Ian Livingstone: Well, of course there is ongoing negotiations about another Tomb Raider film and everyone has their personal feelings, but I'm not willing to reveal mine just yet (grins).
SPOnG: Moving on to Mini Ninjas, it's obviously a change of direction for IO. Is it something that the studio wanted to do, or was it something that Eidos felt was a better project for the publisher as a whole?
Ian Livingstone: Obviously, IO is famous for Making Hitman, and so Mini Ninjas is something that's radically different. However, it's still applying their expertise in making games. IO are brilliant at making content-rich, beautiful-looking games that resonate with an audience because the way they create believable characters and put them in real settings has been spectacular. Mini Ninjas, of course, is different in addressing a different audience, but the artistic merit of the characters and the environments and the fun and the gameplay is exceptional, and we had no difficulty in deciding that we should go with their idea to make Mini Ninjas.
SPOnG: Do you see it as a kids' game, or a 'kid/adult' title?
Ian Livingstone: I think it's kid-adults and kid-women, actually. Watching at the booth at E3, there was an awful lot of women just kept playing and playing and playing. They like the characters, they like the story element, they like finding the items, they like trading the lights, becoming the creatures and just (becoming) totally immersed in this fantasy world. It was about rescuing as opposed to killing, and it was beautiful. The artistic style of it is just extraordinary, so I think we could be pleasantly surprised with Mini Ninjas.
SPOnG: Wrapping up, what are you playing at the moment?
SPOnG: Thanks for your time!