So long Studio Liverpool and thanks for all the Feisar

Sony’s announcement of the closure of Studio Liverpool marks the end of an era for PlayStation. An era that spanned three home consoles, top-quality games, and – for the PlayStation brand – 17 years of wonderful gaming. The iconic Wipeout series continually set a technological benchmark throughout that period while the studio and their games are in the DNA of every PlayStation gamer, making the news of their demise as sad as it is shocking.

[KingofGambling]

Gaming community will miss you Sony Liverpool.

[BitbyDeath]

Apparently this merger was planned years ago, it's just finally taken place now -

http://www.joystiq.com/2009...

[kwyjibo]

Merging? Are you joking? This is a closure. All projects cancelled.

[BitbyDeath]

The studio was closed but *most* of the staff were moved to evolution studios as per the article.

[kwyjibo]

"As per the article"?

What article? Not this one, or any that I've read.

Here's Sony's official statement, "We will be looking to relocate the team members throughout the studios, but unfortunately some redundancies will be necessary and in those cases we will assist staff in any way we can."

No mention of Evolution, definitely no confirmation that "most" employees will survive.

You're making light of job losses and a studio closure in order to whitewash for your favourite publicly traded company, or just to appear "right" on the internet. Well done.

[soljah]

so zipper and now liverpool 2 of the biggest sony development houses that helped build the playstation brand in the beginning. oh well i guess nothing lasts forever

[Nicaragua]

difference being that zipper have been pretty mediocre since their PS2 glory days whereas studio liverpool have been consistently good.

[Adolph Fitler]

Sucks that now these guys along with Cambridge Studios & Team Soho.
Whats next? I'm getting very nervous that Team Ico may be next seeing there newest game hasn't been seen or heard of for a couple of years.

[abzdine]

Team Ico hasn't released a game since 2004 or 06, i prefer Sony to close them rather than Liverpool who released 3 games since 07 (WipEout HD, Fury and 2048).

Ico, SoTC or TLG are great games but they are not selling well and they take too long time to make.

[torchic]

controversial opinion but I agree.

Studio Liverpool is to Sony as the lungs are to the human body. not the most major organ but still a vital one nonetheless. am I right in saying that Wipeout is the only Sony exclusive that has appeared on every Sony console? it must've been a really difficult decision for Sony though.

would rather Team ICO get the cut than Studio Liverpool.

[abzdine]

it's the end of playstation for me cause WipEout is PlayStation and PlayStation is WipEout.

it's the reason for me to but a Sony system cause i'm a huge fan of this legendary saga.

i'm seriously planning to boycott next Sony systems if there is no WipEout on them.

[ravinash]

Wipeout was one of the first games to come out when the PS3 started and one of the first downloadable.
It was also one of the first to use 3D when it was updated later on.
Sony Liverpool really did their bit to push the playstation brand and get in there to use the latest tech, so it is really sad to see them go.
I really think Sony has made the wrong decision here and can only hope that their going to use the talent in Sony Liverpool to make new companies or backup the current developers Sony has.

[abzdine]

they closed the studio they didn't say they cancel and stop WipEout. we'll have to wait and see how it's gonna be next and wait for a sony comment on the subject

[TBM]

really boycotting a console because one game might not be on it? last i saw i didn't buy my PS1, 2, or 3 just for wipeout lol. yea I'll be purchasing the the next for the variety they give me.

this was a tough business decision for them and i feel bad for the studios that got closed this gen, but business is business and i hope the people find work soon.

[kwyjibo]

Such a shame. Liverpool studio has consistently delivered quality games - something that not all Sony studios can say. Yet they're the ones getting closed down, this doesn't feel right - it feels political.

[Cajun Chicken]

Seriously makes me wonder why they didn't just close Evolution, I've never once been wow'd by Motorstorm and I'm pretty sure Wipeout sold more.

Maybe Sony'll start doing something with all the IPs that they own since the Psygnosis buyout (except for Lemmings), but personally, the death of this studio is a nail in the coffin for what the Plsyatstion stands for and I am not at all happy with this overall decision.