Eidos jumps on New Media bandwagon

Eidos plc becomes the latest traditional game publisher to jump feet first into the mobile fray. This morning in a statement, the company said it would launch a New Media Division. And it put one of its trusted hands, Simon Protheroe, at the helm of the new group.

The statement went on to say that "the newly created division will integrate New Media with the core business, allowing Eidos to extend its Intellectual Property into markets enabled by new technologies." In the New Media beat, Eidos includes not only mobile gaming but also online gaming, gaming on platforms including PDAs and interactive TV, games on demand services, and electronic software distribution.

When contacted today in San Francisco, Eidos Interactive president Rob Dyer said "We're excited about Simon's appointment," and added that the company was "committing a valued resource to this area."

Dyer said, "Kathy Schoback works the U.S. side of the New Media [business] and has been spending plenty of time with Simon [discussing] opportunities here. We've done some things with Tomb Raider, but nothing significant. I think this is going to kick-start things in the U.S." Schoback holds the title Director of Product Operations at Eidos Interactive.

Just last week, multiplatform publisher THQ spun its wireless division off into a freestanding subsidiary unit, THQ Wireless. Both THQ and Eidos' move suggests more and more publishers may be rethinking their strategies directed toward the mobile sector.