Hmm. Wonder what company will take WipEout?
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Hmm. Wonder what company will take WipEout?
My guess would be Evolution Studios, then again no-one really has a good reason to pickup the series. I really do hope that they don't drop it though and make that PS4 title.
It may have made the game more appealing if they somehow implemented the back story and had some faces in Wipeout, though who am I to say? :p
NO!
Please do not start such stupid rumours, you have mentioned this twice now on separate threads and it is completely pointless to do so, and serves no purpose whatsoever
Colin's death had nothing to do with the studio closing at all, end. period.
Colin had left studio Liverpool over 12months ago, he was working on other projects completely unrelated to Sony Liverpool. His death 2 weeks ago was a massive shock and HUGE loss, he was one of the best friends anyone could have.
Please do not continue to speculate in such a manner, linking two completely separate things.
If they bring it back, Evolution will do it - they have racing game heritage there and I sometimes wonder if that's all Mick Hocking wanted - the good ideas from Studio Liverpool, but not the people.
The game that became Motorstorm Apocalypse was originally a Studio Liverpool concept - I think Nick Burcombe came up with the idea of "racing in a disaster zone", where the route might change due to falling buildings or the road being ripped up by fault lines developing, that kind of thing. It was around about the time Sony acquired Evolution and Mick Hocking took over as group director of both studios.
Well whaddya know, Studio Liverpool never even got put the concept into pre-production and the idea is hijacked for a Motorstorm sequel. It was supposed to be a symbiotic relationship, where both studios would help each other out, but I reckon Hocking loathed Studio Liverpool being successful and didn't want Evolution playing second fiddle. From the moment he took over he dismantled Studio Liverpool piece by piece. There's no way Clemens Wangerin would have walked away from his job as Studio Manager before Hocking got involved and marginalised him completely.
It might well have been Michael Denny that flew in to deliver the killer blow, but for my money it was Hocking that did the dirty work.
So, to go back to the answer to your question, if it ever returns Evolution will do it.
Regarding the actual closing of the studio, there is much I could say but it would serve no real purpose.
I do think it is fair for me to say that Sony management never quite made the most of the talent in the studio or the experience or indeed the breadth of IPs it had at its disposal, that could have been brought onto PS3 or even PS2 or PSP or VITA.
I can also say that at times, perhaps we never truly took the risks we could have (I pushed heavily to make Pulse, and I am proud of the game we made, but in retrospect we perhaps should have made something else and risked more because Pulse was a 'safe' option in many ways, but anyway...).
Ultimately, I feel for those who have lost their jobs, but I am confident they will all find work, they are an extremely talented bunch.
I have no idea what will happen with Wipeout, I suspect it will resurface at some point, I just hope it is treated with the care and passion and dedication that it was always treated with, by the various teams at Sony Liverpool over the years.
Sad, sad news. Others have said not surprising and maybe that should be the case - wasn't it a couple of years ago we thought it had pretty much gone anyway? But in reality, I am suprised. While the sales of 2048 likely haven't been good and I wasn't a fan personally, given the fairly abysmal level of Vita support, I would have thought it a jewel among the Vita releases and certainly one that is the visual showcase for the system. And HD/Fury seemed to get a lot of play on other gaming boards I happen upon - again mentioned as a visual system highlight too. The games have succeeded in many ways so maybe it's marketing departments they should be closing? Or general system strategists?
And it's not just Wipeout of course. I visited Psygnosis back when that's what it was, pre-WO3, and it was a hive of creativity with a rich history by that stage. A legendary studio. One that is important and will be remembered fondly among the greats. Ultimately I guess people come and go. Few would have been there through all that time and so, in real terms, it's just a place, a name. But sad nonetheless. I hope all the talented individuals go on to better things. Even the Psybadek team.
the biggest blow to the continuation of the wipeout series now seems to me at least to be the fact that they closed SL down so shortly after 2048's release, that seems to indicate that sony weren't happy with the product or that somehow it was a disappointment sales wise, in any case it sends the message to customers that the wipeout brand isn't something sony is willing to spend money on since they shut SL down while there was still DLC and patches planned and announced... that I think could be devestating to the brand name.
Actually if I'm honest that is one of the things I find most disturbing about this that sony would just shut SL down before they even truly finished 2048... I wasn't a huge fan of it but damnit it deserved a real chance!
I think you're overreacting a bit, blackwiggle. Yes, the closure of SL is sad and in turn the future of the Wipeout series is in jeopardy. But the reasons for their closure are valid and, if you have a look at some of the previous posts, a lot of people thought SL was dead for a couple of years now.
Could we please stop spitting at Sony's face ? It's like the whole Japan should burn because a bunch of Japanese guys did something terrible.
I'm sure there's much more people working at Sony that are proud of the WipEout series and are sad than SL closed than people who think closing SL was well-deserved.
Please remember we wouldn't play any of these games if Sony weren't there in the first place. Kudos to their continuous effort on the series. Period.