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Forums - Sony - Sony close Studio Liverpool

VicViper on 22 August 2012

Zipper's last game: Unit 13 Vita
BigBig's last game: Little Deviants Vita
Studio Liverpool's last game: WipeOut 2048... Vita!

Could this be a Vita curse???



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Torillian on 22 August 2012

sad news, buddy of mind really loved those games and he's gonna be pretty disappointed that we're unlikely to get more any time soon, or if we do it's unlikely to stay the same. Really enjoyed their more "realistic" take on something as crazy as racing futuristic hover cars. Hopefully don't see too many more Sony studios closing soon.



...

NiKKoM on 22 August 2012

screw wipeout... I wanted a Colony Wars sequel... :(



 

Face the future.. Gamecenter ID: nikkom_nl (oh no he didn't!!) 

SunofKratos on 22 August 2012

Well never been a fan of the wipeout series so thats not so bad news for me. And actually The Wipeout series isnt that big today as it waqs once. So this make sense.



M.U.G.E.N on 22 August 2012
kowenicki said:
M.U.G.E.N said:
kowenicki said:
M.U.G.E.N said:
Wipeout series won't die for sure

I just wanna know about the layoffs..has there been any and if so to what extent


Release said they will try to move staff but ther will inevitably be redundancies.  If Wipeout isnt going to die why get rid of the team developing it?  I am strugling with how a saving is made if the game needs to be developed elsewhere by someone else?

 

Why is that so hard to understand? The IP still belongs to sony and the series has seen moderate success. They can easily get one of their studios to make another wipeout eventually and I'm certain they will too. The franchise has a nice following among the fans and is an integral part of the overall image of the PS Gaming library. But in short term we won't see that because they seems to want to cut cost and possibly focus on bigger ps4 (and maybe psv) titles with more sales potential. We just had wipeout 2048+HD+Fury combo also so I think we won't see another wipeout for another few years. It's all about the timing. 

I really hope majority of the staff if not all of them will get relocated and not fired. These are very talented devs.

for lots of reasons.

1. as you say "they are very talented developers"

2. it was their baby, why devalue it by giving it to someone else?

3. Liverpool were housed in a very large building that also houses many other SCE people, where is the cost saving?

4. they were already developing the next in the series apparently, so why take the game from people actively involved and give it to someone else with capacity (ie people doing nothing - fire the people doing nothing ffs!)?????

 

It actually all points to the game being canned, massive loss.... I still fire that up on my PS3 sometimes.  Has a style all of its own.  Give it to some US studio and the cutting edge will be made as blunt as hell, the soundtrack for one(a big part of the franchise) will nosedive.

 

1. Yes they are, hence why most of them will be relocated to other studios with projects that has more sales potential. I just read on gaf that they are laying off 65 people...so roughly around 135 will be relocated (I had NO idea this studio was that big)

2. Someone else? They have plenty of first party devs they can just give it to one of them...and possibly one with a lot of ex liverpool devs to boot. As long as the next wipeout, whenever it hits, looks to be of good quality, fans won't give a shit

3. Not sure what this means really. Do you know if removing those other divisions would have been a sound business choice? 

4. Yes and chances are it's still in early early stages of development. Like I said we just had the 2048+fury+HD release this year. And again, you are thinking 'right now'. No one will work on wipeout right 'now'. By end of next year when the ps4 titles are closer to being completed, then maybe sony will consider getting someone to make the game. There really is no hurry really. This is not a big seller for them...but it's an important enough IP to bring back in the future.

As for your last comment..come on now. You really can't be serious. At least wait and see what happens and who will do it before jumping to conclusions. I mean for example, Sanzaru games, seems to be making a fantastic game with SLY 4. Same charm, style and from the looks of it, quality.



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sales2099 on 22 August 2012

PS3 fans tell me sales dont matter. They tell me that Sony financials have no impact on their enjoyment of their console.

They should all do themselves a favour and start paying attention to Sonys quarterly statements.

Edit: Regardless, it is unfortunate when any studio is forced to close down. 



Xbox: Best hardware, Game Pass best value, best BC, more 1st party genres and multiplayer titles. 

 

pokoko on 22 August 2012

Seems a bit silly to go all "the sky is falling" mode without knowing much of anything about the situation. If the core talent remains then the loss ultimately isn't that big of a deal.



M.U.G.E.N on 22 August 2012
sales2099 said:
PS3 fans tell me sales dont matter. They tell me that Sony financials have no impact on their enjoyment of their console.

Well well well. They should all do themselves a favour and start paying attention to Sonys quarterly statements.


I really do wish...at least at a situation like this..you would shut the fuck up and take your generalmld bullshit to youtube and not here. Even using news like this for your stupid intentions is disgusting



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For All News/Info related to the PlayStation Vita, Come and join us in the Official PSV Thread!

leatherhat on 22 August 2012
sales2099 said:
PS3 fans tell me sales dont matter. They tell me that Sony financials have no impact on their enjoyment of their console.

Well well well. They should all do themselves a favour and start paying attention to Sonys quarterly statements.


65 people just lost thier job. You're a real piece of shit you know that?

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Time for hype

sales2099 on 22 August 2012
M.U.G.E.N said:
sales2099 said:
PS3 fans tell me sales dont matter. They tell me that Sony financials have no impact on their enjoyment of their console.

Well well well. They should all do themselves a favour and start paying attention to Sonys quarterly statements.


I really do wish...at least at a situation like this..you would shut the fuck up and take your generalmld bullshit to youtube and not here. Even using news like this for your stupid intentions is disgusting

Make no mistake it sucks when a studio gets closed. I just hope its news like this that is a wake up call to those that dont care. Game sales and corporation financials are a integral part of this industry. Your lashing out at me only tells me you on some level were one of those people that waved your hand casually at the signs leading up to this. 



Xbox: Best hardware, Game Pass best value, best BC, more 1st party genres and multiplayer titles.