Eidos slump back into red with new profit warning
Eidos in more trouble. PlayStation 2 titles delayed
Eidos shares fell again overnight by a massive 27%. This is another blow to the UK-based Tomb Raider creators and follows a recent botched buy-out from competitors Infogrames. The lack of confidence and share offloading began when Eidos announced that the company would be delaying the release of various upcoming PlayStation 2 titles due to the small amount of consoles in circulation.
Eidos performed well in the run up to Christmas, stealing the number one spot away from Infogrames’ Driver 2 and THQ’s WWF Smackdown 2: Know Your Role, with the game franchise of the hit TV series Who Wants to be a Millionaire? This run of success has not been enough to assure shareholders however, with many investors offloading their shares overnight.
The games that Eidos has delayed are Commandos 2, Startopia and Gangsters 2. The titles will now appear sometime in the next financial year.
Eidos seems to be hedging its bets on the hardware front. "Although in the short term the visibility of the new hardware may continue to create uncertainty in the market place, the company's strategy of platform neutrality will ensure that it benefits from stronger market conditions expected during the next financial year," was the official line from Eidos. This could easily be interpreted as “We are unimpressed with the PlayStation 2’s performance and consumer base and we would rather wait for Microsoft to do it properly with the Xbox,” though of course no-one would ever kick Sony in the shins!
This news means that Eidos’ value on the market has more than halved since March of last year, though whether this is due to over-valuing their products or mis-management is yet to be seen. You can bet that the company can already feel Infogrames’ clammy breath breathing down its neck.
Eidos performed well in the run up to Christmas, stealing the number one spot away from Infogrames’ Driver 2 and THQ’s WWF Smackdown 2: Know Your Role, with the game franchise of the hit TV series Who Wants to be a Millionaire? This run of success has not been enough to assure shareholders however, with many investors offloading their shares overnight.
The games that Eidos has delayed are Commandos 2, Startopia and Gangsters 2. The titles will now appear sometime in the next financial year.
Eidos seems to be hedging its bets on the hardware front. "Although in the short term the visibility of the new hardware may continue to create uncertainty in the market place, the company's strategy of platform neutrality will ensure that it benefits from stronger market conditions expected during the next financial year," was the official line from Eidos. This could easily be interpreted as “We are unimpressed with the PlayStation 2’s performance and consumer base and we would rather wait for Microsoft to do it properly with the Xbox,” though of course no-one would ever kick Sony in the shins!
This news means that Eidos’ value on the market has more than halved since March of last year, though whether this is due to over-valuing their products or mis-management is yet to be seen. You can bet that the company can already feel Infogrames’ clammy breath breathing down its neck.
Companies:
Eidos
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