Lara Croft's introduction was widely regarded as an innovation in the video game market, with Rob Smith of "" describing her as a video game icon of that generation of games. IGN credited a rise in PlayStation sales in part to Croft's debut on the system, and "PlayStation Magazine" attributed the first title's success to the character. "Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine" stated alternatively that "Tomb Raider"s PlayStation success propelled the character to prominence, making her a mascot for the system. "PlayStation Magazine" credits coverage in the "Financial Times" in 1997 as the starting point of the character's mainstream attention. Jeremy Smith commented that the "Financial Times" is "a very serious, sober, broadsheet newspaper, and hardly the place you might expect Lara to be 'discovered.' But Eidos had announced its latest financial results, which were great results, and so the "Financial Times" had decided to put Eidos on the front page. They'd been given some Eidos information and artwork, and they decided to use Lara to illustrate their news piece." He further said that Eidos had not actively courted Lara's early magazine cover appearances or otherwise actively promoted the character at the time. As years progressed, Lara Croft's popularity declined due to a string of poorly received video game sequels. "The Angel of Darkness" is often cited as the character's low point. IGN editor Colin Moriarty stated that while she began as an intelligent and strong female character, her games grew bland and Lara Croft became more like a "virtual blow-up doll".