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Lara's Identity Confused By Exploitation?

Posted by simoniker on from the or-just-needs-a-good-game? dept.

Thanks to BBC News for their article exploring whether the diversification of the Tomb Raider brand has helped lessen it. The author points out: "Rather than consolidating the brand, the multiple incarnations [games, comics, public appearances, adverts, movies..] of the character seem to have diluted it which begs the question - who exactly is Lara today?" In fact, he suggests that the public may be forgetting Tomb Raider was a game: "At least Angelina Jolie seems to be giving the stunts and iffy dialogue of The Cradle Of Life her all. As such, she is arguably now more Lara than the original digital incarnation." As well as there being no single 'image' of Lara Croft, he concedes videogame quality may have a lot to do with it: "The [most recent] game itself is such a source of irritation that the personality of its heroine gets subsumed into the negative experience of playing it."

4 of 38 comments (clear)

  1. 007 by LordNimon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    How is this any different than James Bond?

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  2. Lara is the brand by neglige · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I think Eidos went the obvious way. The first game received so much media attention (for those two obvious reasons) which focused on Lara, and not the game. So the logical choice is to build a brand based on the character Lara Croft, not on the game.

    This makes it much easier to market products - all they need is Lara. And with that, you can sell movies, games, soft drinks, action figures, magazines, condoms...

    The question which figure (digital Lara or Angelina Jolie) is perceived as Lara is valid, but not necessarily relevant. If a product features a picture of either digi-Lara or A. Jolie doesn't really matter, a consumer will accept both of them and think of the product as an official Lara-product.

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  3. But the question remains... by mmaddox · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "Who really gives a shit?"

    This isn't some big icon of popular culture that's going to go down in history as a symbol for the age - it's a videogame and a couple of mediocre movies.

    Sheesh.

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    1. Re:But the question remains... by neglige · · Score: 4, Insightful

      This isn't some big icon of popular culture that's going to go down in history as a symbol for the age

      I wouldn't be so sure of that. Ask anyone on the street if they know a figure from a computer game. I guess that the two most frequent answers are "Mario" and "Lara". Perhaps "Pac-Man". Or "Gordon Freeman". Or "Duke Nukem".

      Hmmm... sounds like a ./-poll.

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