Europe's Video Game Community Asks Where's Lara?

London (Reuters) - Cyber heroine Lara Croft is everywhere -- on buses, television ads and in-store posters.

But European analysts and retailers are wondering whether Britain's Eidos, creators of Lara Croft, will make good on its vow to deliver her hotly awaited new game this month.

"We have the posters in stores, but we haven't got a date. It's a very unusual situation," said Lisa Artemis, a spokesman for Game Group Plc, Britain's biggest speciality games retailer.

Eidos, the UK's largest games publisher, has put the video-gaming community on a roller-coaster ride, delaying the launch of "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness" from November to February and then to this month.

In Europe, one of Eidos's biggest markets, there is growing concern the company will miss its June launch date, a development that would risk dooming the company's sales and profits targets for the year.

"European release dates will follow in the coming days," an Eidos spokesman said on Monday, but he was unable to confirm whether the company would ship the game this month.

News source: Reuters