Eidos, Spike Sign Japanese Publishing Deal

Major publisher Eidos Interactive has struck an agreement with Japanese publisher and developer Spike (Samurai Western) to publish and distribute three key Eidos titles in Japan. PC and console versions of the latest in its Tomb Raider series, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend, World War II stealth combat action game Commandos Strike Force and Urban Chaos: Riot Response will be the first Eidos titles to benefit from the overseas agreement. "It is an honor to publish world-renowned Eidos titles like Tomb Raider and Commandos," said Spike CEO Mitsutoshi Sakurai. "We think that this will be a start of a strong and mutually beneficial relationship between our companies." With regard to Eidos' key Tomb Raider property, the company also took the opportunity to announce sales of nearly three million units of the cross-platform Tomb Raider: Legend, with the GameCube, Nintendo DS, and GameBoy Advance iterations still yet to come this fall - an impressive resurgence for a formerly foundering franchise. "Eidos is pleased to have partnered with the talented group of people at Spike Co. in Japan," said Bill Gardner, President of Eidos Inc. "This partnership marks a new, strategic approach to publishing in the highly important Japanese market."