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Ion Storm Austin Closes
It's dragged on for quite a while, but GamesIndustry.biz has the word that the Ion Storm offices in Austin have closed. Originally founded by John Romero, Tom Hall, and Todd Porter, Ion Storm Austin has been responsible for the release of Deus Ex, Thief: Deadly Shadows, and Daikatana. From the article: "This is part of [Eidos's] move to consolidate and strengthen its technical and management capabilities into a smaller number of studios which are capable of scaling up in order to meet the competitive challenges that lie ahead, particularly in anticipation of next-generation technologies and platforms"
Actually, Tomb Raider had pretty awesome gameplay, and really brilliant level and puzzle design
How old were you when you first made this assessment? Seriously. I too have a high opinion of things I liked in my childhood that today I find lacking, so that's why I ask.
Also, Eidos has been making that exact PR claim, nearly verbatim, since the release of the original Tomb Raider. They got really defensive when a few reviewers nailed it for what it is - an awkward and largely unfun game made magical by the protagonist's gigantic polygonal chest.
Tetris had awesome gameplay. Prince of Persia had brilliant level and puzzle design. Tomb Raider had gigantic boobs.
The Legacy of Kain come courtesy of Crystal Dynamics.
Anachronox and Deus Ex were Ion Storm
Thief was Looking Glass
Tomb Raider came courtesy of Core... But I do have to disagree with you there, they should have made a sequel. I'm still waiting for one. Admittedly, this is a company that thought Chuck Rock, Fighting Force, and ThunderStrike deserved sequels, but they've done enough great things in their heyday that they get a free pass.
This all points to the fact that Eidos is not a developer. They're a publisher. And to say that Eidos didn't push for major changes to Tomb Raider before it was too late because they were getting pinched is ideallic at best... They were raking it in for a while. For a few years Tomb Raider must have been like free money to them. I would be surprised if they felt squeezed in the mid PS1 days.
To be fair to them, Eidos did take some chances on original games. Fear Effect and Mad Maestro come to mind, as does Mr. Mosquito, Pandemonium... And while they do have their share of Backyard Wrestlings and Tron Bonnes, It doesn't seem too out of line with other publishers.
Look at the list yourself and decide.
The ______ Agenda
First looking glass studios fold and sell the fantastic thief franchise to Ion Storm, now they've kicked the bucket. What's going to happen to the great Thief series? Gutted...