He left in 2007 or 2008, since then London, Evo and Cambridge were shrunk, Liverpool and BigBig were closed.
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Layoffs at DriveClub developer Evolution, [UPDATE: 55 laid off (~50% of studio)]
- Thread starter Quentyn
- Start date
He left in 2007 or 2008, since then London, Evo and Cambridge were shrunk, Liverpool and BigBig were closed.
Haha. I'm sure once Sony realizes #Driveclub was a genre defining arcade style throwback masterpiece things will turn around.
Yoshida has a lot to answer for.
I can see him doing the same to MM in a few years if their next project doesn't pan out.
Correct. It sounds horrible.
Leona Lewis
Banned
Even ignoring the team's technical and logistical fuck-ups, I don't see how any other result would have greeted this game.
It seemed redundant from the get-go, and I still question why the game was green-lit to begin with.
It seemed redundant from the get-go, and I still question why the game was green-lit to begin with.
I actually still need to grind out a few more ranks online for the platinum, I should get back on that.
Because I feel they could do a lot more with a fully fledged sequel, especially with regards to improving the graphics engine, weather effects and feature set.
It sounds terrible. Like a prelude to a future studio closure terrible.
Duxxy3
Member
Time to bring Phil home. Shu is a lovable guy, but worldwide studios have really struggled under his watch.
Kacho
Member
LMAO you are so on point sometimes it's scary.
ProfessorMoran
Member
I hope Rushy is alright.
Nah Liverpool was also Yoshida. Wish there was some backlash against this. First it was no Wipeout and now it's no Motorstorm.
the sucker punch layoffs had nothing to do with sales of the game.
people continue to laugh at the notion that first party has been struggling under his watch... i don't see how it can continue to be ignored.
ShogunDarius
Member
I kinda have to agree, first party on vita is non existant and the FP on PS4 has been woeful
I'd hate to see what your definition of "bad" is
This could work pretty well for the game. It is already structured in a way that makes adding tracks and cars really easy. If they keep enough people to regularly release content packs and game updates, then there really isn't much need for a sequel. I guess it just depends on how well the content packs do for them. I also see the PS+ version becoming an entry level free to play version of the game with the rest of the on disc content being offered as content packs.
NullPointer
Member
I guess I look to Warframe as an example of how much can be changed in a game purely through in-place patching and updates. That includes UI overhauls, engine work, and the introduction of major new features. Current gen seems to allow a lot more flexibility here and I love it.
But sure, if they need to scrap a lot and rebuild and its something that wouldn't be feasible through updates, then sure, a full-on sequel makes more sense.
They have been doing this with patches.
Thing is stuff like Uncharted, LittleBigPlanet, Motorstorm, inFAMOUS all greenlit by Phil Harrison, Shu gave us Beyond Two Souls, Knack, The Order etc
I like how you conveniently left out bloodborne.
Duxxy3
Member
The one area that can be said to have improved is studio japan, and even that can be traced back to moving Allan Becker from SSM to Japan.
zomgbbqftw
Banned
It literally sounds like they are holding onto a few people so they can launch the PS+ version and flesh out the season pass and after that they will close the studio down. It's a shame but Evolution fucked up too many times, their last major success was probably the original Motorstorm on PS3, since then it has been a downwards trend and DriveClub has been botched from the beginning with a year delay and then all of the launch difficulties. Sony have been patient with them, too patient if anything.
I very much like the idea of supporting DriveClub long term as a service, I don't think we need DriveClub 2.
DriveClub of March is a very different game than DriveClub of October.
Let the rest of the team work on something very different - Motorstorm, Open World racer, Kart Racer, whatever.
One DriveClub with strong post launch support is enough.
DriveClub of March is a very different game than DriveClub of October.
Let the rest of the team work on something very different - Motorstorm, Open World racer, Kart Racer, whatever.
One DriveClub with strong post launch support is enough.
Pie and Beans
Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
Saw it coming as soon as the delay from PS4 launch occurred. Became a surefire thing when the launch was a shitfest of rolling negative PR.
Still think Sony made the absolute wrong choice in saving/securing Evolution over Studio Liverpool (and here we are at the end of that choice), but best of luck to those now jobhunting.
Still think Sony made the absolute wrong choice in saving/securing Evolution over Studio Liverpool (and here we are at the end of that choice), but best of luck to those now jobhunting.
I haven't played it yet, but yeah one game built on an old idea okay.
Banjo-Kazooie
Member
What...?
Feels like their internal studios are trending towards being extremely safe and hits focused. The more interesting/experimental projects are from external studios that they happen to own/bought IPs for.
Sho_Nuff82
Member
It was a best-selling game in the UK over the holidays, because Sony gave away a copy with every PS4 they shipped.
You don't downsize a dev of the #1 holiday game unless that #1 has a huge asterisk next to it.
funkystudent
Member
To be fair to Sony. Most publishers have bailed out of the UK market. Its basically just MS now.
I am surprised SCEE hasnt tried to open a studio in central or eastern europe or Sweden though. Plenty of talent in those areas. All their eggs where in the UK dev scene basket and it fell apart when the economy turned.
MrNyarlathotep
Banned
I'm not sure "you're doing maintenance work on DriveClub forever" actually is better than just shutting down the studio to be honest.
It's LoudNinja, I don't think I've ever seen him be down on any Sony related news.
wat. Its a brand new IP. It counts
DidntKnowJack
Member
What a shitty day for video games. Jesus.
Fuck it. Not good at all.
Can ony hope that those left without a chair when the music stopped, finds one again quickly (hope its nice and comfy when they find it).
As for those that are left, can only hope the 'service' carries on beyond the current season pass. I know that I would buy day one (worth every penny thus far)
Can ony hope that those left without a chair when the music stopped, finds one again quickly (hope its nice and comfy when they find it).
As for those that are left, can only hope the 'service' carries on beyond the current season pass. I know that I would buy day one (worth every penny thus far)
Incremental updates to the engine. But with a sequel they could really let loose on the consoles capabilities. This is their first game on the PS4, and as much as Driveclub looks incredible, I'd imagine they could still improve the engine a hell of a lot more with a sequel.
bananafactory
Banned
Did they say it's permanent?
Could just be focusing on DC for the meantime, I don't get the sense from that article that they aren't making any more games.
NullPointer
Member
If its truly a service there should be more to it than just maintenance.
I don't like the Souls games sorry. But I did miss out The Last of Us, Shu redeemed.
You can't straight up improve a graphics engine through patches. You can add minor changes but not what a full development cycle would see.
very unfortunate evo studios used to be one of sonys major studios.
SerTapTap
Member
Not good news, though focusing work on Driveclub isn't the worst fate I guess. Time for a second Season Pass I guess after this one?
They've been saying it's a service for months. It's just extra content like the season pass, the added free updates like the photo mode, new tracks, replays and so on. I think people assuming microtransactions are off the mark. New cars and shit, sure. But DC isn't designed for consumable microtransactions or anything like that.
They've been bumping up the feature set for sure though. New engine, probably not but uh...not like it needs one, mostly just specific things need sprucing up like some of the foliage, water, some aliasing here and there
They've been saying it's a service for months. It's just extra content like the season pass, the added free updates like the photo mode, new tracks, replays and so on. I think people assuming microtransactions are off the mark. New cars and shit, sure. But DC isn't designed for consumable microtransactions or anything like that.
They've been bumping up the feature set for sure though. New engine, probably not but uh...not like it needs one, mostly just specific things need sprucing up like some of the foliage, water, some aliasing here and there
ProfessorMoran
Member
Wipeout sold like shit, what do you expect Shu to do?
I feel really bad for Evolution because I love Drive Club but obviously the launch fuckup was their doing and Motorstorm 3 didn't do well and there were always going to be repercussions coming.
Layoffs happen to almost every studio following the release of a title. While the fact that these are happening so much longer after release may have a lot to do with their focus lately on improving DriveClub's feature set with new things, which would just delay the inevitable, it still seems to be a little break from the normal 'ship and layoff' tendency most studios go through between projects. I think I agree with him/her, though. Focusing on DC as a service sounds more like they'll have a lot more staff safe than we normally would in a traditional period of transition between projects. Nothing about this sounds overly concerning, and since DriveClub is absolutely fantastic, I honestly can't wait to see what they're able to do with it over an extended period.
Of course, it's a Sony first party studio, so layoffs here are equivalent to MEGATON ANNOUNCEMENTS these days...