pure euro download dates

[randomperson1]

http://eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=60729

according to this article:

- the delta pack will be available from 16th Sept.
- It will be somehow sponsored by puma.
- classic packs one and two available 3rd and 16th Oct. respectively.

doesn't mention date for omega packs, though.

[bakkufu]

excellent news!

[Rapier Racer]

Sponsored by Puma? For gods sake why can't they get any decent companys like red bull to sponsor them again

[yawnstretch]

someone on that webpage posted this

"Actually, it's not gamma pack 1. It's gamma pack 1-4 bundled together as one, from what I've read on wipeoutpure.com. I.e. the entire gamma tournament, and skins and the Tigron ship. It clocks in at 13 megabytes. The previous gamma packs for the US version were 3.5 + 8.8 + 5.9, so, ..."

which seems bizzarre to me - anyone confirm this yet?

[Dogg Thang]

That seems to be the case. Makes sense to have it all as one download.

[infoxicated]

It is the all of the Gamma packs combined into one for Europe - it was done to help the euro folk catch up with the american folk in terms of content.

[bakkufu]

I just wanna know where the AG systems menu skin is :D

[randomperson1]

The Delta Pack will contain:

4 Tracks
-Koiltwa likely to be sponsored by puma.
-Iridia
-Anupha Pass
-Khara Descent

4 Skins- AG-S, Assegai, Triakis, Harimau

2 ships- Sponsored by puma.

5 Billboards- Puma, Goteki 45, Tigron, Van Uber, Icaras.

What do you think?

[Hellfire_WZ]

I highly doubt Koltiwa will be sponsored, seeing as this is meant to be the official release of the track it should be unbranded like the Japanese version. The fourth track is Khara Descent.

[randomperson1]

maybe you're right, but Koiltwa is likely to be sponsored at some point.

[Dogg Thang]

From the sounds of Sony's press release, the entire Delta pack will be Puma branded in the UK version.

[randomperson1]

interesting.

[yawnstretch]

the catching up with US downloads might make sense but the size of the download doesnt.

[guillaume]

5 Billboards- Puma, Goteki 45, Tigron, Van Uber, Icaras.
Maybe my English isn't good enough for this
What are these billboards ? 8O

And by the way, I just realised - tell me if i'm wrong - that jap players will get the same koltiwa track three times, just with different branding (wire05, coca-cola and delta pack)
Well, finally there's no need to be jealous of exclusive contents anymore :)

[Hellfire_WZ]

The billboards are the adverts you see scattered around the track, the packs add them for the new manufacturers. And yes, the Japanese version will have three Koltiwa tracks when the Coca-Cola version is released.

[bakkufu]

why oh why cant they have the option to SWITCH the advertising...

[Egg]

The new (animated) ads get scattered throughout the rest of game too. The billboards are keyed by colour and randomly assigned an advert. Incidentally, there should be about 40 of them now, including the new ones.

[Dogg Thang]

The new ones are great - especially the Tigron one. Any chance of giving us a Tigron ship with the billboard colours? That would be sweet.

[Mobius]

TBH, i was worried about the puma advertising, but it does seem quite apt thinking about it.

The ship so far doesn't have a name but Puma sounds like a good one.
Puma isn't that popular in sportswear compared to the likes of reebok, adidas and nike.
Their colours are black and white so it should look quite cool hopefully.

This is just speculation though.

[lunar]

As with all sponsorship, much depends on whether its done with a sense of balance and proportion. The line between acceptable and unnacceptable sponsorship is often one of taste and common sense - but by its nature this means its a grey area. If its done well, in a way that meshes with the game experience, it can help SL recoup some costs, make the game more profitable - thereby increasing the chances of there being another one - and get publicity for Puma without ruining the experience. If its done badly - which means that the Puma brand is given undue prominence in the game - then it will be the top of the slippery slope into game advertising, unless gamers reject it.

We should remember that to the directors running game companies our experience is only a means to a certain end for them, which is to make a profit for their company. If they can create a situation where they sell us the game for the same price, and then sell advertising space in the game aswell, they can get paid twice.

We`ll just have to wait and see how much space Puma gets in the game. I wonder if their branding will be allowed to appear in original, non-downloaded content also. If this is the case it would have to be subtle - otherwise Sony would be taking the piss, frankly.

[yawnstretch]

I completely agree with lunar.

[Drakkenmensch]

If the in-game branding can help SL make another game, then I for one say go for it. Especially if the ad billboards and the team livery of the sponsor mesh well with the other fictitious sponsors :)

[Dogg Thang]

That would apply if Pure didn't sell well, Drakkenmensch, and needed an extra source of revenue. Pure has sold exceptionally well - the branding is just extra cream on top for Sony.

[Drakkenmensch]

Ah, but this isn't about Sony - this is about Studio Liverpool. Sony only PUBLISHES the game, SL MAKES it. And even when your games are great, the very NATURE of the industry may yet kill you before your next hit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Looking_Glass_Studios

This is a prime example of how the greatest developper of its time may yet die an ignominous premature death.

[Dogg Thang]

That example doesn't apply - Studio Liverpool is not an independant studio. SL is 100% owned and run by Sony. Sony doesn't only publish it - Pure is a Sony game through and through. Developed and published by Sony on a Sony console. SL is Sony.

[Drakkenmensch]

Ah, I was not aware of that 100% ownership relationship. This is good though, since it protects SL from suffering the same dark fate as Looking Glass Studios.

[Lance]

.
it didn't protect the Leeds studio; Sony closed that one even though they owned it, and it was the one that designed Wipeout 3
.

[Drakkenmensch]

So that brings back my original point, then, doesn't it?

[Lance]

.
no
:D
.

[Seek100]

Why was the Leeds Studio still branded as Psygnosis, when fairly obviously they had almost nothing to do with the Psygnosis that became SL? Was the Leeds studio started before Sony had complete ownership of Psyggy?

One last question why were Sony such a-holes when it came to the Owl logo, surely SL could have kept that even after the name change? Roger Dean rules, especially his Psygnosis stuff.

[Mobius]

Mabey as they were technically no longer Psygnosis, sony asked them to adopt a new identity.

I believe that what is now Studio London was originally Team Soho also.

[Dogg Thang]

The Leeds studio was around before the buyout and had everything to do with Psygnosis. Both the Leeds studio and the Liverpool studio were part of Psygnosis and then Sony bought them out.

As far as I recall, Sony bought in to Psygnosis after WO2097 was made (because there was a bit of an internal uproar when it came to light that WO64 had been developed). Psygnosis still existed as the main company though. A short time after that, Hethrington apparently walked out - I don't know the official story behind that, that's just what the word was at the time. That may have been when Sony bought Psygnosis completely although somebody could correct me on this - they may simply have bought the company straight out after 2097 but that's not how I remember it.

What really caused the death of the Psygnosis brand was that Sony simply wanted a strong name when they launched the PS2. In their eyes, having a first-party Sony studio was better than the perception that Psygnosis was a third-party developer (even though they hadn't been for some time).

Edit: Nope, it seems I'm wrong about the buyout. According to wikipedia - "Psygnosis was acquired by Sony in 1993 to work on the new PlayStation machine, and in 1999 eventually lost the Psygnosis branding to become known as Sony Studio Liverpool." So they were bought out way back in 93.

[Colin Berry]

Gaaaaaaaaaah

The right story is out there, its just jumbled :)

Sony invested in Psygnosis around the time of the PS1 - 1994 ish, maybe a bit before They didnt own Psygnosis completely until late 1999 I think it was, when they bought complete control off Ian Hetherington - at which point we stop developing and publishing any games for any platform other than Playstation and not long after the psygnosis name and the owl became part of history.

Psygnosis had studios all over the place, Liverpool, Leeds, London, Manchester, Paris etc etc. Some were closed for various reasons (Psygnosis hadnt had a good time). Sony shut the Leeds studio sometime after acquiring all of Psygnosis (the manchester studio had already closed at this point)

As for studio London, that is an amalgamation of the psygnosis studios, camden and hanger lane, and the sony soho studio.

As for the Puma branded things, I'm confident they will look cool.

[Dogg Thang]

Well there we go - thanks for clearing that all up Colin!

[Lance]

.
the dates i read in a financial history were 1993 for Sony's original large but less than 100 percent stock purchase, and 1998 when they bought the rest
.