Is WipEout 2048 a Franchise Reboot or a Prequel?

[Justice & Curtains]

So I've seen a lot of conflicting information regarding WipEout 2048's place in the WipEout timeline, and with the release of the Omega Collection, I thought now would be a good time to try and get an answer.

WipeoutZone itself refers to 2048 as a franchise reboot, both as a subtitle for the game's thread, as well as in the news section (although that was posted a long time ago)

Furthermore, the redesigns of the ships, the HD/Fury Handling, and the craft-destroying weaponry (especially the missile, which only had its effects changed to its modern incarnation in the FX350, many many years after the events of 2048) all indicate a franchise reboot, as well as the overall aesthetic and track design of 2048.

However, I cannot find any official information that WipEout 2048 is a reboot, as everything I can find refers to it as a prequel to the previous games.

Now that the devs of WipEout Omega Collection have shown they are willing to change the established lore of the franchise (The inclusion of Tigron and Van-Uber into HD/Fury), I think now would be an excellent time to ask for 2048's place in the lore.

If one of the developers of the game would be willing to answer this question, I would be very grateful.

(Also this is my first time creating a thread, so please let me know if I messed anything up)

[AdHoc]

I command the fans for trying to establish a consistent and coherent lore for the WipEout saga, but it was never designed for the purpose of being just that.

It was always provided to give some context and substance to what otherwise is simply a racing game.

And with WOOC, one more time, it doesn’t seem they’re trying to knit anything together either. The Tigron and VÜ descriptions are just there to make it look pretty, they’re a pretext.

The only thing that could fix this is a new title, with actual, in-depth context, for that specific purpose, which isn’t the case here.

[Hellfire_WZ]

2048 is a prequel. In fact, if you read some of the news tickers around the tracks, you'll see nods to how it all changed by the time the F3600 started. Karl Jones was very meticulous about it all when he was working with it.

[infoxicated]

Further to that, there has been no single "keeper of the vision" over the course of franchise history, so things are bound to get a new take on them or some things just completely forgotten about. Damon Fairclough did an excellent job of keeping a consistent lineage on the originals and up to 'Fusion, but some of the content for 'Fusion was conjured up by the development team and it was clearly at odds with Damon's stuff. Then I came along after that and, for about 3.5 years through Pure, Pulse and HD it was at least the one person making sure everything was in keeping with the universe.

I was long gone by the time 2048 came out and I considered it to be a total reboot because it had taken things from the games set later that were a paradox in the original timeline. Once pick up absorbing and barrel rolls were cropping up 150 years ahead of schedule I figured that the development team had a fresh take on how it all evolved. I figured we'd see a new timeline progression on PS3 or PS4 sequels to 2048 that ignored the original timeline entirely, but as we know that wasn't to be.

So here we are - we've got a mix of old and new ideas in the Omega Collection that don't fit as seamlessly as we'd like. :)

I did write a much larger reply to this going over the transition of the back story for 'Fusion > WipEout Pure > WipEout Pulse, and how certain things came about but decided it was a bit lengthy. I'll stick it up as a blog/feature post if anyone is interested. :)

[deaddoctor2010]

2048 is a prequel. In fact, if you read some of the news tickers around the tracks, you'll see nods to how it all changed by the time the F3600 started. Karl Jones was very meticulous about it all when he was working with it.

Yeah, theres one that states safty concerns about the mag-strip faillers in Altima on the stands at the start line in yellow.
I don't know much about the histoy as i've never went all out on the PS0ne games or fusion, but I remember their wasn't any mag-strips in Pure. I first saw them in Pulse (which sold the game to me the second i saw it), I remember breifly reading the manual or something mentioning the introduction to mag-strips.

[Justice & Curtains]

Further to that, there has been no single "keeper of the vision" over the course of franchise history, so things are bound to get a new take on them or some things just completely forgotten about. Damon Fairclough did an excellent job of keeping a consistent lineage on the originals and up to 'Fusion, but some of the content for 'Fusion was conjured up by the development team and it was clearly at odds with Damon's stuff. Then I came along after that and, for about 3.5 years through Pure, Pulse and HD it was at least the one person making sure everything was in keeping with the universe.

I was long gone by the time 2048 came out and I considered it to be a total reboot because it had taken things from the games set later that were a paradox in the original timeline. Once pick up absorbing and barrel rolls were cropping up 150 years ahead of schedule I figured that the development team had a fresh take on how it all evolved. I figured we'd see a new timeline progression on PS3 or PS4 sequels to 2048 that ignored the original timeline entirely, but as we know that wasn't to be.

So here we are - we've got a mix of old and new ideas in the Omega Collection that don't fit as seamlessly as we'd like. :)

I did write a much larger reply to this going over the transition of the back story for 'Fusion > WipEout Pure > WipEout Pulse, and how certain things came about but decided it was a bit lengthy. I'll stick it up as a blog/feature post if anyone is interested. :)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but your opinion as a former "keeper of the vision" is that 2048 is a franchise reboot? (Also I think everyone would be super interested in the evolution of the backstory between Pulse, Pure, and Fusion) :D

[infoxicated]

Yes, that's what I took it to be when I saw what had been done with it. I didn't see any reason why not, to be honest.

I mean, Spider-Man gets a reboot every 18 months or something so I didn't think it was outrageous for Wipeout to get one after 17 years. 😉