Eidos Share Discussion Threads

[darrens] 17/5/2011 14:21

amt, yup all my own work (and too much of it!). It's been 12 years since I had a web site and although technology has moved on it certainly hasn't got any easier or quicker.

I descended deep into the bowels of technology hell when all I wanted to care about was presentation and content.

[amt] 16/5/2011 16:16

Nice Web-site. Did you set that up yourself ? very impressed.

[darrens] 16/5/2011 09:50

amt, just a name I liked which I heard when I was travelling around many years ago.

If you get a chance then take a look, who knows you may find something over there that takes your fancy.

IMG were originally (many years ago) of interest because they used to make graphics chips which were pretty much only used for PC game players. Of course, quite a lot has changed since then ;)

[amt] 16/5/2011 09:43

Hi Darren.
I noticed a message on the Eidos board this morning and guessed it might be you.
Good luck with the Bougafer Board. I dont follow games companies anymore but remember making a fair amount on Eidos and getting out before the share price collapse following your move. Only connected share I have is IMG which originally had a link to consoles but they are doing really well.
Why is it called Bougafer by the way ?

[darrens] 14/5/2011 23:00

If you're interested then videogame discussion is back up and running at www.bougafer.co.uk

I don't have sqex as a specific company that I'm covering but if you start a thread on the forums I'm sure people will talk about it.

[life of crime] 19/12/2010 17:56

Yes Darren, SQEX down 10% on that profit warning. I should have sold when they were up 30% for me 12 months ago - will I ever learn!

It seems K&L2 failed to reach internal targets and the latest version of FF on PC has bombed, both due to quality issues I suspect. I'm sure they will take the time to rectify problems on the latter for the all important PS3 release, but that and the delay to DX3 is not going to help profitability in the short term. If the K&L movie turns out to be a success it may give the franchise the momentum for a K&L3, otherwise it may be curtains for the brand.

Fortunately, SQEX are a tiny part of my portfolio now - Eidos burned my fingers when it comes to gaming stocks. I will sell up when they reach my break even and be done with it.

IMG is riding the iPhone/Pod/Pad wave for me these days - a great British firm finally getting the recognition they deserve.

Anyway, definitely the last post on matters EID/SQEX from me. Good luck to you Darren, and anyone else still lurking on this BB, re your future investments. Parting shot from me that might be of interest, latest interview on DX; could well be a money spinner for them (eventually):

[darrens] 16/12/2010 12:02

I'm still to be convinced that there's big money to be made from the iphone/ipad platforms. I know the top selling games sell in their many millions but with their penny pricing it means that the revenues are actually quite small.

I think Angry Birds has sold around 5m, but at 59p a pop that only gives you about £3m in revenue. Well, £2m after Apple have taken their 30%.

I guess development costs were only in their tens of thousands so there's still money to be made but I just think the numbers are fairly small when compared to the pc/console publishing side of things.

In other news, I see that SQEX has announced a nasty profits warning. I think it was after market closed so I don't think it's in the price yet. Ouch.

[life of crime] 15/12/2010 22:40

For any who may still be lurking on this BB, the release of the Lara Croft spin-off on Apple platforms could be potentially very important for Eidos/SQEX.

The iPhone/iPad/iTouch devices will represent a market base of tens of millions (and growing) and a brand like LC could be a big draw to casual gamers using Apple's products.

It helps that GoL was well executed and well reviewed - it's a shame they could not have got it out the door earlier so more gamers could have treated themsleves to an early Xmas present! Nonetheless, this could be a money spinner for the business going forward, doubtless with new iterations to come.

[life of crime] 07/11/2010 15:47

Thanks Darren, re both your last posts. I've kept my small stake in SQEX, more as a reatained interest in the games business than anything else. It's hovering around my breakeven price, despite SQEX having posted excellent results consistently since the takeover. No logic in the stock market sometimes, especially gaming stocks!

I still think Eid was a steal, as you know, with 3 No 1 hits since the takeover. I don't know how the DL TR spin off (Guardian of Light) is doing, but the reviews were universally strong and it was well priced, so I presume it has done good numbers. A new franchise in the making possibly.

SQEX/EID is a peripheral interest these days (hence the delay in seeing your post), with IMG being my main holding now. It has wiped out my losses in Eid, so I can offset them against my eventual tax bill (I knew Eidos would come in handy one day!). Good luck with your future investments.

PS. Just found this link to the 6 month figures to Sept:



Sales are slower than forecast, explaining the recent share price drop. I'll hold onto my interest in SQEX, because I think the acquisition of Eidos will pay off for them, as they needed to expand beyond the Japanese market.

[darrens] 23/9/2010 10:37

loc, well I disagree with you (as you know) about SQEX getting a good deal with Eidos - I think they overpaid massively.

However, I didn't come to rake over the ashes of the past but just to let you know that I got the chance to see the latest build of Deus Ex recently and I came away impressed. True to the feel of the original Deus Ex (rather than the console rubbish that came later) I really thought that the game looked very promising indeed with tight gameplay, some neat innovations and a style that made it stand out a bit from the plethora of other stuff coming out.

Keep it on your radar.

[life of crime] 31/8/2010 15:57

For any that may still check this thread, K&L2 has performed strongly with a debut at No 1 and sales up by a third last week, despite slipping back to No 2 in the All format chart:



Square have done well since their purchase of Eidos, with Batman AA, JC2 and K&L2 all reaching top spot. CM is back on track under new managment at BGS and is a credible competitor to FM at last. Even the Lara Croft download game has reviewed well.

The only disappointment since they acquired Eidos has been Mini Ninjas. It had real potential but I think the pressure of working on K&L2 and HM5 meant Io did not have the time to really do it justice. Square/Eidos should give it another shot, but farm it out to a 3rd party developer with an oversight role at Io, IMO. The spin-offs if Ninjas succeeded in terms of toys, cartoon adaptations, merchandise, etc could make it really worthwhile.

It's a shame it took a bid before Eidos could flourish, but such is life. Over and out one last time from me.

[life of crime] 09/8/2010 22:00

amt, perhaps SQEX should be on your radar. Their share price performed really well following the Eidos takeover, but dropped back in recent months following lulls on the Japanese market and economy generally.

SQEX got a good deal in Eidos, which has opened up a wider audience for them as they were too dependent on their domestic market. They had excellent results for 09/10 and have made a good start to this year. Could be a good long term bet:



Short term looks strong with the first Lara Croft game outside of TR, Guardian of Light, K&L2 and Dragon Quest 9 out this month.

PS. I agree with you re IMG. It has been far and away my best investment and is the polar opposite of the Eidos of old for one main reason: superb management. I can see them breaking £4 this year and £5 next.

[amt] 09/8/2010 09:12

Hello Darren. Thanks for your note. I only really have access to UK based shares on my trading platforms at the moment. I have added Take Two and Ubisoft to my favourite BB's though out of interest. I am more into emerging technologies where the potential is enormous but of course so is the risk. I have done very badly out of NXT for example. Their flat speakers & touch screen sounded a fantastic technology but never really took of. Similarly TRT with wireless pressure sensors although some people still seem to believe there is some hope. However IMG & BLNX have done very well but I am tending to either hold these or reduce slightly due to stellar valuations. However IMG seem to be getting into so many mobile devices that the outlook is very bright but the market cap is high also. I have a few Moni also which has a software platform for mobile phone banking. The market Cap is already over £100m but who know what the potential is or isnt. I am struggeling to find any no brainers though like IMG at 40p (now £3.40) was or Blinkx at 19p was (now 65p)
If there is one thing I have learnt with these companies is not to get in too early because they generally keep going back to the market during the development stage for cash and the share price goes down as dilution grows. Its only when commercialisation is imminent and cash burn is over that good returns seem possible.

[amt] 06/8/2010 12:20

Hi Darren. Do you have any investment tips or are you relaxing in your Cyprus villa. I have done ok with IMG & Blinkx recently but need a multi bagger so I could put my many years ago 10k profits (thanks to you) from Eidos to work and towards a villa somewhere.

[life of crime] 18/5/2010 20:45

For those still lurking on this board, superb results for SQEX since the Eidos deal:



Batman sold 3.2M and JC2 1.2M. With TR, K&L, HM and DX to come, we can only think of what might have been if Eidos had had decent management and remained independent. I only wished I'd had £80M myself to buy them myself. Jane Cavanagh was right, SQEX got a steal!

[darrens] 29/3/2010 10:20

"Just Cause 2 looks like its going to be fun but we'll have to see whether that can translate into sales."

Well, in at #1 in the UK all format chart so that's a good first week. Apparently the original debuted at #2 so maybe that shouldn't be a surprise but at last some good news out of the ashes of Eidos.

[dope007] 10/3/2010 08:55

They were mad to buy it. Eidos was ruined. SCi were used to try and get some money back for big Eidos shareholders, and Square were just nuts

[darrens] 10/3/2010 08:50

Totally lost their way with TR imho and this latest move is just nuts.

Champ Manager online has closed down and Batman has been taken away from them by Warner (Eidos never owned the ip and didn't have a multi-game deal, seem post 1071 above).

Just Cause 2 looks like its going to be fun but we'll have to see whether that can translate into sales.

To be honest, it looks like Square Enix may just be regretting their purchase.

[togglebrush] 10/3/2010 08:35

From Times Online
March 9, 2010
Lara Croft set for revival

[life of crime] 17/10/2009 23:11

Hello Peter and Darren,

I did not expect to find anyone on this board after all this time; still no reason why not as Eidos are still going, via SQEX.

I retained an interest in things Eidos by buying some SQEX stock, which is up around 30% since May. I was very pleased to see Batman doing so well and also CM 10, which has reviewed strongly and finally put them back in contention with FM. Mini Ninjas showed promise but seems not to have fulfiled its potential, according to the reviews (and the charts).

On the whole, Square must be pleased thus far with the deal it did. Some great franchises still to come (DX3, K&L2, HM5, TR8) plus the release of their own big hitters, like Dragon's Quest and of course Final Fantasy, both due in the next few months. I'm hoping with the release of the latter two and confirmation of Batman and CM showing strong numbers (especially Batman) that Square's share price will move northwards in the New Year. There will also be cost cutting in the UK when the Square London office and Eidos' HQ merge.

Eidos cost me an arm and a leg in losses, but thankfully investments elsewhere (including Square) are cancelling that out. As the saying goes: don't get mad, get even (and don't fall in love with the stock!). Best of luck with your future share purchases.

[peterbill] 05/9/2009 22:00

Hi Darren,

As an ex holder of eidos, just clicked on here to see if there was any gossip ... great that batman is doing well, pity that eidos is not picking up the gain. Can't really complain as I did make a profit on the shares when square bought them.

Well, they do say that you should not get emotionally attached to shares ... as they have a habit of biting back.

I've moved on to small cap oilers and miners ... pele kmr ???

Good luck in whatever dealings you are busy with now ...

Pete