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[Deleted member 80556]

God damn it, this is so sudden and unexpected. I hope all of you guys can find an excellent job for your talents in a good place.

I bet that the game was envisioned as a medium-tier game (AA game). And since Sony is already in the small or AAA game, they must have cancelled it. But I don't get laying off the staff. Unless they want to make space for new talent, I don't see why they're doing that.

Not to mention that it's not like SCE is doing bad with the PS4. But I don't know if that game does to game development.

Yes that dud that shipped 2.1 million copies,which is likely the best selling exclusive.

Tell that to Irrational.

I bet SSM is out of any Irrational ex staff 'to go' list right now.

 

[PeakPointMatrix]

I really don't understand some of the comments/reactions here. "Sony needs more games, not less, blah blah." We don't know at which capacity that stuff was working or which game they were working on in the first place.

Exactly.

It's like people want another The Last Gaurdian situation of a poorly planned project in development hell, hemorrhaging money for years and years only to release with a tepid response at best. Sometimes a project just isn't coming together, no matter how many changes it goes through. Sometimes the leadership or team just isn't hitting the right chemistry to achieve the desired results for a project. While this game is cancelled, this means they can allocate the funds to a project that inspires more confidence.

There are a lot of people that love shouting the death of the industry at any chance they get, when really this is a low key, run of the mill executive decision that you see everyday in a creative industry that must juggle hundreds of projects at once. I'm not defending, nor celebrating layoffs, and I hope those people land on their feet (they will), but this is nothing new, and a laughable event to tag as the beginning of the end of this industry.

 

[PBY]

They should fire more. Studios are way too big nowdays.

Also I will never understand why people feel sorry/bad for others getting fired. It is so weird.

Basic human empathy?

 

[Corto]

Seriously fuck publishers. If we had some serious creativity in the industry instead of moving towards making every game play similarly we wouldn't have this problem.

People don't want to buy the same shit year after year.

They do though. These things are cyclical. We're starting a new cycle, so it's open for someone to sweep in and make the staple IP(s) for the next years. Every big player is holding their breaths trying to be the one that better reads the market trends and hits jackpot.

 

[Gestault]

This is just a regular influx of ramp ups and layoffs that happen in any industry.

Regular ramp-ups and layoffs happen when a project is beginning and after it's ended. An existing, staffed project being cancelled prior to completion and that team being let go isn't part of that dynamic.

 

[Vizzeh]

They should fire more. Studios are way too big nowdays.

Also I will never understand why people feel sorry/bad for others getting fired. It is so weird.

Are you human?

 

[noobasuar]

I thought you were a Nintendo fan?

Okay let me put it another way if you're going to release games in the same franchise than you have to give us better versions.

There's a problem when cod4, battlefield 2, etc are better games than what came after and they've been making worse games year after year. There's no quality control.

 

[freshlylickedcat]

This industry is doomed. Savor it while it's still here, guys.

Far too many studios have shut down these last couple years, some of them my were my favorites. If anything were to happen to Atlus, or Naughty Dog I'd quit gaming forever.

I really feel for the developers who lost their jobs. Imagine creating quality games that sell well and then losing your job soon thereafter. Ruthless stuff.

 

[LookAtMeGo]

Well that's fine for activision since they carved out thier niche. It's every other publisher that's to blame for thinking they could pursade CoD fans to buy thier games without realizing that these people could give two shits about any other game other than CoD.

But then you realize these people making the decisions haven't ever played a videogame in thier life so it's a surprise the industry as it is has lasted this long.

well when you put it that way....
thats why I love indy games. They are free to let the creative juice flow. I guess its harder for publishers to want to take a risk with new ideas when the put so much money into it. I wish this were not the case.

I hope the people affected by this layoff find new jobs soon. Having worked at SSM must look good on the resume.

 

[Deleted member 80556]

They should fire more. Studios are way too big nowdays.

Also I will never understand why people feel sorry/bad for others getting fired. It is so weird.

What the actual fuck. Some people here are actual developers who know how it is. Some others have meet these guys in real life. These people aren't just freaking numbers you should manipulate to make some extra dollars more.

No kidding we feel empathy. Jesus.

 

[EL CUCO]

I think Microsoft is making better business decisions. While Sony is spending all this money on studios that are releasing duds like KZ:SF and knack, Microsoft is locking in 3rd party exclusives without all the extra baggage.

Hard times for the industry, not sure why anybody would want to work in it.

Cancelling production on a new IP for a thisty fanbase to rehash an old one is definitely the way to go.

 

[Gestault]

Also I will never understand why people feel sorry/bad for others getting fired. It is so weird.

Honest question, how old are you? Because you're either a sociopath or someone without enough life experience to understand the effect on the individual and family life of someone being laid off for things out of their control.

 

[Zephyx]

So they moved to a new bigger building and now this?
Something strange behind all this...

It's not that strange if they are restructuring or doing a reorganization. Moving to a bigger building that can house multiple people instead of having several offices for those people streamlines the working process and may be seen as a long term benefit. I just hope all the people that got laid off can find jobs soon.

 

[Yawnier]

Also I will never understand why people feel sorry/bad for others getting fired. It is so weird.

The fuck is this

 

[cebri.one]

This sucks, hopefully those talented people will find a new job soon. I wonder which project got cancelled, but if 50 people were working on it, i bet it was in a very early stage.

I hope this is not Stig's new IP.

It is probably, as GOW is a given and Balrog's team formed just a few months ago.

 

[Carl]

Exactly.

It's like people want another The Last Gaurdian situation of a poorly planned project in development hell, hemorrhaging money for years and years only to release with a tepid response at best. Sometimes a project just isn't coming together, no matter how many changes it goes through. Sometimes the leadership or team just isn't hitting the right chemistry to achieve the desired results for a project. While this game is cancelled, this means they can allocate the funds to a project that inspires more confidence.

There are a lot of people that love shouting the death of the industry at any chance they get, when really this is a low key, run of the mill executive decision that you see everyday in a creative industry that must juggle hundreds of projects at once. I'm not defending, nor celebrating layoffs, and I hope those people land on their feet (they will), but this is nothing new, and a laughable event to tag as the beginning of the end of this industry.

I agree completely. Like i said before, should they just churn out every game that gets prototyped, just for more exclusives? Some people have insane ideas of how things work.

 

[Deleted member 80556]

It's not that strange if they are restructuring or doing a reorganization. Moving to a bigger building that can house multiple people instead of having several offices for those people streamlines the working process and may be seen as a long term benefit. I just hope all the people that got laid off can find jobs soon.

I guess it must be this. The move to another building must have triggered a reorganization to be more efficient. Kinda when you move to a new home you want to be more tidy and all of that.

Still, sad to see some of those guys go, specially after the video about why it's so great to work there.

 

[F4r0_Atak]

That photo they posted a month ago certainly didn't look like anywhere near 220. 150 tops maybe.

Edit: This photo


http://blog.us.playstation.com/2014/01/29/santa-monica-studio-update-new-site-new-hq/

162. I guess that happened before the rumor reached us.

When you think about it... the people they fired might not even be actual devs, at least not most of them.

 

[benny_a]

Bioshock Infinite sold over 4 million copies, Tomb Raider sold over 3.4 million, both didn't sell enough and then came the layoffs. These Sony exclusives are only selling because it's all we have.

Yup yup

 

[Occam]

This is not a good start for the new generation. Firing the people who create the content that fuels the sales of your new hardware is entirely the wrong way to save money and will only lead to making less money. Laying off 50 Sony Santa Monica employees could well have worse effects than laying off 5,000 others who are not invloved in the creative process.

 

[Sword Of Doom]

RAD has 110 people.

I doubt they'll have that many once the crunch for The Order is over

 

[Galactic Barret]

look at how many games ssm involves themselves with:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCE_Santa_Monica_Studio

they were rumoured to be working on 3 big games, i believe.

You're the best.

This a lost oppurtunity on Sony's part. So many developers experienced in porting and collaboration with new teams, they would have been perfect for Corsi's new team. I'm torn between the logistics behind the layoffs, and the blue-skying of what could (should?) have been.

 

[Deleted member 80556]

I feel as sad for the guy or gal who had to choose who had to go. Man, it must be shitty to shape the future of the career for 50 people.

At least they have the fact that they worked on one of the best studios in the industry. The same as the Irrational staff, they could go almost anywhere and they would accept them.

 

[noobasuar]

I agree completely. Like i said before, should they just churn out every game that gets prototyped, just for more exclusives? Some people have insane ideas of how things work.

Too true. There's a great old GFW podcast where they interview Ken Levine and he talks about how the whole "Big Daddy" idea was almost a disaster until the very last minute and if it didn't come together the game would probably not be the success that it ended up being.

Game development can be like lightening in a bottle. Sometimes things come together beautfiuly and sometimes things just don't end up working out.

 

[Syphon Filter]

god of war ascension not selling as well as 3 and people on here saying the franchise can't be saved and its the reason for the cuts

You realized it never had a chance to sell as much as 3 right? It was a spinoff and also done by another dev.

 

[PBY]

Too true. There's a great old GFW podcast where they interview Ken Levine and he talks about how the whole "Big Daddy" idea was almost a disaster until the very last minute and if it didn't come together the game would probably not be the success that it ended up being.

Game development can be like lightening in a bottle. Sometimes things come together beautfiuly and sometimes things just don't end up working out.

Yeah, but I don't think a 50 person layoff is a normal part of that flow at this point.

 

[Sword Of Doom]

I think Microsoft is making better business decisions. While Sony is spending all this money on studios that are releasing duds like KZ:SF and knack, Microsoft is locking in 3rd party exclusives without all the extra baggage.

Hard times for the industry, not sure why anybody would want to work in it.

I couldn't disagree more. On principle alone I don't support Microsoft for that exact reason.

 

[StoopKid]

Exactly.

It's like people want another The Last Gaurdian situation of a poorly planned project in development hell, hemorrhaging money for years and years only to release with a tepid response at best. Sometimes a project just isn't coming together, no matter how many changes it goes through. Sometimes the leadership or team just isn't hitting the right chemistry to achieve the desired results for a project. While this game is cancelled, this means they can allocate the funds to a project that inspires more confidence.

There are a lot of people that love shouting the death of the industry at any chance they get, when really this is a low key, run of the mill executive decision that you see everyday in a creative industry that must juggle hundreds of projects at once. I'm not defending, nor celebrating layoffs, and I hope those people land on their feet (they will), but this is nothing new, and a laughable event to tag as the beginning of the end of this industry.

this

 

[RustyNails]

Can we blame GOW: Ascension for this? It never should have happened in my opinion.

Also I have a general question about studios. How does SSM which has an ok record of putting out games has to let people go, but some studios like Remedy that made only 3 games in the last decade survive?

 

[Cyberia]

Looks like Adam Puhl (lead combat designer on GoW I, II & III) is part of the layoffs. Edited his bio. Was involved with Stig's project.

 

[Carl]

Too true. There's a great old GFW podcast where they interview Ken Levine and he talks about how the whole "Big Daddy" idea was almost a disaster until the very last minute and if it didn't come together the game would probably not be the success that it ended up being.

Game development can be like lightening in a bottle. Sometimes things come together beautfiuly and sometimes things just don't end up working out.

Quite right. I know 50 people being laid off isn't exactly normal, but some people here are acting as though every game in preproduction should just be made, regardless of how well it works, simply so Sony have more exclusives.

 

[Guymelef]

Could be the layoffs for people that usually worked in not Santa Monica own games?
God of War III and Ascension are the only internal games of PS3 generation.

 

[Can Crusher]

Ugh.... Here I thought SSM was a Sony untouchable... Not looking good.

 

[PeakPointMatrix]

Regular ramp-ups and layoffs happen when a project is beginning and after it's ended. An existing, staffed project being cancelled prior to completion and that team being let go isn't part of that dynamic.

It absolutely is. If you think every staffed project that is put into production is going to work out fine, suffer no problems, won't fall apart from to creative differences, incompetent leadership, or resource mismanagement, and is destined for release no matter what, I've got a bridge to sell you.

Things happen. Projects go awry, for any number of reasons. All we see as the audience are the layoffs, but there are any number of factors going on behind the scenes that ultimately lead to cancelations and downsizing. It is part of that dynamic, because it happens all the time, and I assure you there are many more instances of cancellations and layoffs the general audience will remain blissfully unaware of.

Also I will never understand why people feel sorry/bad for others getting fired. It is so weird.

What the fuck is this shit.

 

[Gleethor]

They should fire more. Studios are way too big nowdays.

Also I will never understand why people feel sorry/bad for others getting fired. It is so weird.

Calling @neogafshitposts

 

[Gestault]

Absolutely not. If you think every staffed project that is put into production is going to work out fine, suffer no problems, won't fall apart from to creative differences, incompetent leadership, or resource mismanagement, and is destined for release no matter what, I've got a bridge to sell you.

Things happen. Projects go awry, for any number of reasons. All we see as the audience are the layoffs, but there are any number of factors going on behind the scenes that ultimately lead to cancelations and downsizing. It is part of that dynamic, because it happens all the time, and I assure you there are many more instances of cancellations and layoffs the general audience will constantly be unaware of.

I understand that sort of complication in any creative industry very well, I was reacting to you describing it as "regular influx of ramp ups and layoffs," which I took to describe the normal process of hiring and layoffs that accompany normal project schedules. It sounds like it was a misunderstanding on my part. In my mind, "normal" implies it's part of the standard process, not an unfortunate reality.

 

[anexanhume]

Bioshock Infinite sold over 4 million copies, Tomb Raider sold over 3.4 million, both didn't sell enough and then came the layoffs. These Sony exclusives are only selling because it's all we have.

I've always wondered what kind of 3rd party exclusives Sony could grab if they let go of some of their studios.

All we have? We can't buy multi-platform titles?

As an alternative to internal studios, we should moneyhat third parties to sell to only one platform, where we then only get license fees and not the total revenue of the product (minus the money used to get the exclusive)?

They should fire more. Studios are way too big nowdays.

Also I will never understand why people feel sorry/bad for others getting fired. It is so weird.

Got you a new avatar bro.

 

[Exile20]

They should fire more. Studios are way too big nowdays.

Also I will never understand why people feel sorry/bad for others getting fired. It is so weird.

Because some of us as been on the firing end before and it sucks fucking balls.

 

[Capella]

Looks like Adam Puhl (lead combat designer on GoW I, II & III) is part of the layoffs. Edited his bio. Was involved with Stig's project.

Oh no if true His Bio did say he was working on a new IP...

 

[beril]

Exactly.

It's like people want another The Last Gaurdian situation of a poorly planned project in development hell, hemorrhaging money for years and years only to release with a tepid response at best. Sometimes a project just isn't coming together, no matter how many changes it goes through. Sometimes the leadership or team just isn't hitting the right chemistry to achieve the desired results for a project. While this game is cancelled, this means they can allocate the funds to a project that inspires more confidence.

There are a lot of people that love shouting the death of the industry at any chance they get, when really this is a low key, run of the mill executive decision that you see everyday in a creative industry that must juggle hundreds of projects at once. I'm not defending, nor celebrating layoffs, and I hope those people land on their feet (they will), but this is nothing new, and a laughable event to tag as the beginning of the end of this industry.

Cancelling projects is fine; but laying off talented people is not a good sign of the health of the company. And yes that does mean less or smaller games from Sony. In a AAA studio it should be relatively easy to move people between projects to help speed up the development of their other games. Santa Monica studio also has a history of assisting other Sony teams, so they could have put the affected staff on outsourcing until a new project was ready for full production. but instead they choose to let 50 people go. That's not a good sign regardless of whatever they may have been working on.

 

[Loudninja]

I like how people keep using Bioshock Infinite as a example.

 

[RoboPlato]

Looks like Adam Puhl (lead combat designer on GoW I, II & III) is part of the layoffs. Edited his bio. Was involved with Stig's project.

Well shit.

 

[Jarmel]

Looks like Adam Puhl (lead combat designer on GoW I, II & III) is part of the layoffs. Edited his bio. Was involved with Stig's project.

You gotta be fucking me. They cancelled the new IP?

 

[Deleted member 80556]

Looks like Adam Puhl (lead combat designer on GoW I, II & III) is part of the layoffs. Edited his bio. Was involved with Stig's project.

Oh man, if this means that the new IP is cancelled I'm gonna be pissed off. So much time on that work for nothing.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

Exactly.

It's like people want another The Last Gaurdian situation of a poorly planned project in development hell, hemorrhaging money for years and years only to release with a tepid response at best. Sometimes a project just isn't coming together, no matter how many changes it goes through. Sometimes the leadership or team just isn't hitting the right chemistry to achieve the desired results for a project. While this game is cancelled, this means they can allocate the funds to a project that inspires more confidence.

There are a lot of people that love shouting the death of the industry at any chance they get, when really this is a low key, run of the mill executive decision that you see everyday in a creative industry that must juggle hundreds of projects at once. I'm not defending, nor celebrating layoffs, and I hope those people land on their feet (they will), but this is nothing new, and a laughable event to tag as the beginning of the end of this industry.

my thoughts too.

GAF enters panic mode way too quickly sometimes. information will probably be leaked at some point revealing the key reasons for this.

edit: seems like that could be information above. PANIC!

 

[newjeruse]

Looks like Adam Puhl (lead combat designer on GoW I, II & III) is part of the layoffs. Edited his bio. Was involved with Stig's project.

That's awful. If it is Stig's game, that's so much lost time and money.

 

[ArtHands]

I am not defending sony, but i think its normal for such thing to occur in this industry. Perhaps game got canned because the production isn't up to expectation rather than lack of funding, and then people got asked to leave because sony management feels that they are not up to the job.

There are lots of indie and mobile studios nowadays, so they can land safely in one of those studios easily i guess. But i admit it, it sucks for those guys, and i hope its not the end of the career in this industry for them.

 

[Doctor_Thomas]

They should fire more. Studios are way too big nowdays.

Also I will never understand why people feel sorry/bad for others getting fired. It is so weird.

Humans display some amazing traits, one is empathy. Even if you don't care for their games, you can feel bad for them based on the fact they are out of a job and it's something that could, very easily, befall all of us. If you don't understand that, well, you have issues.

 

[Capella]

That's awful. If it is Stig's game, that's so much lost time and money.

How long has Stig been on that game now? 2-3 years? Didn't he also recently say that they where waiting to announce it too?

 

[Loudninja]

Can people please stop assuming stuff?