Lara Croft 'birthplace' gets blue plaque

Virtual Tomb Raider star to receive a commemoration on a block of flats built on the site of the creator's old office.

Cyber-babe Lara Croft has had many accolades so far--she's been on the cover of The Face, nominated as one of the top 20 most influential figures of the 20th century by TIME magazine--and now the Tomb Raider heroine will be getting her own blue plaque on a building.

A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in the UK on buildings or public places to commemorate a link between the location and a famous person or event. Others already commemorated include Mozart, Virginia Woolf, and Jimi Hendrix. However, Lara Croft will not be the first fictional character to be engraved on a blue plaque--detective Sherlock Holmes also has one on his "221B Baker Street" address in London.

The site of the former Core Design offices in Ashbourne Road, Derby, is soon to be the site of a new block of flats developed by Radleigh Homes. The housing developers are going to be putting up a blue plaque on the wall to let visitors know that Lara was "born" there.

Radleigh Homes senior sales manager Paul Walters commented, "We were aware of the history of the building, but it was actually a local resident who wrote to the local paper and suggested it. We're really keen on the idea to mark Lara's 'birthplace.'" He added that the building's likely completion date is the middle of 2008, and as soon as work is finished the plaque will be placed on the building's exterior.

Core Design was founded in 1988 and was acquired by Eidos Interactive in 1996. The development team created the Lara Croft character for the first Tomb Raider game, released on the PlayStation and PC in 1996. A number of sequels followed, including Tomb Raider II and III. Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness was the last Lara title which Core Design worked on, as Eidos then handed over the development of the series to Crystal Dynamics.

The reasoning behind this, according to Eidos' product acquisition developer, Ian Livingstone, was to freshen things up. "I think a lot of the team at Core Design were exhausted and they were struggling with the [PlayStation 2] tools." In 2006, Core Design was sold to Oxford-based development studio Rebellion, which took over the material assets and management of former Core staff. Core moved from the Ashbourne Road offices in 2000.

94 Comments

  • ObiKKa

    Posted Dec 3, 2007 8:15 am PT

    HybridRogue "The development team created the Lara Croft character for the first Tomb Raider game, released on the SATURN, PlayStation and PC in 1996."

    StreetFighter10
    It was on the Saturn too. Please emply people that know their stuff instead of boredly 'putting in their own words' crap they lifted from newspapers.

    monco59 "The development team created the Lara Croft character for the first Tomb Raider game, released on the PlayStation and PC in 1996."

    Stupid GS, forgetting all about the Saturn. Now that was a console...

    Anyways, congrats to Lara.

    OK, dudes, look. Gamespot isn't stupid at all. Tomb Raider was first released on the Saturn console, BUT specifically in 1995, not 1996, I'm sure. However it made little impact, and when it was released on the PS1 (along with the PC) that's when it shook the world with an earthquake of magnitude 10.1, and that's how the TR franchise began to become immortalised.

  • LuffyUzumaki

    Posted Sep 15, 2007 3:05 pm PT

    Awesome my cousin obssoded with Tr !

  • tyzwain

    Posted Sep 11, 2007 1:59 am PT

    Awesome! I can go visit it sometime lol...or maybe not... anyway i'm glad British gaming is being recognised for its talent.

  • yeahdogg

    Posted Jul 17, 2007 12:30 pm PT

    I was a big fan of the first Tomb Raider game on the PS1. I'm curious to see what this 're-imagining' will be like. I'm anxious to play it... on the Wii!

  • cannibal127-9

    Posted Jul 2, 2007 1:20 am PT

    Wow. Some one is really hateful of Ms. Croft... The most recognized character in videogame history.

  • Tomdogg

    Posted Jun 28, 2007 11:27 am PT

    Tomb raider is my favorite game of all time, and nothing will ever change that for as long as I exsist in this world.

  • wild_world_girl

    Posted Jun 8, 2007 9:13 am PT

    Tomb Raider is in my top 3 favorite games of all time. I love the anniversary edition, and I think that while legends for their work on TR, TR:2 and TR:LR - Core lost the edge so to speak. I figured it was over until Crystal Dynamics did Legend, and if Anniversary Edition is an indicator of things to come, I am very, very happy.

    EDIT - the article fails to mention Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation! Why is that always looked at as the "stepchild" of the PS TRs? It is AMAZINGLY good, especially when compared to it's predecessor, TR3.

  • luksifox

    Posted May 22, 2007 6:30 pm PT

    Since Crystal Dynamics took over, the game went from E to A+.

  • theKSMM

    Posted May 7, 2007 1:30 pm PT

    Tomb Raider is one of my favorite games of all time, one of the few that I was compelled to play to completion, so I'm always happy to see the franchise get its kudos. I know that everyone doesn't share my sentiments, but it's hard not to acknowledge that it's one of the greatest franchises / characters in gaming.

  • Mugen100

    Posted May 5, 2007 6:31 am PT

    lol ratgril i can't believe you claim to be so much of a fan and still haven't realised she is called 'Lara' not 'Laura'

  • Yodake

    Posted May 2, 2007 1:59 pm PT

    She's sexy yet sensual. ... she can make a gamer go wild and that's a women should be like all miss Lara

  • TTDog

    Posted Apr 30, 2007 3:37 am PT

    @ratgril; your comments would have so much more impact if you had managed to spell her name right.

  • ratgril

    Posted Apr 26, 2007 11:07 pm PT

    mkurtz- thank you sooo much for letting the rest of us know the Laura is a ho. I mean, we would have never picked up on that without your help. Really......i'm sorry, but its just been one time too many that i have heard that phrase. YOU don't like the franchise, therefore its main character is a ho. Do you realize how ignorant that makes you sound?

    Look , Tomb Raider 3 was one of the first games i ever played. I liked it so much that i ran out and bought the first two right away. I have enjoyed every game since, some more than others (save angel of darkness) . What you are missing is that at the time, the franchise did things differently, it wasn't just about Laura, it was the story, the locations, the pondering on how to get over the ravine, or out of the raft, or away from killer statue before you fried, drowned, or snapped your neck (come on, admit it...how many of you deliberately flung Laura to her death just to hear those crunching sounds she made).

    Was Laura influential? Well, no, she didn't achieve world peace, but she certainly made an impact on video games. Since mkurtz doesn't seem to have a problem with giving plaques to video game characters, i wonder who he thinks is worthy? Would they be recognized by as many non-gamers as Laura is? No? If only she wasn't, well, such a ho.........

  • YukoAsho

    Posted Apr 26, 2007 6:44 am PT

    mkurts - Considering Lara Croft is perhaps the only female video game character to garner any long-term appeal at all, as well as being a model of strength and independance so rare in female video game characters, I'd say this is an important character.

    That being said, I agree with azizrulez, we need to be throwing Core Design a bone here.

  • mkurts

    Posted Apr 25, 2007 11:45 pm PT

    Lara is influential ? Probably only to her fanbase (who gets a turn on from her pixelated sexiness block body with massive boobs).

    Who cares about her birthplace ?

    There are so many other game characters more deserving of a plaque than this ho.

    Absolutely Pathetic.

  • serph-1925

    Posted Apr 25, 2007 7:51 pm PT

    Good for her i like lara corft very, so any new games thats tomb raider i will play it.Evend if its a remake, but it better not be a 6 hours of gameplay like the legend.

  • psymon_05

    Posted Apr 25, 2007 12:15 pm PT

    eggisboss, it doesn't say she's the first fictional character to get a plaque. Read the article properly. It also fully acknowledges Sherlock Holmes was a fictional character.

  • BrUnOdeFeNiX

    Posted Apr 25, 2007 11:15 am PT

    i don't know if I will buy this game, because is remake, nothing more, no news, ....

  • eggsiboss

    Posted Apr 25, 2007 10:09 am PT

    doh, who writes this tosh!!
    It says she is the first fictional character that has one of these and then goes on to say about sherlock holmes having one too, yeah and he isnt fictional at all!!! Jeez if you want someone who can actually write to come and work for you, please give me a call, you have my details!! PM me seriously because this lack of attention to detail can only perpetuate current levels of ignorance

  • HXCDEW

    Posted Apr 25, 2007 4:07 am PT

    Shoal, wake up and smell the coffee. Your daughters can't even dream to emulate Lara. It's a fictional character, get it? Girls have been trying to emulate skinny top models for ages, don't try to blame it on a gaming icon.

  • HXCDEW

    Posted Apr 25, 2007 4:06 am PT

    Shoal, wake up and smell the coffee. Your daughters can't even dream to emulate Lara. It's a fictional character, get it? Girls have been trying to emulate skinny top models for ages, don't try to blame it on a gaming icon.

  • azizrulez

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 9:34 pm PT

    shouldnt the creator be honored instead of the creation

  • Pete5506

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 7:31 pm PT

    different

  • perfect_chao

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 7:12 pm PT

    Lara has a big pair of guns you know

  • Sergsky

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 6:10 pm PT

    Shoal I agree with you, but this is not a person, it's a character and they are celebrating the success of the people that worked behind it.

    radbytrade
    Ulysses and Oedipus are not British either.

  • Alcotamaysees

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 3:59 pm PT

    Eh, I want a blue plaque.

  • HybridRogue

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 3:47 pm PT

    "The development team created the Lara Croft character for the first Tomb Raider game, released on the SATURN, PlayStation and PC in 1996."

  • komradandre

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 3:46 pm PT

    good to see that their priorities are in good order.

  • HuxleyHobbes

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 3:26 pm PT

    Did y'all maybe think this is about an important videogame franchise more than the character who was in it?

    'Cause I dunno about anyone else, but much as I'm not particularly interested in the Tomb Raider games anymore, back in the day they were massive, and even my grandma knows who Lara Croft is. Tomb Raider, and as a result Croft, form a major part of the later 90s gaming scene.

  • DeathmageMokey

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 2:34 pm PT

    That's beyond asinine.

  • TheUnionFrag

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 2:11 pm PT

    What a waste of blue paint and metal . . .

  • coolasj19

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 1:35 pm PT

    Reetesh

    Look at the number of Tomb raider ports and versions!!

    i know im more amazed at the # of tomb raiders than this mediocre news peice
    42 in total!!!!!

  • Modx22

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 1:03 pm PT

    BORING

  • Reetesh

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 12:49 pm PT

    Look at the number of Tomb raider ports and versions!!

  • radbytrade

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 12:35 pm PT

    Sergsky,

    Ulysses and Oedipus also don't have blue plaques.

  • JThomas0000

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 12:17 pm PT

    Ba da blah?

  • Romanticide

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 12:12 pm PT

    TR has sucked a long time now.

  • BigDaveyDogz

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 11:37 am PT

    Maybe you missed my point. She is the first real female gaming icon. That is mostly what she is being praised for!

  • Shoal

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 11:32 am PT

    Sergsky, I guess I have this crazy idea that people who aren't role models shouldn't be given accolades.

  • Sergsky

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 11:20 am PT

    Shoal
    They are not awarding Lara Croft for her physique or her pretentious one liners. She's just a character, you know? It's because she's very likable. Sales prove that. Will you bash Ulysses and Oedipus too? They are not role models either.

  • Fyernix

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 11:15 am PT

    plaque, like as in what you get on your teeth?

  • goodemon

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 10:57 am PT

    Lara Croft is so awesome how can you bash her? (Shoal) Someone is angry at pretty people...

  • mohmaaytah

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 10:55 am PT

    LOL, I live next to Ashbourne Road, never new Lara was born here!

  • dr_jashugan

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 10:53 am PT

    I prefer a photo instead of a plaque.

  • Shoal

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 10:53 am PT

    PhatSeeJay, Lara Croft is not a strong woman. She has an impossible figure, is good with a gun, and is incredibly pretentious in word, action, and dress. That's not strength; that's not character; that's not intregrity. I would never, ever want my daughters -- or any little girl -- to want to emulate Lara Croft in any way, shape, or form. Remove her sexy physique, her skill at combat, and her sassy quick wit and what's left? Not a thing. We might as well give a plaque to James Bond while we're at it.

  • chrisdojo

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 10:43 am PT

    overated game character.

  • StreetFighter10

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 10:37 am PT

    It was on the Saturn too. Please emply people that know their stuff instead of boredly 'putting in their own words' crap they lifted from newspapers.

  • monco59

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 10:14 am PT

    "The development team created the Lara Croft character for the first Tomb Raider game, released on the PlayStation and PC in 1996."

    Stupid GS, forgetting all about the Saturn. Now that was a console...

    Anyways, congrats to Lara.

  • zsc4

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 10:10 am PT

    Wow, plaque...wait it's only plaque

  • Proman84

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 10:06 am PT

    Meh, much ado about nothing.

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