anexanhume
Member
Do you want to close the studio that made Shadow of the Colossus? Why don't you just slap baby Jesus while you're at it?
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IGN: ~50 Layoffs at Sony Santa Monica, Project Canceled [Up2: Was Stig's New IP]
- Thread starter Jonboy
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Do you want to close the studio that made Shadow of the Colossus? Why don't you just slap baby Jesus while you're at it?
Poetic.Injustice
Member
SSM were not safe at all after GOW: Ascension underwhelmed with reviews and sales.
Japanese companies don't really like large scale layoffs in their own country.
Japanese companies don't really like large scale layoffs in their own country.
There are a million reasons why this project could have been canceled. To jump straight to "they're arrogant that they don't need many exclusives" is premature.
They are moving location so they can become even bigger. I don't think it was layoffs because they wanted to keep the team small.
Yeah Sony was definitely much better off 8 years ago, I would write a much deeper analyze but I am late for my 2nd job so I can pay off the rest of my PS3 loan.
I feel like SSM was pretty fat considering they make games in-house and also partner up with other smaller studios (RAD, TGC) with other projects.
Man-is-Obsolete
Member
They had 3 teams and helped with external development so I could see the team not helmed by Stig and Cory getting cut down and put towards the other teams.
Which in turn means letting go of redundant positions the other teams have filled already.
Which in turn means letting go of redundant positions the other teams have filled already.
Game development isn't "MORE HANDS MORE GAMES". The situation here sounds like they had something stuck in preproduction with a some developers floating around unable to contribute because their project wasn't ready or going forward. Project is cancelled, developers who can't contribute to other projects (or aren't needed) are let go.
Realigning teams isn't always about getting smaller or avoiding getting too big. Development studios need to get bigger in specific parts, hiring 100 QA testers certainly gets the company larger but doesn't necessarily help them make games. Especially if they already have QA on staff.
GoofsterStud
Member
Is this really such a big deal?
Santa Monica just got a new bigger building.
Santa Monica has been doing a lot of hiring.
Is it possible that they are just getting rid of the dead weight after already hiring their replacements? Perhaps they didn't want to relocate to the new building?
I hate to see layoffs, but it seems strange that huge layoffs would happen after those two things.
Santa Monica just got a new bigger building.
Santa Monica has been doing a lot of hiring.
Is it possible that they are just getting rid of the dead weight after already hiring their replacements? Perhaps they didn't want to relocate to the new building?
I hate to see layoffs, but it seems strange that huge layoffs would happen after those two things.
Begaria
Member
Meanwhile, at misterx...
"lol$ony is laying people off?!?! those sony ponies at sonygaf are BURNING! Sony is dying, with ther credit downgrded to JUNK STATS. Maybe thse guy will get picked up at Black Tusk LOL"
"good find..."
Seriously though, I would've liked to see what that cancelled project was.
"lol$ony is laying people off?!?! those sony ponies at sonygaf are BURNING! Sony is dying, with ther credit downgrded to JUNK STATS. Maybe thse guy will get picked up at Black Tusk LOL"
"good find..."
Seriously though, I would've liked to see what that cancelled project was.
I think so. I was just talking with a few people from the studio a couple weeks ago and they were all very positive about the future. Either this came out of nowhere or was a minor restucturing effort.
I'm sure the same thing was said of 3DRealms.
And look at the Duke Nukem Forever we got in the end.
There are a ton of reasons that could have caused this, not sure why you jumped to arrogance.
You really can't be the judge of that without knowing what was canceled. Were they just thrown a project until these changes could take place or was something significant canceled?
I know it might be tough since we tend to see the world trough company eyes, but could we please stop talking about workers in such a way?
BlackBuzzard
Banned
We dont even know how many people have been let go yet. You dont move to a bigger studio and then cut 1/3 of it. Makes no sense.
Serious post?
boredandlazy
Member
Someone obviously didn't get enough attention during their childhood.
Doc Holliday
SPOILER: Columbus finds America
Reading that makes sense, hopefully your right and Sony are just trimming the fat. They seem fairly sizable. More news would have been nice, keep speculation down.
No you're right , having all these facts laid out clearly in front of us , it's clear that this is the return of arrogant Sony.
Amentallica
Unconfirmed Member
This is a display of arrogance? I also saw your explanation saying they need as many exclusives as possible, but that doesn't make sense.
What's wrong with that description? If someone isn't contributing then they aren't entitled to a job at all.
Not really, what evidence do you have that a shrinking core is responsible for these layoffs? They don't even make up the majority of the audience.
What? Your posts are getting more ridiculous as this thread progresses.
Maybe the game was shit?
I hope they will find a new job.
+220 if wikipedia is true
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCE_Santa_Monica_Studio
+220 if wikipedia is true
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCE_Santa_Monica_Studio
Being financial cautious is not arrogance.
You're right, I was just thinking out loud.
You got me with the first part of this sentence. You closed it out perfectly
Thanks.
Sure, maybe they had local QA and they were made redundant because Foster City increased their QA which serves all of SCE WWS.
It would be interesting which departments or teams were affected and how numerous.
My point was just that the layoffs are not motivated because they became too big. The location move was motivated because they didn't have enough space and a move, which is something that is very expensive and probably not done on a whim doesn't fit together with downsizing across the board.
TheRealTalker
Banned
Like what other people suggested likely this is the ascension team...
The statement
Likely Stig's and Cory's project have become the main focus instead of stretching the studio too thin
My condolences to those who where effected
The statement
followed by
makes me believe that they are cutting off the extra team that isn't fully integrated in a already moving project
Likely Stig's and Cory's project have become the main focus instead of stretching the studio too thin
My condolences to those who where effected
FinalStageBoss
Banned
Idk what the big deal is, I mean it sucks for the ones let go but this happens all the time, in every business. They probably couldn't contribute to anything else after their project was canceled. Why keep them around?
Man-is-Obsolete
Member
If it was the GoW:A team the next game was probably only in the planning/conceptual stage, and not every game at that stage survives.
jackissocool
Member
Sad news. Good luck to those workers and I hope no great game was lost.
Corpsepyre
Banned
Well, this is really fucking sad. Hoping it was not an AAA+ PS4 game that was cancelled and that Stig and Barlog are still employed. Could be Papy's team, y'know? Mark Simon and Papy left last year, leaving a lot of new people in the lurch it seems.
Some insider needs to get info concerning the cancelled project (if there even is one) before theres's a complete meltdown.
Some insider needs to get info concerning the cancelled project (if there even is one) before theres's a complete meltdown.
Byakuya769
Member
A bit callous to call people that, though. Wouldn't surprise me if someone affected by the lay offs posts here. They lose their job, scrambling to figure out what's next and then they see some random poster suggesting that they were dead weight.
anexanhume
Member
We have no idea what the circumstances are. Maybe their new lead is shit and they don't fit into existing teams. Maybe management held out on firing them until they got overruled by someone else since they were also hiring. I doubt it's a simple explanation that they were bad at their job. Those people have obviously been there years if they were on the GoW:A team. They didn't wake up and start sucking one day.
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