Lara Croft has been officially revealed as the next entrant into the Golden Joystick Awards' Hall of Fame. She will be the first fictional character to do so, beating the likes of Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog and joining Deus Ex creator Warren Spector, Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto, and the Call of Duty franchise.
Dan Dawkins, the Global Editor-in-Chief at GamesRadar+ had this to say about the announcement:
"The past 20 years has seen Lara become a household name and one of the most inspiring and influential female characters ever. Most impressively, the character has evolved over the decades, with Lara’s recent, more realistic, reboot more closely aligned with modern gamer’s attitudes; allied to a game-design that continues to be best in class. We would like to congratulate all of the teams behind Lara over the past 20 years for their achievements."
Tomb Raider has been around for a long time, beginning all the way back in 1996 on the PS1, Sega Saturn, and PC, with its most recent game, Rise of the Tomb Raider coming out at the end of last year. Tomb Raider success today is in large part due to Crystal Dynamics' reboot, as the series endured a long cold spell during the mid-2000's.
The character, Lara Croft herself has evolved from a sex symbol in her early days to a more down-to-earth version in recent years. With the success of Rise of the Tomb Raider, the end is likely nowhere in sight for the long-running franchise.
Source: [PC Gamer]