CVG writes: "Even our mums knows who Lara Croft is, but Nathan Drake, the star of Naughty Dog's Uncharted series? We're not so sure. Yet. But director Bruce Straley believes Drake is already up there in terms of popularity with the PlayStation audience."
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Finally, some Tomb Raider news that's about, you know, tombs. Specifically, the downloadable kind meant to extend Lara Croft's latest -- and commercially disappointing -- adventure, Tomb Raider Underworld. Eidos had promised two Xbox 360-exclusive episodes, with the first initially scheduled to arrive by Christmas. Sadly, the only things to be released by developer Crystal Dynamics thus far are thirty employees.
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Middleware developer BabelFlux, LLC announced today that NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. has licensed its AI middleware package, NavPower, for multiple titles, including the upcoming Afro Samurai videogame.
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Praises the team for delivering what they did considering the conditions they were under.
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Two apparently disgruntled former Crystal Dynamics employees have confirmed the rumored lay-offs at the studio and dished a little inside information about the development of Tomb Raider Underworld, including how the DLC came to be.

[A] anonymous, former Crystal Dynamics employee posting in the forums claims that the decision to cut the content was made specifically to use it later in DLC.

"Ask anyone who is part of it and if they are honest they will tell you around 40% of the DLC was meant to be in the game itself, originally. But it was decided later on to take out those parts because they were expecting most sales on the 360 and the DLC the way it looked at the time was looking to be a bit 'thin'. So we were asked to cut some parts out to be used in the DLC."
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Eric Lindstrom, Creative Director of Tomb Raider Underworld, confirms that he was one of the staff laid-off from Crystal Dynamics.

Lindstrom feels he has a few misconceptions to clear up; "I wasn't going to post, but there is too much being said that I don't feel is right to go unanswered."

Firstly, on the rumour that content was cut from Underworld in order to create the Xbox 360's exclusive downloadable content."
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VG247: TR: Underworld creative director Eric Lindstrom has confirmed that he was one of the 30 laid off last week, and has said that he wished Crystal Dynamics could have spent more time working on the game.

"I absolutely wish we could have spent more time polishing Underworld," said Lindstrom. "I take my share of responsibility of aiming so high that we had a reduced ability to spend time on polish."
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Edge writes: "Eidos is suggesting that the modern videogame icon Lara Croft may undergo a 'family friendly' redesign.

The publisher's suggestions have come forward as the recent release of Tomb Raider: Underworld missed sales expectations by some £20m, while developer Crystal Dynamics has been subjected to layoffs to focus the team's output to the core IP.

It is suspected that Lara's popularity – as a character – is fading particularly in the US. And, as the commercial success of all Tomb Raider games have always had a degree of dependence on Lara's image, this may prompt a fresh face for the heroine in her next title."
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Tomb Raider: Underworld developer Crystal Dynamics today slashed 30 employees from its workforce.

Crystal Dynamics owner Eidos earlier today expressed disappointment in the sales of Underworld, which has moved 1.5 million copies worldwide since its release--apparently a figure that did not meet Eidos' internal projects.
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Kotaku: "Crystal Dynamics laid off 30 people this morning in the wake of underperforming Tomb Raider Underworld sales, reliable sources tell Kotaku.

The cuts were made across the board, we're told, to eliminate redundancy and give the studio tighter focus moving forward."
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Sharecast: "Computer games maker Eidos has revised down its revenue forecasts and cautioned it may need to renegotiate bank finances after disappointing sales of its new Lara Croft game, Tomb Raider: Underworld.

Eidos, which changed its name from SCi Entertainment, now estimates full year revenue will now be in the range of £160m-£180m compared to previous guidance of £180m-£200m.

"We have passed our peak net debt position and we retain sufficient headroom within our committed banking facility but given revised profit expectations we may need to enter into discussions with our lending bank regarding our June 2009 covenants," it added."
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Console Monster writes: "In today's Xbox Live Marketplace update, Lara Croft is getting wet for free as two new wetsuits have been released. Alongside the wetsuits comes some new Guitar Hero: World Tour tracks. Here is the full Xbox Live Marketplace update for Tuesday 6th January 2009:

Tomb Raider: Underworld Wetsuit Costume Pack
Price: Free
Availability: All Xbox Live Regions
Description: Download two hot new wetsuits for Lara, totally free!
Size: 62 MB..."
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Fans of Colin O'Malley's well received score for Lara Croft's latest adventure can download the soundtrack for free. There are several different bundles to choose from, with different bitrates, spanning 71 gorgeous tracks in total. The deluxe edition is 198MB containing all tracks encoded in 320kbps crystal-clear MP3.
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Console Monster writes: "Today's Xbox Live Marketplace update has arrived and includes free new costumes available for Lara Croft in her latest title, Tomb Raider: Underworld. Staying on the subject of free, there is a free 'Reggae Rock' Track Pack available to download for Guitar Hero: World Tour among many other tracks. Here is the full Xbox Live Marketplace Update for Tuesday 30th December 2008:

Tomb Raider: Underworld Wetsuit Costume Pack
Price: Free (Gold Exclusive Offer)
Availability: All Xbox Live Regions
Description: Download two hot new wetsuits for Lara, totally free!
File Size: 62 MB

Guitar Hero World Tour: Reggae Rock Track Pack
Price: Free
Availability: All Xbox Live Regions
Description: Downloadable Track Pack for Guitar Hero World Tour featuring "Your Face" by Pepper, "Jimi" by Slightly Stoopid, and "Sacrifice" by The Expendables. Please Note: Many songs are available both as singles and as part of a Track Pack, so please carefully consider your purchases before downloading. For all song credits please visit www.guitarhero.com.
File Size: 112 MB..."
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Eidos has today released the second free costume pack for Tomb Raider Underworld. This time you can download two items of clothing for our intrepid adventurer. The download weighs in at 61.79 MB.
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Quaz at Beyond3D confirms 360 version is 1024x576 while PS3 is 720p.
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Console Monster writes: "In case you weren't aware, it's three days until Christmas and in the spirit of Christmas, Microsoft has released new content on the festive-looking Xbox Live Marketplace. Here is the full Xbox Live Marketplace update for Monday 22nd December 2008:

MotoGP 08 Demo
Price: Free
Availability: All Xbox Live Regions except Japan
Description: Download the demo.
File Size: 377 MB

Tomb Raider: Underworld Classic Costumes
Price: Free
Availability: All Xbox Live Regions
Description: Download Lara's iconic "Classic" and "Legend" outfits, for free!
File Size: 63 MB..."
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Eidos has released 2 new outfits to download for their Tomb Raider: Underworld.Gamers can adventure with Lara in her 'classic' blue vest and shorts and her brown top and shorts from Legend.
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Msxbox-World spoke with Senior Producer at Crystal Dynamics, Eric Lindstrom who mentions that multiplayer is certainly a possibility for the next Tomb Raider game.
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Sales of Eidos' Tomb Raider: Underworld are strongest on the PlayStation 3, with 51 per cent of all units sold in its first week of release on Sony's home console.

The Xbox 360 accounted for 34 per cent of sales, with the remaining sales made up of Wii, PC and DS SKUs.
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