Meet the honchos of Lara’s home base in Japan

Meagan Marie (second to left), cover story writer of Lara’s GI debut, and Karl Stewart (right), global brand director of Tomb Raider, poses with Visual Works leads Kazuyuki Ikumori (second to right) and Takeshi Nozue (left).

Aside from 3D-modeling Lara as she appears on GI’s January cover, the Japan-based studio is reported to be also working on cutscenes for the reboot.

Ikumori and Nozue have been directors of CG cinematics/movies for various Final Fantasy titles, most notably for Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers and Advent Children respectively. Nozue is also currently doing dev duties on Final Fantasy Versus XIII as movie director.

Now you know what we’re in for.

[Image credit: Game Informer Issue #213 - Meagan’s Blog]

Video: “Team Lara” isn’t just Redwood HQ anymore

Count ‘em. Three studios. One Lara. Drool-worthy stuff on click-through.

[Game Informer - Making the Cover: Tomb Raider]

Red, dying.

Crystal Dynamics clarifies.

Should we rephrase that question?

“A lot of the fans have grown up with the franchise, and we felt that a larger portion of [them] have now moved on from the T rating and into the M rating,” says global brand director Karl Stewart, justifying the studio’s commitment to M-rate Tomb Raider. But that’s only part of it. Here’s the real reason.

And no, we aren’t trying to be cute. There were actually “twenty magicians.”

Is Lara Croft a closet fan of 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz”?

And is it sad we gave this tweet and this tweet a split-second thought?

You have questions about the new game? So does Lara

But first in order to be entertained — yours. Drop ‘em here, where Game Informer can see them. Make it dripping-with-sweat-whilst-tomb-raiding-on-an-island good. Go!

This is how you know Lara Croft is in good hands, in Wada-san’s

Story inspired by very true events. And as for the profit forecasts, SE will just have to adjust it. Square Enix games don’t adjust to investor’s economic expectations, they adjust to Lara. The game needs more time in the oven, then so be it. (Four years after announcement and still in development is overkill though. We’re looking at you, FF series.)