Liverpool Studio's to close?

[DJ-Daz]

Damn I hope it's not true.
https://www.wipeoutzone.com/news.php?id=160

Studio Liverpool Internal Development shut down by Sony
January 29th 2010

It's with a heavy heart I report that Sony Computer Entertainment has taken the decision to terminate almost everyone at Studio Liverpool Internal Development today.

This essentially brings to an end a long history of game development at Studio Liverpool, formarly Psygnosis.

I feel privileged to have been a part of it for six years. Right now, I don't have a whole lot to say other than to hope that all the great folks who worked there can find new jobs soon.
The end of the track for team WipEout?
January 28th 2010

Sony Computer Entertainment is poised to announce sweeping redundancies at Studio Liverpool on Friday the 29th of January 2010, with the obvious casualties being from the team that created the recently completed the WipEout HD and Fury titles.

What does this mean for the WipEout franchise long term?

Only time will tell - although it's clear that the flagship series was being mothballed for a while anyway, after a relative glut of titles since 2005's WipEout Pure.

WipEoutZone extends best wishes to everyone affected by this corporate cost-cutting maneuver.

[Symonator]

wipeout should of been wiped-out years ago lol.

nah must suck for the guys losing jobs though, not a good sign at all.
Especially when we (UK) are becoming a un-employed nation.

As for wipeout franchise, oh well.. i won't miss that at all, pretty bland game.
I'm not much of a racing fan as you all know, so wipeout always seemed pretty shit to me..

I'm sure some of the devs might find other spots here n there.

[InfiniteStates]

That's a pretty stupid move by Sony IMO... I know Wipeout's a kind of Marmite game, but it's also a very popular exclusive. It wouldn't surprise me to see M$ think about picking up the bill.

[codayop]

Crikes.

Bland, marmite, pretty shit - just some of the words used to describe Wipeout in this thread so far - Professional should be at the top of that list of descriptions.

I still find myself dipping into this game and it always blows me away.

The team who put this together have been sacrificed to save the bigger good. (SONY) they can have no doubt when looking other job positions, that their previous work will guarantee them a place at any studio they apply to.

Companies come and go but people remain.

[DJ-Daz]

Dont take it personally Coda, I also think it's a brilliant game. Challenging but brilliant.
When infinite says marmite, I think he means "love it or hate it".

From what I've read since, it's more of a downsizing excercise. Which means it's probably going to close eventually anyway.
They're cutting back on various projects and keeping the most likely to survive alive.

No doubt Sony will hold on to all the rights no matter what happens. It's their company after all.

[InfiniteStates]

When infinite says marmite, I think he means "love it or hate it".

Yeah, don't get me wrong - I love me some Wipeout (secretly glad Zico getting thw chop though mwah ha haa - sorry. Not). It's also incredibly technically proficient. I think Sony may have put more stock in these adverts they were trying to install into it, but from what I've read (but not experienced) it was a catastrophic failure.

Still pretty stupid to axe a team that have a great reputation and a great feel for the hardware. But then we might not know the full story... Maybe SL demanded a load of cash or something... They say there's 3 sides to every story: his, her's and the truth.

[DJ-Daz]

2 and a half years later and it's happening for real?