CHAMPIONSHIP MANAGER 2005 DELAYED
Copyright 2004 www.tombraiderchronicles.com

[ November 5th 2004 ]

Video-game maker Eidos says it is delaying the release of its Championship Manager 5 game and is still trying to pick a possible buyer for the company. Eidos, the creator of Tomb Raider games, said on Monday it hoped for a pre-Christmas launch for the personal computer version of the game, in which players buy, build and bully their imaginary team through the soccer leagues.

But it could be delayed past the New Year, a further possible blow to Britain's largest games maker, which has struggled to shake off the tag of being a one-hit wonder. "They've delayed before and this is symptomatic of the troubles they're in," said Simon Davies, an analyst at ABN Amro. Eidos is still trying to select a buyer. American video games giant Electronic Arts and THQ have been named in the trade press as frontrunners for the firm.

Eidos said "Championship Manager" would still be released on schedule for Microsoft's Xbox and Sony's 6758.T Playstation 2. "The much anticipated XBox and PS2 versions of Championship Manager 5 remain firmly on track for release in spring 2005, and the online version will be available through subscription shortly after the PC game's release," it said.