraging words from the CEO about Sony's PS3, she also mentioned that they don't believe that the "installed base will be high enough until the second half of our 2008 financial year" for them to release high profile games.

Eidos is credited for two chart-topping games in the UK (Just Cause and Battlestations Midway) during the second half of last year. But until next year, we should not expect any major games on the PS3 from Eidos. We just wonder how this is going to affect the PlayStation 3's standing in the console wars.

Last year, we told you about the Sega-Rockpool partnership, wherein Sega chose Rockpool Games to develop mobile games that sport the Sega brand. Sonic the Hedgehog: Part One has even made big waves in the mobile industry, snagging the title of being the third most downloaded game last year.

So anyway, we have just heard that SCi has acquired the Manchester-based mobile developing company as part of SCi's plans to move into the mobile game industry. Jane Cavanagh, SCi's Chief Executive, says,

Rockpool's breadth of activity, including not only mobile games but casual PC games, fits well with SCi's strategy to expand the company's business in this direction and will strengthen our position in these consistently growing markets.

Rockpool Games' previous works include Worms, Toca Race Driver, and MotoGP. Paul Gouge, MD of Rockpool Games, also remains optimistic about this new development, saying, "Being part of the SCi family means that we can accelerate our growth and build on the great achievements we have already made in the mobile, casual and wider games market."

Talk about great women in the games industry! Jane Cavanagh, CEO of the SCi Entertainment Group, got the Order of the British Empire award for helping the UK games industry grow.

Working in the games industry for almost twenty years, she actually started out by creating SCi, with the hit game Carmageddon helping to increase her company's visibility. Now, SCi owns Eidos, Crystal Dynamics, and IO interactive, among others, cementing its place as one of the industry's bigwigs. Their popularity has also garnered the attention of Time-Warner, who has purchased a 10.3% stake in the company.

Originally given to honor those who had served noncombat roles during the First World War, it's now awarded to people who've helped make British society and culture grow in one respect or another. We can certainly say she deserves it. Grats to her!