Eidos has had some rough times this year. Its parent company SCi axed 14 projects and one-quarter of the employees at Eidos, its CEO Phil Rogers stating a renewed focus on cornerstore studios and core franchises was the goal.

It sounds pretty awful maybe, but creative director Ian Livingstone seems to say it's for the best:

“The restructuring is going very well. We have been very upfront about what we are as a business and where we are going. We have put in place a studio-led and product-centric operation and everybody is now happily on board. Studio-led means that operationally we have moved publishing responsibilities such as brand, PR and marketing into our key studios. This means bringing people closer to games so that the whole team offering can be creatively driven. Having a focused team based around our cornerstone franchises means one team based in the same office, country and time zone so that they can explore every opportunity directly alongside the game’s development.”

This sounds pretty well exactly what Silicon Knights dev Denis Dyack had talked about many moons ago, and also what Electronic Arts has done quite recently. Looks like things really can change if you put yourself out there.

On the topic of Tomb Raider: Underworld, EDGE pretty much asked Livingstone straight up: why should gamers care about another Tomb Raider game, after all this time (and after the muck-ups)? Here is his response:

“Advances in technology and creative designers drive innovation that helps to generate new fans in a franchise… Crystal Dynamics’ new technology makes Lara look and act more believably and realistically within the world with an even greater variety of athletic and gymnastic moves. From a gameplay point of view, she is more intuitive to control and players have more options on how they work their way through the level. I don’t believe there is any chance of Lara being knocked off her throne."

“… Great characters, stories and games will continue by way of sequels as long as they are able to excite and entertain their audiences. Remember, consumers vote with their feet. If they got bored of a particular title they would not buy the sequel and the franchise would come to an end.”

Seems to be saying it's demand, then supply, as opposed to the other way around, which, I imagine makes sense (just ask publishers and marketers).

Another thing they discuss which is quite exciting is new franchises. Livingstone says they're planning on new ones for the future, and says he's looking for something truly fresh, citing Spore and LittleBigPlanet as good examples:

“What I am looking for in an original franchise is the ability for it to offer something new that will get people talking about it. Nothing is better than the word of mouth in terms of promotion. If you look back at history, all the major hits all had that something that set them apart.  I’m certainly not looking for clone or me too products."