REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (October 31, 2016) – Crystal Dynamics® and Square Enix® celebrate Lara Croft®’s Guinness World Records win for ‘Most Magazine Covers for a Videogame Character’ and ‘Largest Gathering Of People Dressed As Lara Croft’ alongside a one-of-a-kind feature in the Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition next year.
The Tomb Raider® franchise is a two-decade strong cultural phenomenon which follows the globetrotting action-adventures of celebrated archaeologist Lara Croft.
Since making her videogame debut in 1996, Lara Croft has been featured front-and-center on approximately 1,230 magazine covers spanning film, culture, lifestyle, and video game publications such as TIME Digital, Entertainment Weekly, Mad, PlayStation Magazine, and PC Gaming. With new covers from around the world being unearthed every day, that number grows to over 1,400 when factoring in covers that saw Lara alongside a co-star. These covers include portrayals of Lara Croft through official videogame artwork, original illustrations, parody cartoons, and real-life photo-shoots with official Lara Croft models and actresses.
Check out our Flickr feed to browse 20 years of Croft covers, as archived by our community. [http://bit.ly/TR20_Mag_Covers]
Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix hosted a cosplay gathering at Paris Games Week on Saturday, October 29th as part of the ongoing celebration of 20 years of Tomb Raider. During the cosplay gathering, the European Tomb Raider community – spearheaded by passionate French fans – broke the Guinness World Record for the ‘Most People Dressed as Lara Croft’ in a single venue, drawing a crowd of 270 Tomb Raiders total. Fans could dress as any of the hundreds of official Lara Croft representations from the past 20 years, with participants donning costumes from the games, comics, movies, and even obscure fashion renders.
Check out the official event photos here. [http://bit.ly/PGW_GWR_Gallery]
“Over the past two decades, Lara Croft has established herself as an iconic character in entertainment,” said Rich Briggs, global brand director at Crystal Dynamics. “Her Guinness World Record wins further solidify her continuing influence and relevance in popular culture.”
Lara’s two new Guinness World Records titles are added to an already impressive roster. Lara was awarded with six records in the Guinness World Records 2010 Gamers Edition, including the Most Successful Video Game Heroine, Most Recognizable Female Character in a Video Game, Most Detailed Video Game Character, Most Official Real Life Stand-Ins, Highest Grossing Computer Game Spin-off, and Most Successful Live-Action Transfer.
“Lara Croft is one of the most vital and iconic characters in gaming, with a powerful legacy and a string of great games under her belt,” said Stephen Daultrey, Editor, Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition. It’s fantastic to see so many cosplayers celebrate her in this unique way. Along with her covers record, these are already two of my favorite new GWR titles of the year. I look forward to seeing them in next year’s Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition annual."
Lara has made an indelible mark on every facet of entertainment including video games, motion pictures, theme parks, lifestyle cosplay, and comic books. With over 30 video game titles released, selling over 46 million copies worldwide, winning hundreds of awards, and becoming an ambassador for scientific excellence to appearing live on tour with U2, Lara Croft continues to inspire and entertain millions around the world.
Rise of the Tomb Raider®: 20 Year Celebration™ is the most comprehensive version of the award-winning experience, and includes Rise of the Tomb Raider, along with a host of completely new content such as the new story chapter “Blood Ties,” “Lara’s Nightmare” zombie combat mode, PlayStation® VR support for “Blood Ties,” (available on PS4) co-op Endurance gameplay, an “Extreme Survivor” difficulty, five classic Lara skins, and an outfit and weapon inspired by TR III. It also includes all of the previously released downloadable content such as the critically acclaimed “Baba Yaga: The Temple of the Witch,” “Cold Darkness Awakened,” 12 outfits, seven weapons, multiple Expedition Card packs, and more.
For more information on Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration, please visit the official website and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Related Links
Official Homepage: www.TOMBRAIDER.com
Official Twitter: @TOMBRAIDER
Official Facebook page: http://facebook.com/TOMBRAIDER
Official Tumblr: http://tombraider.tumblr.com/
Official YouTube Channel: http://youtube.com/TOMBRAIDER
About TOMB RAIDER
The TOMB RAIDER franchise has sold over 46 million copies worldwide and inspired one of the most successful video game film adaptations in history, grossing over $300 million at the global box office with protagonist Lara Croft becoming a contemporary global icon. The most recent release in the world famous franchise, Rise of the Tomb Raider, released for Xbox One and Xbox 360 on November 9, 2015 and on PC January 28, 2016, and Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration released for PlayStation®4 on October 11, 2016. The game has received numerous “Best of” nominations and is one of the highest rated games on next generation systems. All of this has made TOMB RAIDER once again a destination brand for action-adventure.
About Square Enix, Inc.
Square Enix, Inc. develops, publishes, distributes and licenses SQUARE ENIX®, EIDOS® and TAITO® branded entertainment content throughout the Americas as part of the Square Enix group of companies. Square Enix, Inc. is affiliated with a global network of leading development studios such as IO Interactive™, Crystal Dynamics®, and Eidos Montréal. The Square Enix group of companies boasts a valuable portfolio of intellectual property including: FINAL FANTASY, which has sold over 115 million units worldwide; DRAGON QUEST®, which has sold over 68 million units worldwide; TOMB RAIDER®, which has sold over 46 million units worldwide; and the legendary SPACE INVADERS®. Square Enix, Inc. is a U.S.-based, wholly-owned subsidiary of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.
More information on Square Enix, Inc. can be found at http://www.na.square-enix.com.
About Guinness World Records
GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS (GWR) is the global authority on record-breaking achievement. First published in 1955, the iconic annual Guinness World Records books have sold over 136 million copies in over 20 languages and in more than 100 countries. Additionally, the Guinness World Records: Gamer’s Edition, first published in 2007, has sold more than 4 million copies to date.
Guinness World Records’ worldwide television programmes reach over 750 million viewers annually, and more than a million people subscribe to the GWR YouTube channel, which enjoys more than 300 million views per year. The GWR website receives 18 million visitors annually, and we have over 10 million fans on Facebook.
The Guinness World Records commercial sales division provides bespoke consultancy services for some of the world’s top brands and agencies to help place record breaking at the heart of their marketing campaigns, employee-engagement programmes, and live and experiential events.
RISE OF THE TOMB RAIDER © 2015. Square Enix Ltd. All rights reserved.
RISE OF THE TOMB RAIDER, RISE OF THE TOMB RAIDER: 20 YEAR CELEBRATION, TOMB RAIDER, LARA CROFT, CRYSTAL DYNAMICS, DRAGON QUEST, EIDOS, FINAL FANTASY, IO INTERACTIVE, SPACE INVADERS, SQUARE ENIX, the SQUARE ENIX logo, and TAITO are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Square Enix group of companies. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.