Eidos cash shortfall
Publisher issues "revenue guidance cut" as games delayed
Eidos has issued a warning to shareholders that its revenues for this year will be slightly lower than expected thanks to the poor performance of its Who Wants To Be A Millionaire sequels and delays in the release of key titles, particularly here in Europe. For starters Hitman 2 is no longer due out before the end of the company's financial year on March 31st, adding credence to rumours that it's been delayed until the autumn. Meanwhile the fate of the eagerly anticipated Xbox version of Championship Manager is also the subject of some confusion at the moment, and like Hitman 2 it is no longer expected to be released during March. At one point it had been touted as an Xbox European launch title. Other delays only apply to Europe - neither the Xbox version of Blood Omen nor the PlayStation 2 port of the award-winning action role-playing game Deus Ex is expected to be available on this side of the pond this month, but American releases apparently remain on track. We had been expecting both games to appear on shelves in the UK at the end of next week. Despite these problems Eidos remain confident, insisting that "the balance sheet remains strong" and that their cash reserves are in a better state than they were last summer. Related Feature - UK release date list