• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

PlayStation to close Manchester VR studio

bitbydeath

Member
The firm confirmed to GamesIndustry.biz that it intends 'to close it as part of our efforts to improve efficiency and operational effectiveness'.

Sony's Manchester team was formed to create VR games back in 2015. The firm had been working on an unannounced VR project.

It is the third UK studio PlayStation has closed over the course of this generation, with Guerrilla Cambridge closing in 2017 and Evolution in 2016. Both studios had also worked on PlayStation VR projects before being closed.

The platform holder still operates two first-party development studios in the UK, namely Dreams developer Media Molecule and Blood & Truth creators London Studio.

 

Romulus

Member
So VR is not the future then it seems lol

Actual hot takes incoming though...

This must mean VR is taking over traditional gaming!


PSVR2 is also confirmed, so that also means TV gaming is doomed, I guess.
 
Last edited:

Romulus

Member


That Manchester studio was formed in 2015 to create a PSVR game, it's now 2020 with zero games released or even shown to my knowledge. Makes sense that if you can't even get a decent enough gameplay video in 5 years your project is probably costing way too much money, trash, or both.
 
Last edited:

Romulus

Member
Never was..3d TV all over again, for a few years at least.

...or, who knows, future will tell.

3DTV was from 2010-2016, it was damn near dead by 2015, the difference is VR just had its best year in 2019, on its 5th year roughly to compare to 3dTV. The sales graph shows a very different story with VR, it's constantly going up. LG and the other big players were bailing out on 3dTV after a few years, whereas VR has gotten big players on board as of late, Valve, Respawn, Oculus Studios(Facebook). Not the exact opposite direction, but very different.
 
Last edited:
VR games are risky. SIE are rumoured to currently have at least 2 indie studios creating AAA VR games on their behalf - much more sensible and cost efficient than having a wholly owned studio seemingly doing nothing credible for 5 years.
 

Mista

Banned
5 years = ZERO games

Hold on while I act shocked

giphy.gif
 
Creating studios from scratch is hard, it's easier just buy an already established developer.
Sorry for those who lost their job, hope they'll be relocated or find another position soon. However I forgot they existed, did they released something in the last years?
 
Remember that 50 page thread of people attacking Microsoft for saying they changed their minds and wouldn't be focusing on VR?

To be fair, PC VR is doing fine with Oculus and HTC, it's mobile and console VR that's dying.
 

joe_zazen

Member
Creative lead was a guy who worked on singstar and some eye toy stuff. Sony being cheap AF as usual.

their commitment to vr has to be question because if they were still committed, they would have fired the head guys and hired new talent to lead, not shitcan the whole staff.

IMO, this will play out like Evolution Studios and simcade/arcade racing; sony doesn't see it as important, so shut the studio and not replace it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Isa

Romulus

Member
Remember that 50 page thread of people attacking Microsoft for saying they changed their minds and wouldn't be focusing on VR?

To be fair, PC VR is doing fine with Oculus and HTC, it's mobile and console VR that's dying.

Many argue that the PSVR has likely outsold all PC VR headsets combined, not counting the Quest.
 
Last edited:

joe_zazen

Member
Way too many studios closed this generation at PlayStation.... only one studio added.
This is really pissing me off, even though it's not a mature studio.

napkin time:
  • 12 studios not including the MLB guys who are like clockwork but no longer exclusive,
  • 5 year dev time for each game,
  • 12-ish 1st party exclusives over 7 year ps5 life,
  • means 1 or 2 exclusive games per year.
Plz correct any wrongness.
 

Romulus

Member
So much for vr being the second coming.

No one with a brain ever said that.

Ever.

Nothing wrong with it being a solid device alongside PC/console without just "taking over." Only dummies say that. It's unrealistic expectations that breed these hot takes.
 
Last edited:
Many argue that the PSVR has likely outsold all PC VR headsets combined, not counting the Quest.

That's not relevant to the current sales. Oculus Quest and Vive are selling much more than the PSVR now as PSVR declines. If we were to decide by lifetime sales than we would be giving Samsung the crown most likely.

Oculus Quest gave PC VR a huge boost for some reason.
 

Enjay

Banned
No one with a brain ever said that.

Ever.

Nothing wrong with it being a solid device alongside PC/console without just "taking over." Only dummies say that. It's unrealistic expectations that breed these hot takes.
Plenty of people have though. Also damn take a chill pill lol.
 

Romulus

Member
That's not relevant to the current sales. Oculus Quest and Vive are selling much more than the PSVR now as PSVR declines. If we were to decide by lifetime sales than we would be giving Samsung the crown most likely.

Oculus Quest gave PC VR a huge boost for some reason.

Any evidence that PSVR is declining? Compared to PCVR as of recent, of course. Half Life Alyx.

PSVR came out after the PCVR starting trend was in swing, still outsold them all.

The real story is the rumors of PSVR2 are real, and people are waiting. PSVR is waaay behind the curve on tech.
 
Last edited:

Romulus

Member
Plenty of people have though.

Like who though? No one that actually knows anything. They really thought that a $500 sweaty headset is the second coming? lol, its just silly to even entertain. Its years before that's even a consideration. Decades even.
 
Any evidence that PSVR is declining? Compared to PCVR as of recent, of course. Half Life Alyx.

PSVR came out after the PCVR starting trend was in swing, still outsold them all.

The real story is the rumors of PSVR2 are real, and people are waiting. PSVR is waaay behind the curve on tech.

You do realize most of PSVR's sales were the first chunk of it's life right? It only had 5 million sales not that long ago.

Back then yeah, PC was behind, but PC has been on an upswing recently while PSVR has been slowing down. Life times sales don't really mean anything in 2019-2020 if PSVR is selling less. Not to mention again, Samsung would probably win the ltd war.
 
You do realize most of PSVR's sales were the first chunk of it's life right? It only had 5 million sales not that long ago.

Back then yeah, PC was behind, but PC has been on an upswing recently while PSVR has been slowing down. Life times sales don't really mean anything in 2019-2020 if PSVR is selling less.

link please.
 

joe_zazen

Member
Any evidence that PSVR is declining? Compared to PCVR as of recent, of course. Half Life Alyx.

PSVR came out after the PCVR starting trend was in swing, still outsold them all.

The real story is the rumors of PSVR2 are real, and people are waiting. PSVR is waaay behind the curve on tech.

i’d like to know what the customer satisfaction numbers are like for psvr. Like, how many are collecting dust and how many owners plan on upgrading.

The biggest weakness is the move controllers, which are ten years old and not designed for vr so they ruin many games. as with many things, sony cheaped out with the controllers and may have kinnected their vr in the minds of some. I mean, there is no analog stick ffs.

personally, i loved astrobot, but i havent fired up my psvr in months.
 

Romulus

Member
You do realize most of PSVR's sales were the first chunk of it's life right? It only had 5 million sales not that long ago.

Back then yeah, PC was behind, but PC has been on an upswing recently while PSVR has been slowing down. Life times sales don't really mean anything in 2019-2020 if PSVR is selling less. Not to mention again, Samsung would probably win the ltd war.


Even in its "decline" with no huge AAA games like Half Life, it still sold 800k units from Mar-Jan 2020

Has there even been a PCVR headset that sold that in a year, ever? Most of the successful ones do 1.5 lifetime.

Those were recent numbers with PSVR2 looming and no Half life Alyx level games.
 
Last edited:

Romulus

Member
i’d like to know what the customer satisfaction numbers are like for psvr. Like, how many are collecting dust and how many owners plan on upgrading.

The biggest weakness is the move controllers, which are ten years old and not designed for vr so they ruin many games. as with many things, sony cheaped out with the controllers and may have kinnected their vr in the minds of some. I mean, there is no analog stick ffs.

personally, i loved astrobot, but i havent fired up my psvr in months.

People are waiting for PSVR2. Those Moves are bad. I went PCVR personally. I couldn't wait any longer.
 
Last edited:

MoreJRPG

Suffers from extreme PDS
VR is DOA. No one wants it, yet. That’s the key word. It’s overpriced. Clunky. The move controllers are awful(For PSVR).Too much motion sickness involved and the software is mediocre at best.

The fact that there are 100 million PS4s and it only has a 5% attach rate being by far the best selling headset says it all really.
 
Last edited:
You do realize most of PSVR's sales were the first chunk of it's life right? It only had 5 million sales not that long ago.

Back then yeah, PC was behind, but PC has been on an upswing recently while PSVR has been slowing down. Life times sales don't really mean anything in 2019-2020 if PSVR is selling less. Not to mention again, Samsung would probably win the ltd war.


Console VR is far from dying (you said it's dying). Sony alone is doing better than anyone else.
Even with the successful Quest, oculus is behind.
 
Last edited:
3DTV was from 2010-2016, it was damn near dead by 2015, the difference is VR just had its best year in 2019, on its 5th year roughly to compare to 3dTV. The sales graph shows a very different story with VR, it's constantly going up. LG and the other big players were bailing out on 3dTV after a few years, whereas VR has gotten big players on board as of late, Valve, Respawn, Oculus Studios(Facebook). Not the exact opposite direction, but very different.


Excellent points, fingers crossed.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
VR is DOA. No one wants it, yet. That’s the key word. It’s overpriced. Clunky. The move controllers are awful(For PSVR).Too much motion sickness involved and the software is mediocre at best.

The fact that there are 100 million PS4s and it only has a 5% attach rate being by far the best selling headset says it all really.
No kidding.

VR is a nice gimmicky thing. And I'm surprised it's last this long.

But when the big clelebration not long ago was some adventure game being "the first AAA" game, you know you got issues. There's got to be hundreds or even thousands of VR software to try out on PC/PS4 and if the platforms only have a small amount of top tier games, no thanks.

Another issue beyond clunkiness, having a brick strapped to your head etc..... is space.

Some games you can just sit in chair. Some is more about getting up with a 10 ft radius and turning or walking a bit in the living room. Who wants to bounce around the room with wires?
 
Last edited:

Romulus

Member
VR is DOA. No one wants it, yet. That’s the key word. It’s overpriced. Clunky. The move controllers are awful(For PSVR).Too much motion sickness involved and the software is mediocre at best.

The fact that there are 100 million PS4s and it only has a 5% attach rate being by far the best selling headset says it all really.


VR doesn't have to sell console-like numbers to survive, even with a few million sales it gets AAA games and more headsets are already coming this year. If it was truly DOA, they wouldn't be pushing out more headsets and big-budget games, that costs a ton of money.



The reason it survives is software sales and the fact that companies know it will get smaller and more affordable.
 

Console VR is far from dying (you said it's dying). Sony alone is doing better than anyone else.
Even with the successful Quest, oculus is behind.

None of you are disproving anything.

PSVR currently is on a downward trend, we have their sales numbers, they are declining in sales, if they were increasing in sales than the sales numbers would reflect that as f now a large portion of PSVR's total sales were in the first chunk of it's lifespan and it's been stabilizing the last year and a half.

PC was always behind consoles so it's not a surprise than PSVR would have been ahead until recent months when PC start finally having an upswing. Currently PC is increasing while PSVR is declining and so far PC looks to continue trending upward.

By definition PSVR is dying because it's selling less, it's not selling more. At some point PC VR will soon reach the same number of shipments in a much faster time frame. It's undeniable that the Quest is selling fast than PSVR right now and looks to in the near future, that ads up over time.
 
None of you are disproving anything.

PSVR currently is on a downward trend, we have their sales numbers, they are declining in sales, if they were increasing in sales than the sales numbers would reflect that as f now a large portion of PSVR's total sales were in the first chunk of it's lifespan and it's been stabilizing the last year and a half.

PC was always behind consoles so it's not a surprise than PSVR would have been ahead until recent months when PC start finally having an upswing. Currently PC is increasing while PSVR is declining and so far PC looks to continue trending upward.

By definition PSVR is dying because it's selling less, it's not selling more. At some point PC VR will soon reach the same number of shipments in a much faster time frame. It's undeniable that the Quest is selling fast than PSVR right now and looks to in the near future, that ads up over time.

It still sells more than anything. You just speculate that it will be dead because you believe someday the other devices will sell more.
You forget that the other devices had upgrades and they are still behind psvr. Imagine what will happen again with the first psvr upgrade.
The legit argument here is if psvr is way more, or a bit more alive than the other headsets. The ''psvr is dead''statement is insane.
 
Last edited:

Romulus

Member
None of you are disproving anything.

PSVR currently is on a downward trend, we have their sales numbers, they are declining in sales, if they were increasing in sales than the sales numbers would reflect that as f now a large portion of PSVR's total sales were in the first chunk of it's lifespan and it's been stabilizing the last year and a half.

PC was always behind consoles so it's not a surprise than PSVR would have been ahead until recent months when PC start finally having an upswing. Currently PC is increasing while PSVR is declining and so far PC looks to continue trending upward.

By definition PSVR is dying because it's selling less, it's not selling more. At some point PC VR will soon reach the same number of shipments in a much faster time frame. It's undeniable that the Quest is selling fast than PSVR right now and looks to in the near future, that ads up over time.

That's the point though, even on a downward trend, its selling more pcvr. Its definitely not dying because of a slump.
 
Way too many studios closed this generation at PlayStation.... only one studio added.
This is really pissing me off, even though it's not a mature studio.
Unfortunately they had a lot of studios that failed to make a successful game in a while or were flopping hard.
Some of them had at least two opportunities.
They added a studio who proved to be successful, other studios just disappeared from the partner list like Sanzaru, Ready at Dawn, etc...
Welp, I'm still burned that they sacked Idol Minds (small studio, I was looking so much for Warrior's Lair before the cancellation that probably cut ties with Sony. Now they seems in a good position, they chaged name and developed LiS Before the storm)
 

AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
None of you are disproving anything.

PSVR currently is on a downward trend, we have their sales numbers, they are declining in sales, if they were increasing in sales than the sales numbers would reflect that as f now a large portion of PSVR's total sales were in the first chunk of it's lifespan and it's been stabilizing the last year and a half.

PC was always behind consoles so it's not a surprise than PSVR would have been ahead until recent months when PC start finally having an upswing. Currently PC is increasing while PSVR is declining and so far PC looks to continue trending upward.

By definition PSVR is dying because it's selling less, it's not selling more. At some point PC VR will soon reach the same number of shipments in a much faster time frame. It's undeniable that the Quest is selling fast than PSVR right now and looks to in the near future, that ads up over time.

PS4 is also selling less. Does that mean "PS4 is dying" or does that just mean that people are waiting for new, better hardware..? You think Sony won't launch a better model for PS5? I certainly wouldn't be buying a PSVR at this point if I didn't own one, I'd be waiting.
 
Top Bottom