Latest Lara removed from Steam Europe

By Games Industry.biz Published 7 June, 2007

Eidos yet to explain why.

The PC version of Tomb Raider Anniversary is no longer available to European users of Valve's digital download service, Steam, GamesIndustry.biz reports - with Eidos yet to explain why it has been withdrawn.

US consumers can still buy TRA for USD 29.99 (GBP 15) via Steam, and the game is prominently advertised on SteamPowered.com. However, at the final stage of the purchasing process European users receive the message, "Sorry, but Tomb Raider: Anniversary (ROW) is not available for purchase in this country. Your purchase has been cancelled."

It is still possible to buy TRA as a digital download by visiting official site TombRaider.com or the Eidos Interactive website. From there, buyers are taken to a payment page on a site owned by online distributor Bluefish Media, where they can purchase the game for GBP 29.99.

Bluefish was purchased by Eidos in March in a deal worth EUR 3 million.

Eidos has yet to respond to requests for comment.

Picture of Games.

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Comments (35) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • bonker #1 5 years ago

    This USA vs Rest Of The World shit is getting outta hand (and I don't just mean for gaming) ...

  • Kiigan #2 5 years ago

    Very iffy. I guess they realised late in the day that gamers had figured that (a) the PC version of the game is one to have (b) selling the game so cheaply on Steam completely cannibalises their retail sales.

  • IAmBatman #3 5 years ago

    > and I don't just mean for gaming

    I wish I could be political and stuff.

  • Tyronne #4 5 years ago

    I wondered why I had this when I tried it the other day, thought something might be up on my card...thought sod it and bought it from play for 18 quid so only a few quid more, they can fook right out of it for paying full price for a digital download.

  • BadBoyBonner #5 5 years ago

    And what is the excuse now with retail cut out of the chain???

    Just seems like another British con, more so when Valve's games (which IMO are better value) have a straight dollar to pound conversion.

  • X201 #6 5 years ago

    Even if it canabalises retail they ought to realise that downloaded games are only going to become a bigger proportion of sales, so jump on the bandwagon early.

  • neilka #7 5 years ago

    I don't think it's retail sales they're worried about so much as the fact that they own a digital distribution company which is trying to flog it for 30 quid!

  • JHuxley #8 5 years ago

    Absolute farce.

  • Oddly #9 5 years ago

    I can't see any retailer selling the boxed version for more than 18 quid which is almost exactly the same as Steam when you add the VAT into the price. I think they're just being gits.

  • Hunam #10 5 years ago

    Its most likely a price quibble, they obviously wanted valve to charge UKP for it at a price they specified, and valve rejected it.

    My guess anyway.

  • the_sas_man #11 5 years ago

    apparently there is a mod tht makes laura naked

  • Darren #12 5 years ago

    I bought the boxed PC version for £18 from Play.com too... very it is too with a lovely case and a nice glossy colour manual which you wouldn't get with a Steam download. I much prefer to buy my games on a disc and boxed personally and nearly all my PC games cost me £25 or less these days so there seems little point in using Steam to download stuff. That said, downloaded stuff doesn't require a disc to play the game nor does it have irritating disc-protection (like CM Rally 2005 and DiRT's StarForce!!!) so there is that advantage I suppose.

    Maybe someone found some nude code in the Steam version of TRA and that's why it was taken down...? LOL

  • prettyboytim #13 5 years ago

    Whenever I try to purchase it, I get an error talking about Steam's servers being overloaded - I wonder if they know I'm in the UK?

  • SBfistfun #14 5 years ago

    ZOMFG Europe has become a country!!

  • Varsity #15 5 years ago

    Server overload message = delete clientregistry.blob. Last time the servers were really overloaded was when HL2 launched!

  • Zanuah #16 5 years ago

    Aha!!! I knew it. I'm guessing since I've seen the game for sale at nearly 50 euros in shops, they were loosing too much money when people (like me) bought it from Steam, becasue it's nearly 30 euros less.

  • MGG #17 5 years ago

    Isn't this illegal price fixing? Something iTunes (and others) are being dragged through the EU courts for?

    Appalling - boycott it, unless you can get it for almost the same price as the US....

  • Tim #18 5 years ago

    I got a boxed retail copy, and after a few TR sessions, I started it up again to carry on, whereupon the SecuROM bullshit protection system told me to put in the 'original' disc, and not a 'backup version'.

    Seeing as how I hadn't even opened the drive since the last time I played, I thought this was impressive.

    A reboot fixed it, thankfully. The people who write CD/DVD protection systems are fecking muppets (I say this from experience).

  • DrunKao #19 5 years ago

    SBfistfun - "ZOMFG Europe has become a country!! "

    That's the point people seem to forget when they complain about US having things so much better or getting things sooner than the rest of the world. It might seem unfair, but that's just business. It's not as simple as US vs Rest Of The World. It's the US being the most prominent country with an insanely huge market under one language and set of laws vs dealing with a lot of other countries with their different barriers and restrictions involved.

    Even though in a lot of ways Europe is the same as the US and even bigger it still doesn't change the fact that US is a single country while Europe is split into many countries. The effort/return ratio for Europe is greatly disproportionate to that of the US. Plus most of the major companies in the the software and entertainment industry are US anyway so that's another advantage the US has over Europe.

    The US doesn't hate you or think it's better than you. You're just difficult to deal with. That's the truth.

  • smelly #20 5 years ago

    "not yet explained why"

    Erm.. gee.. let me think.. they are now charging 30 quid when before it was 15 quid.

    I wonder...

  • Scimarad #21 5 years ago

    For some bizarre reason it appears to be impossible to get Medieval 2:Total War off of Steam as well...if you are in Europe.

  • orcane #22 5 years ago

    it only shows up if you manually change your area in your browser, otherwise all I get to see (in Switzerland) is TR: Legend, not even the demo and trailer are available anymore

    what a joke...

  • rodpad #23 5 years ago

    Poor Brian.

  • Overlush #24 5 years ago

    Big fat hairy deal

  • Carlo #25 5 years ago

    They make a fantastic game, them turn into f**king idiot-money-grabbing-c**ts.

    Good game Eidos!

  • Xune #26 5 years ago

    Yarr, time to go sailing.

  • X201 #27 5 years ago

    My money is on some weaselly lawyer somewhere.

    "According to part ii of subsection 2 in paragraph A. You're not allowed to sell it in that territory because we have exclusive rights for the digital distribution of it."

    I bet you it's some pathetic legal dispute.

  • vane101 #28 5 years ago

    It's as neilka said, Eidos has its own download service and it's £29.99 there. They can't have it available for download for two different prices in the same country. I'm pretty sure that it would be illegal.
    Edited by 1 at 08/06/07 @ 10:12

  • exidor #29 5 years ago

    vane101: "They can't have it available for download for two different prices in the same country. I'm pretty sure that it would be illegal."

    Not illegal, just commercial suicide for the ones selling it at £30.

  • X201 #30 5 years ago

    Not illegal.
    If they had a contract with one party saying that they wouldn't let another party sell it in the UK that would be a breach of contract reason to withdraw it.

    But as for price, I could open three shops and sell the exact same products for three different prices.


  • TheUnionFrag #31 5 years ago

    There might have been a time when I cared for Eidos and Tomb Raider. But I don't

    So all I can say to the would-be suckers is HA!

  • Freek #32 5 years ago

    So much for all this "globalisation" nonsense.

  • Daikon #33 5 years ago

    A gallon of gas and a can of beer will set you back twice as much in Europe than in the US. Of course they can get away with paying twice as much for the same bloody game.
    Why? Because research has shown that Europeans are willing to put up with being squeezed for every cent they have.
    Time to vote with your wallets people.

  • orcane #34 5 years ago

    " So much for all this "globalisation" nonsense."

    it's awesome unless it doesn't apply to customers as much as to the big companies - oh wait...

  • Lurks #35 5 years ago

    Well, whatever the reason is, the net result is the same. I'd buy it on Steam at that price (not just because it's cheaper but because I trust Steam to some degree) but I'm not going to buy it for full whack off their lame-o-matic download service which has no established relationship with me. Oh well, plenty of other games to play.