Studio Liverpool gone

[infoxicated]

Not much more to add - news is emerging this morning that Sony have shut down development for good this time.

So you can all look forward to some kind of Motorstorm/WipEout hybrid in the future when Mick Hocking decides to resurrect it at Evolution.

Probably.

[rdmx]

What on earth... not again...

[Rapier Racer]

Someone might want to close the other thread I made about this I am using my mobile and managed to miss this one sorry. Terrible news though :( we will miss you SL ...I'm not sure I'm looking forward to any Wipeout/Motorstorm cross bred game either it was a thought that crossed my mind when I saw the article .

[Hellfire_WZ]

It's true, it's been confirmed...

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-08-22-sony-closes-wipeout-developer-sony-liverpool-report

[Lion]

sad panda :(
kotaku writeup here (http://kotaku.com/5936821/sony-closes-one-of-the-oldest-video-game-developers-in-the-world)

[Cyberio]

I remember in 2009-2010 the same thing. And even was mixed with Evolution Studios. Nobody told anything more, just it was merged with Evolution Studios. Only in this site i saw that this "staff reduction" was not so big, and was only a few directors or chief programmers or whatever.
And then, the following year i see the SL logo in the trailer of the newest WipEout 2048. What happened here?

I don't want to see the following sh*t again, even if really Sony confirmed it.

Really 2048 sales were too low? Or maybe that Vita is the one causing that trouble not selling the expected?

If is this really true, first party Sony's games decreased my interest. Well, i'm not even interested in Uncharted. Just WipEout is one.

[mdhay]

Anything could've happened to them.

"It has been decided that Liverpool Studio should be closed. Liverpool Studio has been an important part of SCE Worldwide Studios since the outset of PlayStation, and have contributed greatly to PlayStation over the years. Everyone connected with Liverpool Studio, past and present, can be very proud of their achievements".

And of course, closing that studio down is the most smartest thing they could do(!)

"However, it was felt that by focusing our investment plans on other Studios that are currently working on exciting new projects, we would be in a stronger position to offer the best possible content for our consumers."

Exciting new projects? Where are they? Subjective opinion aside, I don't see any real innovation from you, and I can't help but feel that we'll never see that again.

Maybe I'm not looking in the right place, maybe I'm longing for the days when we were customers and not consumers, but this just doesn't sit right. :|

[chalovak]

WHAT THE?!
Did I go back in time?
Is this some kind of mistake on this Forum and the date&time settings went nuts?
I just don't believe it.
Does this mean WipEout is no more?

[Sausehuhn]

Erm, what? :| I’m a little bit confused here.

[Hellfire_WZ]

Now confirmed on the Facebook 2048 page as well:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As some of you may have heard Sony have chosen to close Studio Liverpool as of today.
This page will no longer be maintained by the WipEout Team.

We have loved making every game, every minute and every one of you. Keep the faith, keep loving WipEout.

Thank you for everything, Pilots. It's been an amazing journey and we'll miss you.
x

[Mikahail]

That corporate language disgusts me.

"However, it was felt that by focusing our investment plans on other Studios that are currently working on exciting new projects, we would be in a stronger position to offer the best possible content for our consumers."
The only exciting new project I saw was the new AAA title SL was working on. Maybe WipEout Trinity, maybe not. In fact, it was a certainly new high-quality game to come. Continue commiting suicide Sony, if it pleases you so much.

[s0mmieUK]

Does this mean WipEout is no more?

Not necessarily. The IP will presumably remain in the Sony portfolio. Whether they ever use it again and who will develop if they do are different matters.

Sad news indeed.

[ExaltedR3V3NG3]

Now the only hope is a WipEout-ish game developed by Evolution Studios... RIP Psygnosis/Studio Liverpool, an important piece in PlayStation's history... :(

[chalovak]

The only thing I do not understand... What happened 2 years ago? Sony also closed the Studio, no? Was it reopened, or what?

UPD. Oh, I'm wrong, two years ago Sony closed some project, not the studio.

[Staz-]

Good bye WipEout. Good bye video game ...

No seriously, I can't believe that ...

[Colonel]

This is awful.

[Mikahail]

Apparently, they were working on a WipEout title since 12 to 18 months, from a Eurogamer source. If it's true, well played Sony. *applause with the most irony available*

EDIT : http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-08-22-sources-sony-liverpool-was-working-on-wipeout-ps4-and-a-splinter-cell-style-game-for-ps4

[Boycey83]

This is terrible.

[AG-SYSTEMS]

Well, welcome to the list of studios that was lost that I enjoyed, Studio Liverpool. I really didn't think I had to add to this list. There was only one on it, PopTop Software.

[Colonel]

I just had a thought, what about online? Does this mean the HD and 2048 servers will be shut down?

[duncandes]

Hope no.. W2048 is almost the only game witch I play.

[chalovak]

I just had a thought, what about online? Does this mean the HD and 2048 servers will be shut down?
That's my concern also. It will happen eventually. But not all of a sudden, I hope.
Anyway, if this happens... i don't even want to think about it.

[yawnstretch]

Gaming is dead.

[Hellfire_WZ]

Lovely picture on the Facebook page

6605

[duncandes]

You know. For 2048 i have preordered vita right away, for hd have bought ps3 and for pure - psp. Have no words.
Hope wipoeut don't die.

damn.. i have even just yesterday maked my own Pirhana.h and w2048 tshirts.

[Colonel]

Well half an hour later and I already regret asking about online as my first concern. Obviously my thoughts are with Studio Liverpool employees, I hope they are all okay, this must be terrible for them.

Thanks for everything guys. This is a sad day indeed.

[Oryx Crake]

I'm torn between sadness and outrage... oh and some amount of despair at how the gaming market these days more and more seems to avoid games that have challenge and innovation... blah!

[AG-SYSTEMS]

Lovely picture on the Facebook page

6605

So sad. Can I order a HD version of that picture?

[Colonel]

These reports that SL were working on a Wipeout for PS4 launch make my heart sink, that would have been so damn cool :(

[Blaey]

This is a very sad day for all of us, especially the crew over at studio liverpool :( thoughts go out to them and the fantastic skills they showed us over the last 30 years. Sad to see them cancel a new wipeout too :/

[Knux_Chaotix]

I dont actually have words. This is a sad day for gaming. The industry is dying.

[Staz-]

...
6608

[amplificated]

I haven't been around in a while, and the last time I was here I remember being just pretty negative towards 2048, but I figured I'd say a few words in light of the news:

Thanks for the memories. I'll always remember the PS1 era that to me felt inspired by the original WipEout games, and HD particularly for the raw amount of time and effort I put in to it, rather fondly. Some of the memories may well be the almost-hair-pulling-outta-frustration memories, but when you nailed that sub-XX time on a track you've been working on for ages... 'twas good.

Cheers.

[DreamyElf]

I just saw the news at eurogamer and I immediately felt depressed. :(
I remember Sony doing some redundancies (I hope I said the word correctly) back in 2010 in order to support Motorstorm over WO.
Then they hired some talents to make WO 2048 & now instead of focusing the resources in order to make a PS4 WO launch game, Sony closes the studio! wtf!

I'm really disappointed with Sony. Surely, with all know that racing games (except GT) don't sell well these days compared to the PSone and PS2 era, but at least Sony could have shown some respect to the company & game that contributed so much and became synonymous with the PlayStation brand.
Shutting down flagship & legendary games like WO BUT still support Motorstorm, Killzone etc. is completely unacceptable to me.

I hope for the best for the guys at Studio Liverpool and I want to thank them for the great & fun games they provided us through the years.

Let's hope one day we'll see another WO fellow pilots.

[trk_rkd]

This is a huge, huge shame, and represents a huge loss to sony's first party portfolio. I can't think of many games other than wipeout HD that delivered on the 60fps/1080p promises we were made at the start of the current console gen, or many portable racers that offered up the feature sets of pulse and pure. And Wipeout 3 SE is still my favourite console game of all time... RIP studio liverpool, you were truly one of the greats.

(Man, there really aren't many studios around now with roots going back to the 80s - ID software is the only one I can think of, off the top of my head.)

Best of luck to the team in their future endeavors.

[vincoof]

I know many people will hate me for writing that, but technically the last original WipEout creation was Wip3out back in 1999 (and WipEout 3 SE to some extent). Apart from Fusion which tried to make something new but wasn't a great game for many reasons, all WipEout sequels were more or less made from nostalgia and not really from a forward-looking racing era like the first WipEout games used to be. WipEout Pure was basically "hey I can play WO on my handheld console", and WipEout HD was basically "hey I can play WO in 1080p". Mind me, all the WipEout games were great (even if I didn't had the chance to play all of them as much as I wanted to) but very few of them punch you in the face like "wow, I've never played such racing game before". Yeah I know I sound like a douche but let's face it, the game series already died more than ten years ago.

I'm surprised Studio Liverpool survived that long and to everyone yelling at Sony for closing the studio for economical purposes I'd like to point that Sony did believe in this studio for many years even when the studio wasn't in a good mood so I'd rather say thanks to Sony.

Again, my 2c.

[tommyjolly]

What a pity, especially considering the mentioning of a new PS4 Wipeout game. Hope something from it will at least leak somewhere.

[docfo4r]

I didn't know a new Wipeout could have been developed for the PS4, that's really sad :(

Well, I started with Wipeout HD, so I might still have to discover the classic Wipeout games, but it's a weird feeling enjoying the past when there is no future.

On the other hand, even Wipeout might die out now, I hope to see you guys on the forum and that we keep ourselfes alive here. I really love this community and it's fun to organize races so I really hope we all will still enjoy what we have now and keep this place alive at least!

[Boycey83]

I know many people will hate me for writing that, but technically the last original WipEout creation was Wip3out back in 1999 (and WipEout 3 SE to some extent).

Technically?! Well thanks for letting us know.

But in reality the last Wipeout game was 2048, which was an excellent game and a stunning technical feat made by an incredibly talented team. My hat is duly doffed to them and I wish them all the best for the future. It ain't easy being made redundant and I hope everyone lands on their feet.

[Airrider]

I don't know what to say.

I was about to hope that maybe with the activity on this forum we'd be our own real-world Antigravity Purity Coalition, flying the flag in the absence of the people gone, but nobody really wants to be put in that position, and me saying anything is pointless since I don't have the skills necessary to contribute anything to these projects except maybe planning and writing...

I feel helpless is what I'm saying. And that feeling is awful.

[Colonel]

I really love this community and it's fun to organize races so I really hope we all will still enjoy what we have now and keep this place alive at least!

Couldn't agree more :+

[Hellfire_WZ]

Absolutely. If this really is to be the end of the series it's more important than ever now that we keep this going.

[vincoof]

Technically?! Well thanks for letting us know.
Technically, yes. After Wip3out and WipEout 3 SE were released, Psygnosis RIP'ed and later became SCE Studio Liverpool. But that change wasn't the real reason why it *technically* changed because they could have kept the whole team and it would have been as simple as renaming a company and nobody would notice it apart from the new logo on the box. The fact is that the WipEout Fusion team (nb: Fusion was the first WO game by SCE Studio Liverpool) almost entirely collapsed in the middle of the project (many of the devs were hired by Square IIRC) and the Fusion project had a major reboot - so did the WipEout series. A chain is as weak as its weakest link, and Fusion was obviously the weakest link, so the chain was broken at this point.

With that said, I definitely didn't play WipEout games in the last eight years as much as I did in the eight years before so my opinion may be biased by nostalgia and things like that. I'm always opened to sharing opinions, so please feel free to enlighten my path if I'm wrong =)

[Mikahail]

A special cup in honor of SL could be a good idea, in a matter of thanks. And it could be organized anually, or 4 times a year (winter, spring, summer, autumn, for example).
Just an idea.

[Airrider]

Normally I'd be inclined to retaliate and say something about nostalgia goggles but this isn't the time. Today we are all WipEout fans.

[AspenExcel]

Very sad news indeed. Caught this in my Twitter feed and I'm very surprised. It's so sad Sony would close the company that has made one of the PlayStation platforms longest running flagship game series. Either way I'll be playing Wipeout HD for as long as I can.

[Temet]

@Mikahail : taking into account SL is not able to maintain the facebook page, are you sure the online server will remain for long?
I'm not :(

[AG-SYSTEMS]

@Mikahail : taking into account SL is not able to maintain the facebook page, are you sure the online server will remain for long?
I'm not :(

Do you want to try and figure out how to build a sever? Because I'm kinda willing to at this point.

[Rhyten]

This is a sad day :(

[Medusa]

I dont actually have words. This is a sad day for gaming. The industry is dying.

x2.

Again.

Can't make money with classy games, have to sell one million copies of FPS and MMORPG on release day to a world full of lemmings that are brainwashed by the F**** MEDIA and yeah, let me just remind you all that back in the day, back when the fusion of art, music, and gaming was still totally complete, it was the Designers Republic who clearly stated
DEPARTMENT STORES ARE OUR NEW CATHEDRALS

Isn't it ironic that it took this long for dollar worship to kill wipeout?

My thoughts go out to not just the currently work-less SL employees but all the ones who fought hard to try and keep WipEout alive since Psygnosis was eaten alive by Sony way back when. You tried, Sony is too big and kill anything once it puts its mind to it.

RAWWWWWWRRRR!

[stin]

Oh well, honestly, I just don`t know what to say and I`m really gutted for WipEout Teams and good luck for their future. Yes. the gaming industry are dying.
It`s not the same of what used to be.:(

stevie:(

[Sumimasen]

This is just awful news. Hope all the guys and gals at Studio Liverpool move on to better things, and for an employer that is worth their dedication this time.

This will probably get a few backs up, but I hope those few individuals that were constantly bitching about 2048 are happy now - I wouldn't be surprised if your behaviour wasn't at least partly to blame for this. The unjustified negativity towards 2048 was felt far and wide. :(

[haiku]

Absolutely. If this really is to be the end of the series it's more important than ever now that we keep this going.

This is a real bright spot on a dim day. I'm so grateful for your attitude, work ethic, and passion for Wipeout. You're a terrific ambassador for the game. No better person could have taken over WOZ.

[Amorbis]

This is upsetting news, it seems like such a waste to shut down a developer with a history as rich as Studio Liverpool whose staff made some of the best games of the past 30 years. The current trend for the UK games industry is worrying, especially when the UK used to be at the forefront of games development.

If WipEout carries on I hope whoever picks it up keeps it close to the feel of the series, especially when most games these days have to be gritty, dude-bro triple-A titles.

[YouAreFubar]

Its been a while since ive visited this forum but since reading about this on IGN I thought id drop by.

Ive been in love with this series since PS1 and have been a massive fan of Psygnosis/Studio Liverpool since before that starting with Lemmings back in the day. I think with their track record and obvious expertise that other arms of Sony Corp used to call on for support, and after surviving the reshuffle/merge (albeit with some sacrifices) some time ago it is a shame that they have finally closed shop. There may be more Wipeout games to come as like others have said Sony own the IP, but that is not the point. It is a shame the Psygnosis legacy has finally ended under these circumstances, my thoughts are with all the staff concerned and I hope things work out for them.

Thanks for the memories!

[XoPachi]

You know WipEout was the most consistent game I've seen. It was always there for Sony's systems. Only one real blunder in the entire series and it was mainly just for being a black sheep. First they lose someone to cancer than they lose their entire studio. This is tragic. And the news was so abrupt. Mega Man died slowly, this was just...taken in an instant. I almost feel robbed. I thoroughly enjoyed every WipEout I played and aside from F-Zero, it's the only racer I play. Now it's concluded.

Way to go Sony. PS4 was the only system I saved money for because WipEout's record guaranteed a release either at launch or somewhere down the role. Now that WipEout is gone, only thing to care about now is Ouya.

[stinkleroy]

No....just no.

This is truly horrific news and I 'm having trouble processing it. I have so many memories of the WipEout series, from the age of 17 to 33, it's been a huge part of my life iand I'm so sad to see SL go down in flames like this.

I hope that the series ends here as I really can't see any other studio doing it justice.

Good luck to all employees of SL, you've done a wonderful job over the years and don't let any corporate asshole tell you different.

[Challenger #001]

It's a shame we see this. I was really impressed with the way Studio Liverpool tried to interact with us, to be proactive with the community including those weekly interviews with community pilots... one of the few game studios that understood what the players wanted rather than what the big company above it demanded. But that was always going to be the problem. Sony has always proven to be a bad master, and I think perhaps under a less stringent overlord, maybe SL and the WipEout series would have flourished. You could see a lot of executive meddling in the games as they went on, and I suppose this is the end of the line, where it all led to.

I came in later than most of you - to Fusion, but I still consider these games to be some of the best. I'm sorry to see this long-running series go, and my wishes go out to all those who are currently looking for jobs now. May you find a more fulfilling place.

[Xpand]

Wipeout actually shaped my life course in what comes to education and also music... It's only because of my dream of creating an anti-gravity device that I'm on a physics engineering course... I can only thank to the team that shaped my dreams.
Here's something from me to the good people at psygnosis/SL:
http://threedmaniak.deviantart.com/art/Goodbye-Wipeout-322715770

[eLhabib]

Just read the horrible news :(
I really hope the wipEout team will find something new and equally amazing to work on.
As for wipEout itself - we can only hope that some time in the future someone with taste, skill, and universal knowledge of the wipEout series decides to resurrect it once again.

[apemax]

Just found out about this. :frown: I first played Wipeout 3 on PS1 and (apart from the fact that i wasn't very good at it) liked it ever since. I hope this isn't the end for the Wipout series.

[Slacker]

Gutted. Like xplud said above, Wipeout was one of the most influential aspects of my life. Turned me on to so much good music. I'm looking forward to a career in sound design, because of the music I listen to, because Wipeout introduced me to it. Such fantastic games to play. Fun and equally frustrating, but something I always have and always will come back to. I have a PSP for one reason, and that's for Pure and Pulse.

This is not how it's supposed to be.

[mangaroo]

I really don't think (hope) it will be gone forever but just a while before we will see it again, but probably never the same again.

Was good while it lasted...

[Angryman]

So sad.
All the best to the Liverpool team and thanks for the many hours of entertainment.

[jaminjack]

The video game markets have changed. Free to play games with with buy in game goods. Are putting a real hurt on the gaming industry.
Wipeout may return in the new format, or it may return when 4K TV emerges with the PS4. Studio Liverpool has 12 to 18 months invested in a new Wipeout. Sony may release it for use on multiple platform or just shelve it.
Wipeout set the standard for exciting futuristic racing game play. It has achieved a 28 year run making it a legend.
I wouldn't count on Wipeout disappearing altogether.

I had a wonderful time racing with all the online competitors. I wasn't the fastest or the best. I raced to be part of a community that never could exist anywhere but in the imaginations of a select few. Thanks to all for allowing me to escape my mortal bounds.
Death is not the end, a new adventure begins.
shout out to Lurifaxflux

[Nutcase:259]

seems pretty abrupt, a sad undignified end to a company and its people that gave so much to help make the playstation what it is :(

hopefully all those affected can be relocated elsewhere, redundancy sucks big time.

long live the zone!

[MegaGeeza22]

Wipeout was one of those games that kept playstation fans loyal to them and now this?
PS4 will be the final nail in the coffin for sony... even if another company picks Wipeout up i doubt it will ever be the same again.
Boycott PS4, they may save a few quid by shutting down studio liverpool but hopefully sony will lose a huge number of loyal day 1 purchasers of there consoles.
Goodbye studio liverpool :( lets bring sony to its knees.

[Inversion]

I started this little run in my pre-teens, walking by the electronics stores on my way home from school, and catching sight of this weird flying-ship racing game on a playable display that nearly gave me vertigo playing it. Every day, I'd stop in to take a run at this interesting game, playing until someone kicked me out.

That was seventeen years ago. Every game that's come out, I've gotten my grubby little mitts on, and driven myself to distraction with it. Wipeout had that certain something, that ability to hold your attention and make you push yourself to beat that time or master the airbrake timing on that curve, or hit that race line just perfectly. Even today, playing 2097 or WO3, I still have people stare at the game, as if hypnotized, those that have never seen it before, anyway.

Vaya con Dios, Studio Liverpool. You've made great works which have imprinted on us in so many ways. Well done.

[Blaey]

6609 Here's my tribute to the guys over at Studio Liverpool :)

[Dark_Phantom_89]

I just had a thought, what about online? Does this mean the HD and 2048 servers will be shut down?

I was going to mention that as well. I think it's only a matter of time now before WipEout is shut off permanently.

This sort of thing disgusts me. How can Sony turn their back on a franchise that defined the PlayStation whilst other, more mediocre companies remain open? Oh well, my opinion isn't going to change anything, so thank you for everything SL. It's been a blast and we'll never forget you.

[Amaroq Dricaldari]

This is potentially one of the reasons Studio Liverpool was closed: http://www.wipeoutzone.com/forum/showthread.php?8937-Studio-Liverpool-Veteran-Colin-Fawcett-has-passed-away&p=219688#post219688


6609 Here's my tribute to the guys over at Studio Liverpool :)

The forum says that it is an invalid attachment.


Wipeout was one of those games that kept playstation fans loyal to them and now this?
PS4 will be the final nail in the coffin for sony... even if another company picks Wipeout up i doubt it will ever be the same again.
Boycott PS4, they may save a few quid by shutting down studio liverpool but hopefully sony will lose a huge number of loyal day 1 purchasers of there consoles.
Goodbye studio liverpool :( lets bring sony to its knees.

I am starting to think WipEout 2048 was intentionally made half-baked. The rebellion has already begun...

[GalacticSpartan]

To add insult to injury. This is unbelivable. After making the PS this famious, they decided to pull the plug? Even when they were making a game for them for the PS4? That's beyond stupid. It's one of the main reason's why I loved Sony, and now it feels like they ripped one of the hearts of their own.

No matter. In this; there has to be a light at the end of the tunnel. WipEout WILL come back. It's too famious to go away. I think in maybe from a year or a few months, someone will pick up the pieces eventually and make it alive again. I refuse to belive it'll go down like Extreme-G did. But not WipEout.

[Amaroq Dricaldari]

WipEout Fusion was the second game they made when they were a part of Sony.
In WipEout Fusion, Overtel took over the race commision, and Qirex became part of Tigron Enterprises, which if I'm not mistaken are part of Overtel.
Tigron had uncovered all manner of illegal activities that Overtel were engaged in, so perhaps Studio Liverpool caught Sony doing something they shouldn't.
A lot of times, I have seen works of fiction heavily influenced by real-life events, so perhaps the Post-Psygnosis WipEout games were Studio Liverpool's way of sending us a message.
WipEout Fusion: The Race Commision has become corrupt.
WipEout Pure: AG Racing will never die.
WipEout 2048: It is the beginning of a new era. There will be mishaps along the road to greatness.

WipEout Fusion is Studio Liverpool telling us that Sony has become equally as corrupt as Overtel. WipEout Pure is Studio Liverpool saying that they will rise again. ANd finally, WipEout 2048 is Studio Liverpool's signal to begin the rebellion.

Basically, the Post-Psygnosis WipEout games were just an interactive Science-Fiction Satire. It would also explain why WipEout HD was based on WipEout Pure and WipEout Pulse, since they most likely wanted it to represent the future resurrection of AG racing.

[BlackReign]

Just read the news on Facebook. Terrible to say the least. My sentiments are echoed in many previous comments here. I've played every console version of WipEout and have enjoyed them all especially HD. I bought versions on launch day and got my PS3 on launch day with the idea of getting WOHD when it released. I hope the servers for this game are maintained. Great Series, Great Team, and terribly sorry to see them be shut down like that. I'm torn between being angry and sad. I hope this isn't the end of WO. Wishing the SL team the best and quick future employment.

[LJtheZombie]

Well, there goes any lingering prospect of another G-Police game.

Rest in peace, Psygnosis.

[docfo4r]

I don't know what I will do if they shut down the servers aswell. Racing against you guys or random people has always been lots of fun. I even created a video channel with Cipher because we wanted to fill it up with [online] HD races. The online gaming was at least 40% of the joy for the game. So I really hope that at least the servers will stay alive.
When I am looking for an online opponent for Fatal Inertia, I found one guy racing with me in half a year. And another race with Mega just because I met him here. But whenever I check the lobbies for Wipeout, there are ALWAYS people playing it. Sure, the list is not full and I think games like Battlefield or whatever are uncomparable, but I saw there are always people playing Wipeout.

I hope Wipeout can be kept alive somehow. I would have bought a PS4 for a new Wipeout. But if there is no new Wipeout, no PS4 for me.
I just wish we could show Sony how much disappointed we all are [even I know it won't change a thing], & with a new Wipeout as launch title in development, it just feels like the arrogant Sony didn't give a sh*t for the Studio Liverpool crew or the fans of the series.

[Blaey]

6610 Okay let's try this again :/ Here's my tribute to the guys over at Studio Liverpool :)

[Medusa]

Beautiful. I don't mean to nitpick, but I can't help but point out that it's missing Studio Leeds.
http://www.studioleeds.co.uk/
See history here:
http://www.wipeoutzone.com/forum/showthread.php?4070-The-History-of-Psygnosis-Questions-asked-and-answered/page3
Of note: Studio Liverpool's first (wipeout) game was Fusion.

[docfo4r]

I love to see all your tributes.

Oh and I just realized Studio Liverpool was also responsible for those great Destruction Derby games which I loves in my childhood. Even I didn't expect a new title anyway, it saddens the thing even more for me :(

[Amaroq Dricaldari]

When I first heard that Studio Liverpool closed, I checked Wikipedia just to be sure (and yes, I know it isn't the first place you should check), and I scrolled down to the list of games they released as Studio Liverpool. The first game they released on the PS2 was F1 2001 (released in 2001). The second game they released for PS2 was WipEout Fusion in 2002. And they didn't release either of those games until they were a part of Sony.


Maintenance Mode
Studio Leeds (http://www.studioleeds.co.uk/) is currently undergoing scheduled maintenance.

Please try back in 99789 days, 17 hours, and 2 minutes
(on November 9, 2285 at 12:30 pm).
Sorry for the inconvenience.

Alright, Sony is just trolling us now. Are any of us even going to be alive by then?

[Medusa]

Yeah sorry for the inaccurate statement. For me the only games that matter are WipEout games. Sadly.

[vincoof]

Can't make money with classy games, have to sell one million copies of FPS and MMORPG on release day to a world full of lemmings that are brainwashed by the F**** MEDIA
Isn't it ironic that Psygnosis which developed the Lemmings game couldn't handle how to sell games to lemming consumers ? ;)

Unfortunately the gaming industry is more or less following the steps of its media ancestors like the cinema. But just like cinema there will always be some outstanding titles that don't get attention only because the commercials wash everyone's brain. You just have to learn how to sort them out of the mass of riskless yet tasteless AAA titles that we are going to see more often every year.

[ZixXer]

I remember when I was like 7 years old my dad put me infront of the tv with a blindfold and let me hear the intro of wipeout. I had no clue what it was, tought that it was some sort of action movie. I was wrong, it was WIPEOUT! ooo ooo oo I did suck at the start of wipeout, did not wanted to learn to fly with airbrakes XD. at the just before the 2e wipeout came by i started to get good at it. With wipeout 2097 I Learned to airbrake and ooh I became good with that game. (I easly lapped my mates, not noob friendly game :P) then wipe3out came and i almost completed the entire singel player!! that is: venom, vector, rapier difucultie modes with all ships on every track! had like half of the first places on phantom mode. Loved the secred uber-start that you could do with a ship in wipe3out. normal start was hold the button. super start: put the trottle on the correct spot. and uber-start: hold the trolle on the right spot and hold the hp absorber for more speed and at the point of launch release the hp coverter for speed so that you loose 1hp but get a start that was almost two times faster then the super-start. then i skipped the ps2 and psp versions. played the psp version a few times. Then I bought my ps3 specaly for wipeout HD!! played it alot and even came at the top of the zone record of v-K got beaten by a few now..... but still 84 zones is not bad. played the singelplayer two times one to get the skins. and a second to beat all ai on elite. I wanted a platina on WIPEOUT AND I GOT IT!! to bad it will be mij last :'( Well i still play zone mode sometimes infront of my big 50" tv and sit like 1 meter infront of it, cokpit view and feel the game all the way!!!!!! To be continued... I realy hope so!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sony you have to come with alot of good titles to make me want to buy a ps4! because wipeout hd is still the only reason why I would buy a ps3 if i see all the games out there today!

sl staff, thanks for all the hard work!

ps can you sent me the copy of the new wipeout version. so that i can finish it and play it!

Cant we do a kickstarter project to get the team back to work on the game I would glady pay alot to see that happen

PPS I'm sorry to all the people that cant read well enough to read my bad writing.

[MegaGeeza22]

I have to agree with Medusa and vincoof on the comment above (#84)... the sheeple/ lemmings are getting robbed blind with these AAA titles.
It makes me laugh. but be careful talking about the mass media brainwashing people... you will get called an extremist buy the lemmings :lol
Wipeout is a propa game, i just hope sony don't give up on Wipeout completely if they do then Sony, microsoft will be saying "Contender Eliminated"

[DieselEmpire]

RIP Psygnosis. A salute to you and your amazing team. Thanks for the wonderful memories, and for inspiring me to join the industry. Good luck.

My best wishes to all the fans of the game, and this community.

[Pez88]

Haven't been here in a while, but I had to log in when I heard this news.

This is a real shame. One of Sony's best studios, gone like that. It's safe to say that I've lost some respect for Sony today. Hopefully everyone who worked at SL got moved somewhere else and aren't out of work now.

It's been great, but all good things must end at some point I suppose.

[Thruster2097]

I havent been on here in such a long time, almost criminal.
Had to come back when I read the IGN news this morning, SL closed..... Heartbroken.
Echoing my Facebook ramblings, my thoughts are with those at SL, especially :infoxicated, buddy we need to catch up cos this news sucks worse than hearing that a relative has passed away. You have all put your heart and souls into this and you should leave with your collective heads held high knowing that your work has not been in vain and will never be forgotten.
Truly a sad day and a seemingly heartless move considering that WipEout kinda made the PlayStation the icon of home entertainment.
To everyone involved, past and present, thankyou.

[JABBERJAW]

Was gone to running camp for 5 days with no Internet, come back and now SL is gone! This is awful news, first, we will not see another wipeout game from them. I mean someone else developing wipeout! How about some drafting, CPU assist weapons, and a touch speed for the person in behind. Also, how about tracks so wide you never hit. How about some unidentified bugs that break the game ( full track jumping, snaking, ect). How about no pitch control and glued to the track racing. NOPE! I don't want someone else without wipeout knowledge making another game. Whoever gets to make one, one name only comes to mind, " NICK BURCOMBE". Thank you Nick for this awesome series, and if it ever gets another chance, please! Oh please apply for the position. The new Wipeout game was. " radically different for the ps4 ". This scares me for sure. My guess is this game will be moved somewhere and finished. I doubt they would waste a game that far along, but I wouldnt have hope that it stays like wipeout.

Secondly, I am extremely disappointed as to what it means for 2048.

1) the made a great playing game

2) people complained about racebox,Adhoc, custom controls, and a TT grid. These were not going to be added, so after a significant amount of time of this, it seemed that they were finally working on these issues, I was getting pretty excited about racing people at A + speed on the track we chose.

3) studio shut down, now we will never be able to really play eachother, incredibly dissapointing. The A + challenges are a complete first lap luck fest getting hammered all over the place, but there are no proper A+ time trials to play.

4) Sony is mostly at fault here for sure. You let the team work on a ps4 game for 18 months, then take it away. You give the 2048 the go ahead on new content, then stop them as they are going to release new content for the game probably within a few months.

5) SL should have left the basic wipeout Stuff in the game in the first place. This removal of These features are responsible for the wipeout community not enjoying 2048 for years to come against eachother. While it seems like it was going to be fixed, now it never will be
:(

6) well, it looks like I have time to catch up on all the old games now

[Ragsus Maxima]

Why all of the best has to come to an end? :( I've never thought Sony could make such a decision to a hardened veteran studio like Studio Liverpool. I'm also feeling bad for all of the people of SL, who were on the lead of the creativity until this day.

All of us are very thankful for all of the effort you guys put in all of your projects and games you did. And also, we hope you guys find another chance to keep fulfilling any new projects you have.

[Colonel]

On a positive note, Hellfire made Forbes magazine! You're famous Charlie! http://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnyegriffiths/2012/08/22/sony-shuts-down-team-liverpool-an-end-to-wipeout-and-psygnosis/

[camlet]

thanks for the news colonel and hellfire and also to sl for making the wipeout games

[lanceurdehache]

Long time since i didnt post on this forum, but i just saw the news, the only reason i bought a PSVita was because of this game, my most played game on PS3 and PSP are also WipEout game. I loved what they did with WipEout 2048, the "autolog" was really nice, the gameplay was really good, i know it has problems but i love it nonetheless. This is the problem with gaming industries this day, content is costly to make and it is hard to make a "niche" game like WipEout is on a handled that no one have. I would have loved to see the WipEout game on the PS4. Shame on you Sony for closing a studio after one financial failure

Good luck and farewell Studio Liverpool

[Darkdrium777]

Wow. I don't quite know what to say. So much seems to have happened so quickly. My condolences to everyone at Studio Liverpool for the recent bad news.

[Rossriders]

Like I've said elsewhere, I'm rather new to the Wipeout games in spite of being familiar of their existence since playing the 2097/XL demo on the PC all those years ago.

Wipeout has always been a game series I wanted to get into, but due to cash, time and other reasons then or now, kept me from really playing any of the games. I figured though even if it will still...even now be some time until I can play any of them, I still have had and will when possible, make fan-art for the series.

What caught my attention was in a way, how Wipeout reminds me a lot of racing and the spirit of competition in general, thanks to the video by HellfireWZ and contributions to the wipeout Wiki, even fan stuff (in spite of not quite being cannon), for me it's rare to find a racing series with some attempt at a story, even if the majority of it could only be found via websites, manuals and as of late, the Wiki.

I was trying to put my own two cents on the art style of Wipeout as of late...it will be a little longer until I can post it, for now I'll just say that I've found so far the art styles to every game very interesting, to some degree each game is very distinct, yet also carries a strange air of stuff remaining constant in spite of how different such games are like Fusion to Pulse or 2048 to Wip3out/Wipeout 3, and so forth.

...It sucks that the Studio is closed...it's not the first and woun't be the last time a studio is shut down (while I seldom had a chance to play them, I did find Bizzare Creations' titles to be interesting including Project Gotham and Blur...lets just say their closing was one more reason why I have a strong distaste for Activision and the majority of publishers, Valve being an exception to some degree...but I'll rant about that another time)...

I want to be angry but i wonder how much good it will actually do. I wonder how long the servers will remain online if at...if I ever get a chance to play HD/Fury (I've already given up trying to get a Vita for 2048 for the time being, priorities and all that)...and the fact cold as this may sound, I've got other pressing things to be concerned about...significant as this ...event is.

Yet in spite of that, they say people, things, events and so forth are only dead for real once they are forgotten. While part of me is Mad for at this...part of me somehow...feels like to give up hope would be to given in for real...

Although just what...I don't really know...for now it seems like falling into dispair would not be helpful. I'm thankful Studio Liverpool was able to give to many joy, fun and a lot of positive things...

I only hope all at the studio are able to find new jobs...and I hope in the future...we could have a wipeout game...and hopefully one that woun't betray the series as a whole...although my experience with viewing series given to other developers whom are not the original have had mixed results...I suppose we will see what happens.

For now...
I'll continue to do fan art when I can...and well...that'll be my way of keeping the series alive.

...my two cents for now,
Until later.

[c]

I haven't messaged the site for years, but I had to post as my love for all things WipEout has endured for years.

It is the end of an era in my gaming life.

I am sure that WipEout will make it to PS4. Sony might have been stupid enough to close our cherished studio, but if development has taken place for so long the new iteration has to continue. They have already said that they are trying to find staff members jobs at other studios, hopefully many will be moved to one which is taking over the franchise.

I was hopeful like many for a return to the glory days with an updated G-Police, Colony Wars or even Roll Cage, but alas it was not to be.

So thank you Studio Liverpool for that first climb and jump on Altima, thank you for adding a soundtrack to my gaming life with 2097 and thank you for the awesomeness of Manor Top and P-Mar.

Studio Liverpool and Psygnosis is dead. Long live WipEout!

c

[rejj]

Like several others, this news brought me out of the woodwork.
I'm sad to see this news, but (and perhaps this will be unpopular) I'm not altogether surprised. Never good to read about studios getting shut down, and I honestly hope all those affected by this land on their feet and find work elsewhere.

For a combination of reasons, Wipeout was no longer a blockbuster name. We all love(d) it, sure - but Vita's didn't exactly fly off the shelves because of 2048, for example.

Personally, the last entry in the series I truly enjoyed was W3SE. The recent iterations had some interesting things in them for sure - I think Zone Mode is brilliant, but overall they just didn't grab me the same way.

[JABBERJAW]

This game did get me psyched again, I really liked the gameplay and was waiting for multiplayer, then it was gone for good. Damn you Sony for forcing them to waste time putting on WOHD onto the vita. We could have had those things we wanted without this crap, and Sony probably knew all along what they were going to do. No real reason to complain, The people that shut SL down will never look at that Facebook page, or here for that matter. They do whatever they want. No ps4 for me. Maybe Nintendo can put out an fzero game where riding walls doesn't make you go way faster, or wiggling your ship does the same, or without jumping the entire track ( one can dream).

Maybe 5 years from now someone can hack the track and speed selection process in Adhoc. All you would need then are 10 vitas ( one for each track). Maybe even 5 since its a vote, but both would need to be a race selection.

Time to stop dreaming

[IndoorSnowStorm]

So sad. Words can't really describe how I feel.

In other news, get ready for Uncharted 12 in the coming years :brickwall

[Solid]

I'm puzzled as to why, aren't they churning out better profits than many in business companies, even sony ones? They had a new game out only this year for christs sake.

[dreadofmondays]

Basically, what I've learned about this whole experience (and I had a fair idea beforehand), is that sony are massive arseholes and they don't know how to run a business. More exciting projects? Like what, exactly? As I said to xpand when I heard about it: "let's just buy a company, piggyback on their game's reputation and class to market our product, take their game and **** with it so it doesn't work right, and then shut them down anyway."
And what really makes me mad about this is that I absolutely cannot believe they would have the gall to make SL work on a new game for eighteen months and then cancel it. And that is in the post, they have cancelled whatever it was they were working on (probably the next wipeout).
Two fingers to the lot of them. I still have some fantastic Psygnosis games on PS1, such as some F1 games, Colony Wars and CW: Vengeance, and G-police. SL were amazing.
I hear that Sony are having financial troubles. Why they dealt with this by axeing one of the most popular and fantastic games series, one of the hardest-working teams, and one of the oldest gaming business of all time is absolutely beyond belief. HD still brings in new players two years after release, for christ's sake. I sincerely hope that these troubles cause severe damage to Sony. It's what they deserve.

[/emotionmotivatedrant]

[Mad-Ice]

My sincere condolences for everyone that worked in Studio Liverpool. Wipeout changed my life too, it even brought me real life friends all over the world. This is something very special. I will cherise Wipeout for the rest of my life. I will on keep playing all the games. Thank you SL.

Good luck to everyone with finding a new job. I know you are going to find it, because if you worked for SL than you must be ace in your profession.

Peace out Mad-Ice

[scarfrogers]

I'm in a state of panic! Will Sony keep supporting/maintaining the servers for Wipeout do you think? I can't imagine not playing online with everyone...

:(

[Temet]

I've been thinking since yesterday about the correct words to express my sadness.
My sadness is limitless.
Of course, I wish good luck to every dev for getting a new job... this is a rude period and having a job is a blessing... (even if I will never forgive you for the racebox! :blarg )
But when reading the news, I thought to my life... I'm 33 and WipEout has been in my life since WipEout 2097.
I kept for many years a french magazine with the review of the first Wipeout... I can still see the picture of the ship flying in the Altima jump.
I remember for christmas, I went to buy a PS1 and I searched for Wipeout in the store. I couldn't find it but there was a new game : Wipeout 2097. I didn't know what to think you know... there was no internet at that time.
When I came back to home, I phoned my neighbour and my best friend : "Hey guys, I have a playstation, come and try it!". We never saw a playstation at that time... Sony was a newcomer, I had a SNES like my friends.
First game inserted was Wipeout 2097, we started a race and we saw the travelling toward the ship, and the camera moving around it ... we were astonished !
I had to stop playing for my studies (some kind of crazy mathematics school ^^) and eventually gave up on video gaming.
One day, I heard about WipeoutHD ... I highly recommended to a colleague to buy it and invite me!
Well well well ... I was caught again... I bought a PSP to play Pure and Pulse, later I bought a PS3 to play HD/Fury ... and finally I bought a PSVita to play 2048.

I met some really nice people and I intend to keep in touch with them!

I was discussing with G-Superpilot yesterday, and I told him that I felt abandonned ... he told me that was a good description for his feeling too.

I don't know if it worth telling it, but if some dev reads this and would like to join the European convention in October... I'm sure we would all be happy to see you.

Regards,

Temet

[Azurooth]

Psygnosis/Studio Liverpool has given me thousands of hours of joy. My first game on the PS1 was 2097, shortly followed by Wip3out:SE. My gf bought me Fusion on my 18th birthday and my brother bought me HD/Fury disc version as a christmas present. Great memories, met a lot of new friends. I have been walking around for several months thinking about if a new wipeout game would be released for the ps4 and how awesome it would be. I hope SL find new jobs real soon. I also hope the WipEout franchise will return. This has really brought my mood to a low point. Thanks for everything Liverpool.

[infoxicated]

I'm in a state of panic! Will Sony keep supporting/maintaining the servers for Wipeout do you think? I can't imagine not playing online with everyone...

:(The servers are maintained in London, they were never hosted at Studio Liverpool. There will be a minimum service level agreement for the online portion of the game - you're probably guaranteed service for 12-18 months and after that it'll be based on demand. I sold my copy so I don't know if that's in the booklet or not, but a game would have to be a total and utter flop for them to pull the online service in less than a year.

[Colonel]

The HD servers are now the same as the 2048 servers, aren't they? So I'm guessing as long as you can play 2048, you can also play HD?

There was about a minute of blind panic in the Avalon Lounge last night when all of a sudden nobody could enter a lobby. Scared the crap out of me, I'll be honest.

[blackwiggle]

A very sad day indeed.

I feel for all the SL staff that have lost their jobs, a very talented group of people.

Sony, you have lost the plot.
You should of kept SL alive and fired the sycophantic bean counter Mike Hoking, he's the one who has been directing SL so well it now finds itself shut down.

I don't know what the sales of VITA's have been like, but the writing was on the wall for SL when games like Uncharted were licensed out to other developers to make the VITA versions.
I expect any future Wipeout will suffer the same fate.

[DjManiac21]

Hey guys, long time no see!

Sad news for everyone.

I really don't know what to say other than I've had it with Sony, I've stuck with them during these years, through asinine decisions, poor uninteresting software lineup, besides a couple of franchises that don't resonate with me (Resistance (really?), Gran Turismo, God of War, Uncharted... I say meh...) usually copy-cat franchises, bad support or lack of it, overpriced hardware, badly-designed proprietary hardware and software, heartless corporate approach to gaming and its consumers, etc.

Not only have I stopped enjoying Sony's hardware since the PS2 days, but I've had this feeling since I got the PS3 that I was just mindlessly supporting them.

They completely lost touch with their fanbase and consumers, they neglected and took advantage of us in many ways, and not only in the videogames divison.
My Sony camera broke, to no support from them, camcorder was lame and broke right after its year warranty, technology wise I don't feel Sony is ahead of anybody as in the PS2 days, it's always behind the Xbox or copying their's and Nintendo's approach to things.

I'm literally tired of this, and as a customer I won't support this kind of policies anymore, I'm selling my Vita and PS3 and never looking back, I'm all in PC gaming now, and my S3 keeps me entertained on the go. There's nothing else you can offer me Sony, too bad it took so many bad decisions for me to notice.

SL, I'm sure you will find a way, you guys are more than capable and will find a new challenge somewhere else.

Hope you don't have to face more of this nonsensical corporate behavior in the future.
Sony, for me, is no more.

Thanks for the good times SL and WZ, let's be friends in speed!!!

[MENGKESHI]

Well, this sucks...

Of course, the main thing I want to say is to wish the SL team all the best for the future and hope that they get good opportunities to use their talents in other positions in the future.

The big tragedy for me is how badly promoted the Wipeout series has been. I don't have insider or deep industry knowledge but it does seem like all marketing and promotion was directed to other games eg GT5 (I like it but it doesn't touch HD/FURY). I didn't even know about HD until I happened upon the DL-only version on the PSN store and gaming is a more-than-casual hobby for me!

I suppose this may partly explain why they focused on the single player for 2048 if anyone knew this was coming - not much point in having a racebox if servers aren't going to be running for too much longer...

Thanks Psygnosis/SL for all the games and good times - they have rocked! :)

[AG-SYSTEMS]

The big tragedy for me is how badly promoted the Wipeout series has been. I don't have insider or deep industry knowledge but it does seem like all marketing and promotion was directed to other games eg GT5 (I like it but it doesn't touch HD/FURY). I didn't even know about HD until I happened upon the DL-only version on the PSN store and gaming is a more-than-casual hobby for me!

I have to agree with you there. I never heard of it until the welcome back program. And I usually find stuff like this. I've found quite a few games that few people have heard of.

[Handmadelion]

Let's hope one day we'll see another WO fellow pilots.

Something tells me we will, at least in some incarnation.

[Autechom]

I cannot believe it. Actaully, I really feel bad about my negative feelings towards 2048 (though for a good reason as the most of you will surely comprehend). But now, all this just doesn´t matter anymore. Of course, I don´t want to be a dramaqueen, but it´s really as if a tiny tiny part of my childhood is gone now. It sucks so much ass. This is a bad year for me as a gamer (Mass Effect 3 and now this, my two favourite games). And of course, it´s even worse for the SL team. I hope, they will find a new, great job soon. Thanx for everything!

[trk_rkd]

Actaully, I really feel bad about my negative feelings towards 2048

re. bolded section: I kinda know what you mean. I was very critical of the game's multiplayer mode, perhaps more than I should have been... the fact is it's still a damn good racer. When you're nailing A+ speed laps on sol or altima it feels as good as the series has ever felt. despite its flaws it was still a damn good game and a beautiful swansong for SL. I bought my vita for 2048 (suck on that, sony corporate), and i don't regret it at all.

[Boycey83]

I'm sure we all bought our Vitas for Wipeout. We sure as hell didn't buy em for Ridge Racer or Modnation Racers :P

[docfo4r]

Haha.

And I bought my PS3 for WOHD. Actually, I had the game before the PS3 xD

[gordo1974]

Not been round for a while, but when I saw the news, I had to come and post my condolences. Thanks to all at SL for so many hours and SUCH a good franchise.
The feeling of grace on a perfect lap as you took furymau round Sol2, thinking, no, being a corner ahead, the feeling of being totally locked in...nothing like it on any other game I've played.
I suppose what killed it is you need more than 5 minutes to master it and can't download it onto a iPhone.

Best memory: Gare D'Europe, with "Body in Motion" playing in a Quirex, 2097. Nailing the sharp right hander in the dark tunnel, third corner, and flying through the right left right complex, wall scraping all the way. Beautiful.

[Hellfire_WZ]

On a positive note, Hellfire made Forbes magazine! You're famous Charlie! http://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnyegriffiths/2012/08/22/sony-shuts-down-team-liverpool-an-end-to-wipeout-and-psygnosis/

Haha, nice to see that video being used for the right reasons :) It seems all the more significant now...

[Lance]

Farewell to the legend and those who attempted to keep my favourite game going. Thanks to Nic and Jim, the creators of WipEout, the artists, in house and otherwise for the great looks, and to CoLDSToRAGE, Tim, for the music. It can never be the same again. I will remember the way it was until I'm dead.

[Oryx Crake]

After some time digesting this, I must admit I have mixed feelings on this matter... on the one hand I feel as if maybe it was inevitable after almost 3 decades of psygnosis original products and 15 + years of wipeout that the psygnosis legacy would end but at the same time, I feel angry because since wipeout fusion, the wipeout titles have been getting progressively stronger again after the poor showing of fusion...(I know not everyone will agree that they were getting more fun, but they have been getting technically and visually better if you ask me, but certainly stronger with audiences) and that makes me angry that they would just drop such an iconic series and group of game designers.

I dunno I'm sad at the way the gaming industry is progressing at the moment, and that wipeout and SL have to be victims of this, but at the same time I'm very happy we got wipeout at all and I'm neutrally accepting of the fact that all good things seem to come to an end.

[Whizawk]

RIP Studio Liverpool!

It was a very sad day for me when they announced this as I was a big fan of Psygnosis titles back in the day on PS1, most notably Wipeout.
It was the reason I bought a PS1 and stuck with Sony PlayStation back then; the game that got me hooked on gaming (2097 specifically).

Thanks for the games!

Loyal Auricom fan

*waves fist at Qirex & AG_SYS*

[GalacticSpartan]

Hmm. Wonder what company will take WipEout?

[Whizawk]

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

[Colin Berry]

This is potentially one of the reasons Studio Liverpool was closed: http://www.wipeoutzone.com/forum/showthread.php?8937-Studio-Liverpool-Veteran-Colin-Fawcett-has-passed-away&p=219688#post219688

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.

[infoxicated]

Hmm. Wonder what company will take WipEout?
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.

[Colin Berry]

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.

[Dogg Thang]

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.

[Oryx Crake]

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!

[keg_11]

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.

[Airrider]

RIP Studio Liverpool!

It was a very sad day for me when they announced this as I was a big fan of Psygnosis titles back in the day on PS1, most notably Wipeout.
It was the reason I bought a PS1 and stuck with Sony PlayStation back then; the game that got me hooked on gaming (2097 specifically).

Thanks for the games!

Loyal Auricom fan

*waves fist at Qirex & AG_SYS*

As a fan of the former accused, I pray there's another game. There's got to be another place to take the Auricom-Qirex fight.

If there is, I'll be there. And I'll be waiting.

[vincoof]

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.

[Oryx Crake]

perhaps we're being a bit rough vin but keep in mind we're all sad and angry about this piece of news, I mean surely you know how we feel and perhaps, if you ask me it is ok to be angry at this point in time, and well when I speak of sony I mean the corporation not the employees, you could look at it like a country, the classic example being the USA these days, I mean if you ask anyone who has ever met or talked to an american they will tell you that they love americans, but that doesn't mean we have to agree with the american government or like everything that it does.

[AG-SYSTEMS]

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.

Thank you Mr. Berry for clearing that up. I know the death of one person does not end a corporation. If that was the case, a whole lot of companies would be gone.

[Whizawk]

As a fan of the former accused, I pray there's another game. There's got to be another place to take the Auricom-Qirex fight.

If there is, I'll be there. And I'll be waiting.

Easy there tiger.

Would much love them to elaborate the feud in a future title though!

[Inversion]

It's like the whole Japan should burn because a bunch of Japanese guys did something terrible.

I seriously wanted to make a comment about this happening once already, but I suspect that it would A: miss the point, and B: be somewhat silly and redundant.

[blackwiggle]

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.

For a long time many here have voiced the opinion that we might of been better off if Sony had never bought the rights to Wipeout.
It's treated the franchise badly over the years with woeful to basically no publicity, and relegating the game to selling handheld consoles.
When everybody knows Wipeout is best played on a BIG screen.

Plus it has used Wipeout as the "Guinea Pig" for any new technology that Sony is trying to flog off.
Thankfully the talented SL team has/had for the most part been able to save Wipeout from being a glitch ridden disaster

I don't think we have seen the last of Wipeout.
But I dread to think of the possible dog's breakfast any new development team could make of the series without at least some people who have worked on at least one previous Wipeout.

My feelings about this whole thing [and who's ultimately responsible for it], and what might happen next exactly mirror Infoxicated's

[vincoof]

I don't think we have seen the last of Wipeout.
But I dread to think of the possible dog's breakfast any new development team could make of the series without at least some people who have worked on at least one previous Wipeout.

My previous experience on this kind of rebirth is somewhat pessimistic. For instance SNK did incredible fighting games in the 90's, e.g. the KoF series (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_King_of_Fighters_%28series%29), but the company had some serious financial issues and ultimately did shut down in 2001. Eventually some of the former employees kept on developing titles with SNK Playmore (which is practically SNK reborn from its ashes) and continued the KoF series which was exactly what the fans were looking for, but... the truth is, none of the sequels got the hype that many of the former KoF titles had in their golden age.

If I had to interview gamers and ask them what fighting games made their day in the past years, many of them would answer Street Fighter, Tekken or BlazBlue but very few of them if any would answer King of Fighters. So, the series was reborn by the developers for the fans, but at which cost ? A dying franchise which barely survives because some fans want to believe in a potential successful title ?

I guess many gamers here don't give a damn to SNK or fighting games or whatever but I'm pretty sure you see the point.

Back on topic, the question is: are you ready to live the same history for the WipEout franchise ? Is it really worth that SL raises from its ashes and create titles that only fans might enjoy ? Would you like to see your favorite series lose its breath time after time until the day it can't breathe anymore ?

Of course there's no guarantee that WO will endure the same fate. Then ask to yourself, didn't it alreasy happened when Psygnosis became Studio Liverpool ? Many people here (including myself) state that the last stunning WipEout title was WipEout 3 SE which, incidentally, was the last one developed by Psygnosis.

[MENGKESHI]

It's treated the franchise badly over the years with woeful to basically no publicity, and relegating the game to selling handheld consoles.
When everybody knows Wipeout is best played on a BIG screen.

Don't underestimate the power of wiping on the train or the toilet!! :P In all fairness, I do think the Vita is an awesome piece of kit and would personally prefer to see it become more of a priority for developers, not less. My 2p...

[blackwiggle]

It's just the consistent lost opportunities that have befallen Wipeout that are a constant frustration.
SONY stuffed up.
They have stuffed up with digital rights management as well
Bad calls regarding publicity
Bad calls regarding which platform Wipeout came out on......SL wouldn't be shutting down if PURE & PULSE & 2048 were both released on Duel Platforms [PSP & PS 2/Vita/PS3]
Why only half showcase "Crossplay"?
Dumb decisions.
Who made them?

[MENGKESHI]

Agreed! Especially regarding the publicity!!

[vincoof]

Many speculations and yet no proof that better publicity or dual platform release or whatever would have result in a different ending.

It's too easy once something is done to say "I would have made different decisions and things would have been better". They made decisions based on the facts and forethoughts they had in the time the game was designed, developed and released.

I'm not saying they made the best decisions ever, but I'm fairly unsure I would have made better decisions if I had to chose them, and - no offense intended - I'm pretty sure everybody here could hardly *guarantee* they would have done better either if they had to make decisions in the same time and place as Sony had to.

[MENGKESHI]

Well of course having more funding for Wipeout promotion is going to produce better results for the sales of the Wipeout games. Surely that is undeniable?

The choice you are talking about is Sony's decision to put the funding elsewhere - who knows, maybe this actually was a good financial choice for Sony overall as a company.

But this is a Wipeout fansite so of course the players that love this game are going to feel annoyed that the studio was shut down after the games were not promoted to a level which we feel they deserved.

[Dogg Thang]

You're right Vincoof - it's all speculation. Except for this: the decisions made didn't work. And Sony were in charge of the whole thing. Back in the Psygnosis days and early Sony acquisition, when it appeared the studio had more autonomy, they had G-Police, Colony Wars, Destruction Derby, Overboard, Barbarian, were involved in Lemmings, Rollcage and so many more as publishers and of course Wipeout and F1. Since the studio completely became part of SCE and lost the Psygnosis brand, as far as I can remember they have only done Wipeout and F1. For over ten years. What happened to the creativity? I don't know.

Could the studio have been saved if decisions were different? Of course. It's a tough marketplace out there and getting tougher but many studios can stay afloat. A studio with the history of Psygnosis and resources of Sony should not have ended up closing like this.

The reasons don't hugely matter right now I guess, except for it all being a massive shame. The history of Studio Liverpool and especially Psygnosis speaks for itself. A huge part of gaming history.

[scarfrogers]

All I know if that I am going to be making the most out of the servers while they are still around. Online every evening going for 1st place, rage quitting and general mayhem :)

I suggest everyone gets online and plays some races (flash hopefully - I suck at everything else!). Good times on countdown...

[vincoof]

You're right Vincoof - it's all speculation. Except for this: the decisions made didn't work.
That's utterly true, but if you read my post again you'll see that I agree with this statement =)

What bothers me is that some posters claim that the good and bad decisions were easy to spot beforehand.


A studio with the history of Psygnosis and resources of Sony should not have ended up closing like this.
Sure the close was shocking, and obviously no one here wanted that (not even me even though I kind of moved on already). I raised with games like Shadow of the Beast or Lemmings, so trust me, if someone here is really sad that everything ends, that's me.

But let's say you could chose how it ends, what would be the perfect ending ? What kind of ending would have not let you write it "should not have ended up closing like this" ?

That's more of a philosophical question but maybe a good ending is an utopia. Every ending is dramatic: if something ends at its best mood, then fans are sad they can't enjoy more sequels ; if something ends with a terrible last work, then everyone wishes this never happened. Either way I can't find a fitting ending that makes everyone happy.

[JABBERJAW]

I wish they could have ended it with a full game though.

We ALL would have put in multiplayer options( no races at A or A+ is ridiculous), AND a time trial grid, AND custom controls, so that may have helped. People would be trying for best times offline, and many, many more people would have played online and adhoc and would still be doing so today. It probably wouldn't have saved it, since it seems Sony wanted it gone anyway, but we would have a complete full fun game that we could play as long as we want. I'm guessing now whoever is in charge will do nothing with it. It feels to me Sony should give a lot of things here, downloads were promised and we really got nothing for 2048 ( no, HD does not count, that is not 2048).

[vincoof]

And if a game as awesome as you describe was released, wouldn't you be thrilled about how awesome its sequel would look like ?

[Dogg Thang]

I guess there is no good ending really. I'm sure not even the suits at the top of Sony wanted to shut and write off development work on unreleased games.

No, the ideal as I see it is that the studio would still be ticking along nicely after all these years. Making Wipeout, sure. But also making other games, some small and some big. Some experimental, others more obvious. And some would do well (Overboard 2 on iOS) and others would bomb spectacularly (Psybadek 2 on Vita) but in the trial and error, mixing old and brand new IP, enough successes would keep them going.

That would never happen in a studio only making F1 and the odd Wipeout game though. Or seemingly a company limited to the PS3 and the Vita, the latter something they seem to have little intention of pushing.

They don't let me run multinational corporations though (probably with good reason).

[leungbok]

@ Al, exactly my thoughts !!

[BlackReign]

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.

Well said. Thanks for chiming in.

[JABBERJAW]

I wouldn't want another wipeout game with racebox, time trials, custom controls ever again. If it was exactly like how 2048 is now, I wouldn't want it. It was way too much frustration. Seeing the potential, and it never happens, an extreme letdown. It would have been ok with me if they finished with that potential A + game, as long as they kept the dev team employed

[Staz-]

Totally true, after all this year of passionate work and awesome AAAAAAAAAAA game, the must sadness in all this story is than the studio gone with all this frustration behind them, with these little black points on the board, the frustration of make the WipEout with a gameplay absolutely perfect, but without the most important fonctionnalities for make during him across the time ...
Can't do personalised multiplayer race it's ... like kill chicken in the egg. All this great potential ... gone in a wink. Imagine all this potential ! With DLC, brand new tracks, remastered WipEout, 2097 and WipEout 3 tracks, new skin, or that augmented reallity than will never seen !

The best WipEout is incomplete, and Sony killed him before they're finished a legendary game.

I think is really the most sadness. Psygnosis / SL are really legends, and I feel like orphan right now, but the legend hasn't reached its peak, they touched the peak, but not reached him. :(

[Frailavi]

It's sad to see Psygnosis / SL finally go, but I'm happy they went down the way they did. They only made quality games (The ones I've played at least!) and they made sure WipEout remained WipEout until the very end of the studio. So thank you to everyone who had a hand in making these great games that I spent my childhood playing.

WipEout XL - The bug vehicles were hilarious.
Destruction Derby 2 - Man I'll never forget all the cars wrecked at the choke point on canyon and The Learner, the only driver I could beat when I was a child. Then ramping off the other cars in The Pike for massive air before getting demolished.
Rollcage & Rollcage Stage II - Loved the music and the style. That wormhole weapon is still memorable to this day. Online play would've made this game really awesome.
Team Buddies - My favorite game of all time. I think it was only published in Europe (I could never find it in stores as a kid), but I played the hell out of that demo. I wish I could have seen more of this brilliant title for online play.
A Bug's Life - Amazing game all around when I was a kid. That one bug city map took so many hours to beat. :(
Codename TENKA - I still have no idea what this was about but it scared me... a lot. The Amnesia of my childhood.
WipEout Fusion - A lot of people seemed to not like this game, but I enjoyed it quite a lot. The special weapons were fun to use and the tracks were really fun to play.
WipEout HD - I fell in love with this game before I even got it. It took about a year before I finally got a PS3 just for this game. Worth. Every. Second.

Gone, but never forgotten.

[blackwiggle]

Many speculations and yet no proof that better publicity or dual platform release or whatever would have result in a different ending.

It's too easy once something is done to say "I would have made different decisions and things would have been better". They made decisions based on the facts and forethoughts they had in the time the game was designed, developed and released.

I'm not saying they made the best decisions ever, but I'm fairly unsure I would have made better decisions if I had to chose them, and - no offense intended - I'm pretty sure everybody here could hardly *guarantee* they would have done better either if they had to make decisions in the same time and place as Sony had to.

It all comes down to sales and profitability, if a game doesn't sell then that studio is in trouble.
I could understand Sony wanting to keep Wipeout as a Playstation exclusive, but considering that it has had both the PS2/PSP out at the same time, and the PS3/PSP/GO!/VITA out at the same time, why would you purposely limit possible sales by only releasing PURE/PULSE/2048 on the handhelds?
Studio Liverpool has had it's hands tied behind it's back in that regard, by it's parent company.
It's like Sony were prepared to limit the studio and seemingly run it at a loss, and this closure is the final result of that process.

If Wipeout had stayed out of Sony's hand's, there is a high probability that it would of stayed a multi platform game [it was already available on PC & N64], it would of been great on the Sega Dreamcast, would of sold heaps on the Xbox, it would of sold a LOT more titles as full PS2/PS3 games.

Ultimately we are Wipeout fans, and fans of the talented people who made the games.
Definitely not Sony fans

[AG-SYSTEMS]

I have to agree with those last two lines blackwiggle. I only use my PS3 for WipEout. Nothing else. I'm not a gamer.

[Darkdrium777]

I just realized I had done this... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPxBtl76fdw&feature=player_detailpage#t=530s) Damn it. :/

[docfo4r]

WipEout XL - The bug vehicles were hilarious.
Lol, what bug vehicles?


Destruction Derby 2 - Man I'll never forget all the cars wrecked at the choke point on canyon and The Learner, the only driver I could beat when I was a child. Then ramping off the other cars in The Pike for massive air before getting demolished.
Haha yeah, I remember I always played DD-RAW on my PS2 with friends. Skyscraper was one of the best ideas for multiplayer fun I ever saw. Psyg/SL: You guys are having some awesome ideas!


WipEout HD - I fell in love with this game before I even got it. It took about a year before I finally got a PS3 just for this game. Worth. Every. Second.
Was the same here, also struggled alot if I should buy a whole console for just one game. I will NEVER regret it!

[amplificated]

I'm not really that torn up about this. While there were good times, IMO, the general direction things had been moving in since Fury was released had been simply negative. As an example, in the post above there are two people saying how HD was worth the price of a PS3. I can add to that sentiment myself. Unfortunately, the opposite is true of the Vita and 2048 - which when I bought it specifically for 2048, I was thoroughly disappointed by it and regret buying a Vita at all. In retrospect, everything good I felt about the game when I first got it was based on what "could have been", and ultimately I now just don't think there was anything good in what SL Liverpool was ever going to do given the direction they were headed. Everything about 2048 is just a poorly implemented attempt at making a game for the CoD crowd, and if WipEout had to go down that path, I think it's for the best that it ended before it got any worse than 2048.

[Medusa]

Well, for me it is extra sad because I was born the same year as Psygnosis. I have now outlived Psygnosis/SLeeds/SLiverpool, the studio which birthed and raised the videogame series which is literally now a part of my being after spending so much time with it.

But I will not lie, the brief exposure I've had to 2048 echoes what amplificated said. Likely SL didn't intend it that way but at least some of us took it that way. (I felt like calling it 2048 was a slap in the face to those who played the first games. "Reboot" in general feels like a slap in the face. Like it wasn't good enough the first time, we have to reboot it. Wth.)

All I can say is what has already been said, that when Sony resurrects the title next (I'm sure they will at some point) I hope someone with great knowledge, love and especially respect for the entire series (not just one or two games but the WHOLE series) is helming the project.

Also that I'm grateful that the people who worked on all the wipeouts poured their hearts and souls into it. Even in games I didn't like, but lots of others did, you could still tell it was made with heart, and that counts for a lot.

[NiktheGreek]

It's been a few days and I haven't had the chance to pop in, but felt that I really should do. The Wipeout series has had a major impact on my views on gaming and sold me a bunch of Sony hardware. Beyond that, the series has had an influence on my aesthetic sensibilities that has shaped at least a small part of my adult career. Only one other gaming series has been this important to me. Suffice to say, the news hit me pretty hard.

Thank you to all that worked at Psygnosis/Studio Liverpool over the years, and best of luck to the employees affected.

[docfo4r]

I am wondering, how did the PS Vita sell anyways? I looked around in the internet and saw lots of negative rep and people complaining & there are just too few games on the market. Maybe that was the ignition flame for sony to "rearrange" their studios etc.
Wipeout 2048 maybe didn't sell well because the Vita itself didn't. But I don't know real facts and it's just speculation.

Yeah, I also hope Wipeout will stay alive. A new Wipeout title would be awesome, but for now I just want them to keep the servers up so we can still enjoy online & crossplay races.
IF a new Wipeout will be developed I believe the team working on it will respect it, I can't imagine that they would totally mess it up. Hmmm I wonder if Sony will tell us what is going to happen with the game series.

[Frailavi]

Lol, what bug vehicles?

I don't think there's a video on youtube of it, but here's what it was:

Weird ships
While the game is loading, hold L1 + R2 + Start + Select. Keep the buttons held until the menu appears. The vehicles will be changed to a bee, snail, pig, flying saucer, and shark.
http://www.cheatcc.com/psx/codes/woxl.html#.UDkKhdaPXng

[Xavier]

I'm really disappointed. 2048 is a beautiful game, but feels so unfinished with its complete lack of options for custom races, and when HD was added to 2048 it looked like the game was going to get a lot of support. Now it just feels... unfinished.

And the 12-18 months of work on a potential PS4 Wipeout, thrown away by Sony? I would have been waiting on line to buy a PS4 on launch day if there had been a Wipeout to buy with it!

[docfo4r]

Might be the same here, Xavier.

Too bad, Sony. Two customers lost for your PS4 already...

@Frailavi lol that's funny^^

[blackwiggle]

And the 12-18 months of work on a potential PS4 Wipeout, thrown away by Sony? I would have been waiting on line to buy a PS4 on launch day if there had been a Wipeout to buy with it!

They won't throw that work away.
You can bet your house on Mick Hocking sending that work to Evolution to finish/stuff up, as if this has been his long term goal all along.

[Richochet]

It's too bad. The only reason I have a PSP, PS Vita, and PS3 are due to the WipEout games. Yea, there are other good PS exclusives, but not good enough to warrant the system except for WipEout! I won't be buying a PS4 now =/

I'm also disappointed because this rules out any chance of a complete 2048 (because let's be honest, it's not quite done). The game still needs an online mode where you can pick any event you want like HD so that you don't have to play combat and low speed class races over and over when you just want to play some online A or A+ races... Also I still wanted at least a speed grid for the HD Vita expansion like 2048's if not a full racebox. Oh well.

The Vita was definitely still worth it. 2048 is still great, it just could have been even better =)

I sincerely hope that the WipEout franchise isn't dead for good this time. It would be such a shame. Even if it was never a major hit, it was still successful and a PS staple.

[MyNameIsBom]

IT's kinda sad to know that there would be no more wipEout ( Im secretly hoping that a game studio comes along and resurrects the series ) I never had that enjoyment out of a game before. :(

I hope later in the future when i get my Uni/College/Whatever degree in Computing/Programming I hope to become a game developer and hopefully create a game that has a similar feel and style to wipEout. :D

[abukii]

We will alway love you, Psyg/ SL.

[BubbaMc]

I'm shocked and dismayed. Been a huge Psygnosis fan since Shadow of the Beast.

Do you think we'll see another Wipeout, fellas?

[Mikahail]

Everything can be considered at the time we speak. I don't think Sony can allow itself to throw to bin at least 12 months of work (if that information is true) on a new WipEout game, but the video game industry is on a strange mood so we could have an new WipEout next year as in ten. All the things we can do is to wait and to keep the community alive.

[docfo4r]

Yeah Mikahail is right.

Keep the community alive, keep playing Wipeout. Let us show to Sony that there is a Wipeout fanbase who would love to see & buy a new Wipeout!

[vincoof]

I don't think Sony can allow itself to throw to bin at least 12 months of work
Believe me, games have been trashed after more work than that.

As for keeping the community alive from our own, I couldn't agree more. That's what we do best and we'll stop at nothing to keep it going !

[blackwiggle]

Well think about this.
Sony always uses some form of Wipeout as a launch title for any new console, if they scrap 12-18 months worth of work and the studio that is producing it, it could only suggest that any planned PS4 has been shelved for the foreseeable future.

The problem Sony have to address, and is the main problem causing their financial woes, is the ridiculous pricing structure for the content being sold through the PSN.
Especially the unexplainable price disparity of the same downloadable content in different countries.
People are fed up with, are refusing to buy it full stop, this is leading to "Brand Resentment" = people feeling all Sony goods are a rip-off, so they are losing sales of their hardware as well.

The price gouging on TV's in certain countries [Australia] is both obvious and undefendable, particular popular models that are exactly the same in different countries are price inflated by more than 85% yet are source from the same place,and have a shorter distance to travel from the factory.
Plus you have the fact the the Aus $1 is buying roughly US$1.10
Price from Sony USA.
HX850
http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666415272
HX750
http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666415284

Price Sony Australia
HX850
http://www.sony.com.au/product/kdl-46hx850
HX750
http://www.sony.com.au/product/kdl-46hx750

It's stuff like this going on worldwide is why Sony is going down the toilet.
All easily checkable via the internet.

Do they honestly think people are going to repeatably allow themselves to be treated as fools.

The biggest electronic chain store is Australia [JB] has now stopped carrying Sony TV's

[amplificated]

Sony doesn't always use a WipEout to launch a new console, and they certainly don't have to, either. If you think they're going to delay the PS4 because there is no WipEout, I'd recommend checking into an insane asylum. I also have absolutely no idea of what the pricing of TV's has to do with anything.

[BubbaMc]

Blackwiggle - price gouging Australians (and other small markets) is par for the course, every company does it. We have a tiny market compared to the USA for example, and they'll charge what they can get away with. Sony is by no means the only company that does this.

Amplificated - his suggestion was that the studio was scrapped because the PS4 was delayed, not the other way around.

[blackwiggle]

Studio Liverpool used to make other games than just Wipeout, it's just that in the last few years Sony had Studio Liverpool pretty much ONLY doing Wipeout.
When the retrenchments came around two years ago, many thought the end of Studio Liverpool was going to come pretty shortly after.
The other stuff the remaining SL staff were doing was working on refining controls for the MOVE and the first 3D game[s]

It was only when reading the job description in advert that appeared for a new position at SL that people realized that the PSP2, as it was named then, was getting closer to release.
This turned out as 2048.
It would seem some other new advancement or console was in the works, otherwise I doubt Sony would of given the go ahead for work to start on a new Wipeout.
Whatever this was seems to have been abruptly cancelled, so the Wipeout project was cancelled as well.
Since all SL eggs were in one basket so to speak, that left them without work.
Hence the closure.

I've yet to see a Sony console that hasn't seen a SL Wipeout used either as a launch title, or to showcase some new feature/ technical advancement.
PURE-Launch title, one of the first with DLC for the PSP
PULSE- first PSP with content [ship] customization
HD- First "downloadable only" game
HD3D -First PS3 3D title
2048-Vita Launch title
That's pretty much all Sony uses Wipeout for.

[GalacticSpartan]

Hopefully it does come back. When I finish college and become a game director, I would want to bring back WipEout if that ever does get into that position. Maybe I can make it for all systems too >.> except for the PC I mean.

[Sch@dows]

I've yet to see a Sony console that hasn't seen a SL Wipeout used either as a launch title, or to showcase some new feature/ technical advancement.
PURE-Launch title, one of the first with DLC for the PSP
PULSE- first PSP with content [ship] customization
HD- First "downloadable only" game
HD3D -First PS3 3D title
2048-Vita Launch title
That's pretty much all Sony uses Wipeout for.Not sure if those example are really relevant. PULSE and ship customization for example ... of course you expect some new features from a new title. And the ship customization wasn't such a thing to brag about (and they didn't).
As for HD which definitely wasn't the first "PSN Only" (and eventually came as retail disc too) game.
But having WipEout as a launch title is also some kind of recognition, telling how the series is associated to Sony's image.

Seeing another studio disappears is a sad thing, especially when it is one which brought our loved games to life.
But that doesn't necessarily means WipEout is over (as far as I read, SL didn't make all wipeout games ... wip3out was made by studio leeds ... so it's still possible to see the license given to another internal studio like Sony has done with the formula one license).
I also wonder how many people for the PS1 era were still in the studio. I really liked the Pure/Pulse era, but I complained a lot about not improving famous flaws of the series title after title (especially AI, collision), and I felt a need for a drastic change. Still hope it can happen.

[ericd7]

It's too bad.
Thanks for the games you made and for the cummunauty it creates.
I am quite new with wipeout but really enjoyed the last 3 years playing HD.
Best wishes to the team's members who are unemployed, i hope you will all work on interessting projects soon.
Congrats for your work!!

[infoxicated]

PULSE- first PSP with content [ship] customization
Pulse was the first PSP title to make use of PSN and PSN/website integration - we found out in the last week of November that we'd be allowed to do that and the game launched three weeks later!

[mdhay]

...except for the PC I mean.

Why not the PC? Racing games can be very successful on PC, just make sure to add controller and in an AG Racing game, joystick support. :P

[GalacticSpartan]

To be honest; games on the PC can be easily hacked, and it'd be modded too much. Maybe for the 720, the PS4 or..maybe with the New wii or whatever they come out with..infact I could make a thread of new ideas incase that does happen. >.>

[Darkdrium777]

Oh woe is the modding community and the blight it brings upon all games.
Meanwhile excuse me while I go play WipEout Pulse in native 1080p, Skyrim with ENB overhauls, custom Unreal maps, Fallout with revamped combat and gameplay, and plenty of other stuff console users can't even dream of.
You have a piracy problem? Don't use ****ing stupid DRM. Put up your game at the actual price it's worth on easy to use services like Steam or GoG (Though the latter I believe don't publish new games). That means no 70$ price tag for Military Shooter Simulator Five Billion That We've Already Seen Before.
You want to keep your users and the buzz they generate around after the game's been played to death? Release worthy DLC and allow modding. Example: Skyrim, Starcraft II.
Seriously, locking down stuff because "Stop liking what I don't like" has got to be the worst excuse ever to justify releasing pieces of crap some producer somewhere calls a game.

You want to know one reason why I like WipEout? It's because it's always been priced very attractively, has a boatload of content and extra options (hence some modding capability thus re-playability) and it's a great game with unique gameplay. One of the ways to expand this is to increase mod-ability, not reduce it (Look at 2048 for an example of what that does, especially to online play). A great way to do that is release it on PC and ship an editor with it. People will never be bored!
Now I understand that with Sony owning the IP WipEout on PC will never happen in the rest of the history of this universe, but man, if you go into game design with that mentality let me tell you you'll have PC users screaming for your blood on some forums. PC users need some basic respect too, that means not releasing stuff like Dark Souls and Darksiders 2 with basically zero configuration options for a start. And if you want to please PC users, you don't use DRM like UPlay or SecuROM (Final Fantasy 7 on PC has got to be the shittiest most recent example) or whatever else that's similar, and can also allow modding.

[dobyblue]

They should have closed Guerilla Games instead.
Sony Liverpool was the WRONG studio to close.

Sony, freaking idiots. Completely screwed up SACD, now completely screwing up the best studio of the last 20 years.

Sorry to the folks at Studio Liverpool/Psygnosis, you've been my faves since 1995.

[Sch@dows]

Sorry but you must admit that SL hasn't done anything outstanding other than WipEout.
Studio Liverpool isn't Psygnosis, it was their main internal studio but they have "only" done :
- WipEout series (every one except Wip3out which was developed by Psygnosis Leeds)
- Formula One series (from 2001 to 2006)
- Colony Wars (only the first 2 games not the 3rd)
- Krazy Ivan (??)
- Lifeforce Tenka (??)

Lots of famous games published by Psygnosis were made by other studios, some of them were internal, other were just under contract (Bizarre Creations with the first 2 Formula One games, Reflections with Destruction Derby, etc).

Moreover, I remember Colin Berry (Former WipEout staff until Fury) saying in 2010 on this very same forum, after Sony announced the dissolution of the WipEout team, that most of the original WipEout staff were not here anymore.

Either way, it is sad to see another studio closing.

[dobyblue]

Sorry but you must admit that SL hasn't done anything outstanding other than WipEout.
Studio Liverpool isn't Psygnosis, it was their main internal studio but they have "only" done :
- WipEout series (every one except Wip3out which was developed by Psygnosis Leeds)
- Formula One series (from 2001 to 2006)


That right there represents probably 75% of my playing time on PSOne through PS3 with the rest made up with Madden and NHL by EA.

:)

From what I gather most of the core team is still under the SCEE umbrella even if it's not as SL, so it doesn't sound like WipEout fans have much to worry about.

[Sch@dows]

Well I can't say that (I only played wipeout(s) and the 1st 2 F1 games ... so not SL), and there was tons of great games during that era (MGS, Resident Evil(s), Tomb Raider(s), GT1/2, Legacy of Kain(s), Crash Bandicoot(s), Tekken(s) and so on ...) but the original WipEout was THE reason I bought a PS1 instead of a Saturn although I was a Sega fanboy for their arcade games.

Pure was also THE reason I bought a PSP earlier than expected (I wanted to wait for Sony to fix issues with hardware and software before but couldn't resist such a temptation ... still my best WipEout so far with 2097 and its link feature).

[blackwiggle]

I wonder how long BigBig studios will be around?
I can't imagine them being very popular with Sony bigwigs.
It was their game "Motorstorm - Arctic Edge" that allowed a exploit that has given people the ability to hack the VITA.
It's since been removed from the PStore

http://www.pspworld.com/sony-psp/news/sony-ps-vita-hacking-expands-with-homebrew-loader-014837.php

[Sch@dows]

You mean THE BigBig Studios that was closed in january by Sony ??

[blackwiggle]

LOL LOL!!!

Yes, THAT studio.
I forgot Sony had already closed then down, my bad.

Mick Hocking is the kiss of death gaming studio wise isn't he! LOL
Like the captain of the Titanic, except he isn't going down with the ship[s]...well not yet anyway.

First BigBig then SL ...... If you were a Evolution employee you certainly wouldn't want to be in a lottery syndicate with the guy.

Michael Denny & Mick Hocking
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoJHMHGSWXA&feature=related

[Arach666]

Yeah,this is really sad news,Psygnosis was one of my favourite developers back in the day,not just because Wipeout,and even though they only did the Wipeout series in the past few years I still liked them very much,now the prospect of not having another Wipeout game is really sad,though maybe in the future sony will release another one,I guess.

It was one of the very few playstation exclusives that I still cared about,without Wipeout there´s really not much else on the PS3 for me sadly.

[Sch@dows]

If you were a Evolution employee you certainly wouldn't want to be in a lottery syndicate with the guy.Indeed. Evolution Studio has only done Motorstorm for the last 6-7 years, with each new title being sold less (could say "half") than the previous one ... Apocalypse has only reach around 310 000 units (I only loved the 1st one).

but like at SL, those guys are talented, and I hope they will keep working for Sony a long time.

[infoxicated]

Sorry but you must admit that SL hasn't done anything outstanding other than WipEout.

Sony Santa Monica hasn't done anything outstanding other than God of War.
Guerilla hasn't done anything outstanding other than Killzone.
Criterion haven't done anything outstanding other than Burnout and NFS (same thing, different name, essentially).
DICE haven't done anything outstanding other than Battlefield.
Tiburon haven't done anything outstanding other than Madden.
Zipper haven't done anything outstanding other than SOCOM.
Bungee haven't done anything outstanding other than Halo.
Rockstar North haven't done anything outstanding other than GTA.
Naughty Dog haven't done anything outstanding other than Jak & Daxter and Uncharted.
Sony London haven't done anything outstanding... *ahem*... erm... since... erm... The Getaway... actually, no, wait, that was rubbish... since... erm... TIF... no, wait, that was also rubbish... since Home... no, wait... since Singstar!

Aside from all of those being sweeping, inaccurate generalisations (just like your own statement), I'm getting an overwhelming impression that producing quality is better than churning out lots of games. Otherwise the whole industry would resemble Zynga and that would be horrible for everyone who appreciates an original, well crafted game.

So yeah, maybe Studio Liverpool only had the two IP's on the go for the last decade. But those of us in Studio Liverpool were quite proud of the million selling WipEout Pure and the million selling F1 titles (name me another racing game on console that would dare to render 22 cars with the calibre of environments that our F1 games had?).

[Sch@dows]

Of course, and if I remember correctly, SL were the first one to implement safety car in a F1 console game (nice feature even today).
The "outstanding" part may have been misunderstood. I didn't really talked about game quality, but more about selling rate and return over investment.

The last F1 game was over 6 years ago. In the meantime, they only did WipEout games (or should have said "Sony only made them do WipEout games"), and except for Pure, the other one didn't sell very well (taking the number from vgchartz).
Pulse seems to have barely reach 300k units, and 2048 didn't reach 200k (but like HD some might have been bought on the PSN).

I didn't say that the studio deserves what happened, or those guys weren't talented (how could I when I'm not even able to do the same). I was "just" saying that having made only one kind of game over the last few years, which didn't sell very well, could be a determining factor in the decision made by Sony (even if that would be probably their fault for not letting them do anything else).

The difference with all the studios you quoted is that their games sell well.
God of War 3 = 4 430k
Killzone 3 = 2 310k
and the same apply for Burnout, NFS, BattleField, GTA, COD, and so on ... whatever the game quality really is.

On a side note, I'm still waiting to see what Santa Monica Studio could do except from God of War. Naughty Dogs has already proven with different franchises and gamestyle (one successful franchise on each Playstation with Crash Bandicoot, Jak & Daxter & Uncharted, and probably The Last of Us too) they are "bankable".

[vincoof]

I'm not sure we can compare the number of successful titles with the quality of games. There is no rule that states that there should be 1 title per 1 company at a given time. A company may have, say, 200 devs and still produce 2 big hits at the same time, or may have 1000 devs and still produce nothing good.

Also, one may not mistake quality of games and quantity of boxes on the shelves. In an ideal world the number of boxes sold (or paid online) would be proportional to the overall quality of a title, but I think we all know it's not always true.

In the end, whether or not a game company deserves its fate (being successful or not) comes down to very subjective opinion.

With that said SL did not deserve to be closed. True story. And objective.

[marcod777Head]

WHAT THE!!!...
I hope there will be another wipeout game... :(

[blackwiggle]

Yes there will be another Wipeout game.

It's debatable who will actually make it.

The way Video Game Making studios are tumbling like dominoes atm, it's anybody's guess who that might be.

From watching what is happening ATM, I'd say Evolution would probabley get closed next, it's looking like Sony doesn't want the liability/cost of owning ANY gaming studio.

Then SCEE will start a new studio to do whatever it wants, when it deems it is financially viable for it to do so.

This is bean counters trying to run a industry relying on people with Artistic talents.

Pretty obvious what the outcome will be.

FAIL!!!!!!!

[vincoof]

Pretty obvious what the outcome will be.

FAIL!!!!!!!

Not sure what leads to this conclusion. If only the ones who made previous WipEout's can make the next WipEout's, then probably you should know that very few devs (if any) of the former WipEout were still working at Studio Liverpool.

I just don't know what could come from another studio. Sure I fear the worst because I would hate if the series was picked up for commercial purposes only, but the truth is I have no idea if whoever ressurects the project could make better than SL or not.

[Terramax]

This is a real shame. I agree that Sony's reason for closing them down was a ridiculous remark. I'd have preferred if they'd been more direct - "we don't think the company is making enough money to justify its existence, hence we're closing them down."

Honestly, I'd also prefer if the Wipeout franchise ends here. It's clearly not a hit seller, and there's not much more you can do with the franchise. They were apparently looking to make the next installment very different from the others, and that worries me. Remember what happened last time (Fusion).

2048 and HD was a pretty good high note to end on, not on some deformed abomination. But, yes, Evolution taking Wipeout duties was the first thing I thought.

[Sch@dows]

I remember reading that Wip3out was done by Psygnosis Leeds and not the Liverpool Studio, and that one was pretty good too.

[JABBERJAW]

Is there any possibility that whoever takes them will finish up the work?, perhaps with some of the staff they absorb? Surely, the people working on additional comment mentioned the game was not done, heres what we are working on for additional content. I would contact X, but who has the game? Also 2048 is not a high note as we cannot actually play eachother, and is worse than never having the game, since its fun, BUT %####.

[G-Hob]

I remember reading that Wip3out was done by Psygnosis Leeds and not the Liverpool Studio, and that one was pretty good too.

Still my favourite. And it had customizable controls, 13 years before they couldn't be bothered to put them in Wipeout 2048.

[vincoof]

Honestly, I'd also prefer if the Wipeout franchise ends here. It's clearly not a hit seller, and there's not much more you can do with the franchise. They were apparently looking to make the next installment very different from the others, and that worries me. Remember what happened last time (Fusion).
I agree that Fusion was a bit disappointing, hopefully they did much better later (one may say "less worse") but if another studio develops a sequel there is a small chance the first title will be disappointing for the same reasons.

I yet have to comment the "there's not much more you can do with the franchise" part. History showed us resurrections which proved very successful, one recent that comes to my mind being Street Fighter IV - though it was a partial resurrection since Capcom (the former developer of Street Fighter) co-developed Street Fighter IV.


Is there any possibility that whoever takes them will finish up the work?
If you'd like a polished version of the WipEout 2048 Vita game as is, I don't see any reason why they would update the game. I mean, as gamers we would love to, but publishers have no interest in doing so.

Other options would be porting the game to another platform (most probably PS3) and hope the port would add features, or getting another title (WipEout 2049 ?) with some updates.

[Clair_Lane-003]

First tDR closes and Colin Fawcett died and now this, I was very shocked when I heard the story I really love the wipEout series every though HD was my first game but Destruction Derby was the first game I played from Psygnosis in the late 90's and wipEout was inspirational to me with the graphic arts. So I do say R.I.P wipEout and Sudio Liverpool / Psygnosis.

[XoPachi]

Still my favourite. And it had customizable controls, 13 years before they couldn't be bothered to put them in Wipeout 2048.

2048 was still fun, but I don't know why they removed so many features. No custom soundtracks? No custom races? Local OR online? No control of the stock soundtrack? And wasn't there supposed to be some AR thing? PulsE will always be my favorite (haven't played HD on the PS3 yet).
inb4 PULSE IZ 2 SLO!!!!!1

[UnleashSonic]

I've read through every single comment from the previous 21 pages, and I have to say, it's lovely seeing everyone sympathize and express their grief at the news, and also their personal experiences of being inundated to WipEout :) Also, nice to see Australia getting some recognition, the prices we pay are just ridiculous.
Late to the party, I know, but I found out on the same day everyone else did and have been dealing with the news away from WipEout Zone. All my friends that also love WipEout, there are about 5/6 of them, are also devastated by the news of closure from SL. We've been playing WipEout Pure at school everyday since the news, and I've been playing Zone every night :D
Best wishes to the SL staff, I loved the facebook page they had with 2048, a real shame it's all gone now :(

[terra-wrists]

:( very sad :(

[scarfrogers]

indeed Terra-Wrists. But lets make the most of the time left and keep playing online! Some great races with you recently :)

[FEISAR_ARCH]

Look at it this way, with Studio Liverpool gone, WipEout is now public domain, unless Sony still holds the rights.

[r1c47]

Of course Sony still holds the rights.
How do you think they are still selling games with the Wipeout name.
Things don't just go public domain just because the studio that made the game doesn't exist anymore. That's not how things work.

[Sch@dows]

Thanks Feisar_arc, you made my day n__n

[FEISAR_ARCH]

Oh, does that mean I can't post race footage of Wip3out Special Edition to YouTube?

[Sch@dows]

You can, and Sony could probably ask for removal of it, but i'm pretty sure it won't happen (there is already plenty of videos)

[anvilmas]

This is now my wallpaper. I only realised the Studio Liverpool closure happened yesterday.

[Amaroq Dricaldari]

Now is probably not the time, but I heard that Sony has a new manager now. I am not sure wether that is good or bad news for us, but I have a mildly positive feeling about it.

[docfo4r]

On the Wipeout 2048 Facebook page a simple post appeared...

WE. ARE. ALIVE.

With an awesome picture. Dunno what that means though

[BubbaMc]

Yeah I just saw that too. Good news!

[Knux_Chaotix]

The 2048 page is active... WHAT COULD THIS MEAN?!?!?!?

[stin]

Means.....it is alive!!!......well, l hope!

Stevie:)

[MarcoM]

very curious indeed....

[Medusa]

Mildly positive feelings FTW!

A pic of an AG-Systems respawn. And how pathetic is it that my first thought was, "Darn, respawns are still in".

I hope "WE" is as all encompassing as it sounds, great news devs-formerly-known-as-SL!

[trk_rkd]

On the Wipeout 2048 Facebook page a simple post appeared...

WE. ARE. ALIVE.

With an awesome picture. Dunno what that means though

Brilliant! Hope its the full team. Interest in PS4 just went from 0 to supersonic.

[docfo4r]

Haha but remember they also posted they gave away control of their FB account so it could be some ppl close to the project just trying to keep the spirit alive.

[mangaroo]

That is my worry too docfo4r...hopefully we'll hear some new info soon. The would be the worst trolling wipeout fans had to suffer through....I would expect there would be a lot of resentment after that if it was the case! Let me check twitter for the regulars..

[Amaroq Dricaldari]

on the wipeout 2048 facebook page a simple post appeared...

We. Are. Alive.

With an awesome picture. Dunno what that means though

What?!

Edit: This forum really doesn't like words in All Caps.

[mangaroo]

I'm hearing mixed news all over so still just waiting on some confirmation....

[chalovak]

Strange things are happening.
Colin Berry's just posted a response concerning this We.Are.Alive thing, now his comment is gone!

[Hellfire_WZ]

Can I just ask you all not to believe anything you may read on neoGAF over this?

[chalovak]

Well, you know... clinging to a straw. :)

[Hellfire_WZ]

I'll say here what I said in response to the Facebook post. Has anyone considered that this message may be directly to us as fans of Wipeout to let us all know that there are still people at Sony who care about the community? Just because the Studio itself is gone doesn't mean that we have to sit back and let the game die. Wipeout IS alive, and it will be for as long as we - the community - keep it that way.

-------------------------------------

UPDATE - From the 2048 page

Good afternoon Pilots

As you may be aware; Studio Liverpool shut its doors on the 22nd of August 2012.

It was a very sad day- the end of an era and will never be forgotten. While we wait for news on the future of WipEout, Online play will continue to be supported and there will be plenty of WipEout community events, giveaways and goodies to look forward to!

WipEout’s passion will live on - Together we are stronger and together we will keep WipEout alive.

WE ♥ WO!


Exactly as I said, it was a shout out to the community.

[Sch@dows]

I though it was a some kind of announcement of WipEout future being unveiled shortly, or maybe 2048 which would keep being updated/fixed (as he really need to) but obviously not u__u
Very disappointed.

[scarfrogers]

Everyone keep playing online! :)

[trk_rkd]

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/wipeout-to-be-resurrected-by-sony-s-evolution-studio/0103011

(MCV UK are big and credible, so I'm buying their story).

I only have one question: why? Why would you hand a franchise from an incredibly consistent developer who have been working on it for decades to an obvious b-team? This makes some of the gossip about evolution and scee management having it in for SL all the more credible. Extremely disappointing if true.

[Hellfire_WZ]

And they've already admitted they were wrong, check the update on that story

Seriously guys, treat any story on major news sites over the next day or so regarding the future of Wipeout development with a massive pinch of salt. A lot of people read too far into that message and it'll take a while for all the Chinese whispers to die down.

[trk_rkd]

yeah you're right, cheers for pointing that out. and yeah, it's probably a good idea just to forget about it all for a bit. hmmph. if anything it's nice to see how much love there still is for SL. gone (?) but most definitely not forgotten.

[docfo4r]

Let's just see what the future brings. :) Let's enjoy what we have!

[Terramax]

The Escapist has posted it too. They're a bit skeptical, but overall the general consensus is that something is brewing.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/119628-Studio-Liverpool-WE-ARE-ALIVE

[AG-SYSTEMS]

It may be a good thing, but like Hellfire said, lets wait until we have something more solid.

[yawnstretch]

Looks like those looking for zombie mode got their wish after all.

[JABBERJAW]

I am still giving a little hope for adhoc track selection and custom controls to be implemented. I know its a 1% chance at best.