Sony Closing Wipeout Developer

Welp, when it rains, it pours. Sony Liverpool is being shut down. I was under the impression that those games were pretty reliable sellers, but who knows the reasoning behind this decision.

Weren't these the guys who were working on the Lemmings franchise too?

All these layoffs must mean we're approaching quarterly reports season, right?

I think realistically, at this point, the only way to stay safe as a game developer is to stick with small-to-medium-size indie studios. The AAA and big-budget Popcaps and Zyngas seem to be laying people off left, right and centre. What's nice is seeing the games industry yet again (at least with Popcap, this week) step up to offer jobs to those who've lost theirs. Hopefully the crew will form into something new, but I'm doubtful they'll keep the Wipeout IP.

What's worse is I'm fairly sure I saw an article stating that Wipeout 4 was one of the in-production titles that got canned as a result of this.

shoptroll wrote:

Weren't these the guys who were working on the Lemmings franchise too?

Think so, yeah. Also, Rollcage, a personal favourite.

I know that studio better as Psygnosis. My favorite product of theirs was the Colony Wars franchise for PS1. They were one of the longest-running development studios left, a year older than myself (est. 1984).

Damn shame.

shoptroll wrote:

Weren't these the guys who were working on the Lemmings franchise too?

Colony Wars and Rollcage too.

IMAGE(https://p.twimg.com/A05yqo8CYAAZGNn.jpg)

Small correction: Liverpool published the Lemmings games (back when they were Psygnosis), but they weren't the developers; those games were actually developed by DMA Design, who eventually went on to become Rockstar North, creators of the Grand Theft Auto series.

That said, it's always sad news when a studio closes its doors, especially one with a lot of mileage in the industry. Hopefully, all of the personnel can find employment elsewhere as soon as possible.

CY wrote:
shoptroll wrote:

Weren't these the guys who were working on the Lemmings franchise too?

Think so, yeah. Also, Rollcage, a personal favourite.

Rollcage was amazing

That's really too bad. I first saw WipeOut in a weird music video on MTV (they had music on that channel back then), and somehow managed to track it down in a pre-Google world. WipeOut was the first game that really showed me the power of a graphics card. That Voodoo Rush 3D was SCREAMIN.

LobsterMobster wrote:

music video on MTV (they had music on that channel back then), and somehow managed to track it down in a pre-Google world

LobsterMobster wrote:

That Voodoo Rush 3D

Stop it

Stop making me feel old