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IGN: ~50 Layoffs at Sony Santa Monica, Project Canceled [Up2: Was Stig's New IP]

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B

BlazingDarkness

Member
It's very likely a project was cancelled, as a result of moving staff around.
However, it probably won't be one that's been previously rumored, nor one that would have been mostly profit driven originally (so possibly a Vita title), it'll probably have been something small, still in its infancy.
 
V

Vizzeh

Banned
Road said:
It feels like people are laid-off or a studio is closed in the West by Sony every six months, but when was the last time someone from that uselessness that are the SCEJA studios has received as much as a slap on the wrist?

Also, how the hell the same budget as GOW3 was given to Ascension? Someone must have sent the memo to Sony Pictures. That's one surefire way to get your stupid ideas approved.
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Im guessing a factor maybe like everything else the west costs more to do anything, inc overheads and staff wages. Would like to see more international games, not necessarily JRPG's from SCEJ

Given the information in this thread alone/hiring/newbuilding etc im going with the majority and saying ttheir getting rid of excess resources/ staff that assisted other studios....

There no longer is the need for assassitance to 3rd part studios or some 1st on the cell etc. Time to tria gle being shorter etc
 
L

Loudninja

Member
Dragon1893 said:
Amazing how much confusion there is around this.
Alan Becker (not sure I got the name right) was assigned to SCEJ (which includes Team ICO) to sort shit out. That's all there is to it.
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Yeah that guy had alot on his plate.
When Becker came back, there were over 40 titles in development at the Japan Studio. Becker had to make the tough calls.

"In some sense, it was great that everyone got to do what they wanted to, and there was this sense of a creative playground," said Becker. "And nothing was getting done. And nothing was selling."

Becker stopped. He said he didn't want to get "too negative." He was not sugarcoating, and this wasn't typical video game PR speak. He explained the situation that he walked into. His honesty was refreshing.
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http://kotaku.com/how-sonys-most-cr..._source=Kotaku_Facebook&utm_medium=Socialflow

BlackBuzzard said:
Lol the hyperbole on twitter. One guy even thinks they canceled The Order 1886.
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Heh RAD is working on that game not SSM.
 
A

Anticitizen One

Banned
TyrantII said:
Hopefully the canceled game was GoW 4.

Getting sick of Kratos, and his story is done anyways. No need to flesh it out with backstory prequels.

hey need to hang him up and move in a new direction with a new protagonist.
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Yea I agree with you but something tells me they cancelled the fresh IP in favor of yet another fucking God Of War. It would definitely match up with Sony's MO at the moment of releasing the same shit again another Killzone, infamous, uncharted, etc.
 
M

Meier

Member
Dragon1893 said:
Uh, GoW3 was the best selling GoW ever, it only went downhill with the last game (Ascension).
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To say that the series has had significant fatigue for a very long time is an understatement. When you don't innovate, people can only deal with the same thing for so long. There's no passion from the fans or the developers for the series at this point. I think it's probably an IP that needs a very long rest or a MAJOR overhaul. New gods, new era, etc.
 
TGO

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Krusenstern said:
I sincerely hope that was a God of War game they cancelled and not a new IP.
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It was probley a low budget PSN ip, people are overreacting(as usual)
This means nothing for future titles or GOW, all companies downsize IGN just decided to report this one strangely
Now if it was half the studio or the whole studio even key members, then this news would be worth the attention its getting, for all we know it's probably a few people that was expendable.
Regardless I Hope they find new work soon


Edit, OMG, people are already doom and gloomin
eject.gif
 
C

cuyahoga

Dudebro, My Shit is Fucked Up So I Got to Shoot/Slice You II: It's Straight-Up Dawg Time
Nirolak said:
I'm actually assuming the project they kept is God of War 4 by Cory Barlog, since I got the impression that Stig's project was just in pre-production for ages while most of the studio made God of War: Ascension.
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Reading between the lines this sounds like it is the case unfortunately.
 
Y

Yawnier

Banned
I find the notion that SSM had a team that was working on a Vita-only game a bit odd, but weirder things have happened I suppose.
 
T

Trevelyon

Member
Dragon1893 said:
Amazing how much confusion there is around this.
Alan Becker (not sure I got the name right) was assigned to SCEJ (which includes Team ICO) to sort shit out. That's all there is to it.
Click to expand...

Remember there was a GAF'er formally of defunct Sony internal BigBig who originally floated TLG development had been outsourced to WWS. Just hearsay, I guess?!
 
B

benny_a

extra source of jiggaflops
Anticitizen One said:
Yea I agree with you but something tells me they cancelled the fresh IP in favor of yet another fucking God Of War. It would definitely match up with Sony's MO at the moment of releasing the same shit again another Killzone, infamous, uncharted, etc.
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Don't forget the 1886th Order. The milked to the max Knack (probably because of the UK where it's destroying Mario.)

And the games in the latter half of last year. The Last of Us (Yeah, as if! We always get another one of Us; fucking Blowny!)
Puppeteer; more like Pupp3teer (indicating that it's yet another sequel.)
 
T

Takao

Banned
Road said:
It feels like people are laid-off or a studio is closed in the West by Sony every six months, but when was the last time someone from that uselessness that are the SCEJA studios has received as much as a slap on the wrist?
Click to expand...

What makes you think that SCE Japan Studio hasn't gone through a silent restructuring of their own? Japanese game journalism doesn't really exist. You have to rely on hobbyist blogs, and forums to get any sort of non-press release news from there. I've noticed that some staff from the Team Ico, LocoRoco, Patapon, and Ape Escape games have left the company.

Father_Brain said:
If even Bend shifted to PS4 last year, I doubt SSM would have kept a Vita project in development through early 2014.
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Bend has always tried to make big games. This Santa Monica game could've been some small project on the scale of Tearaway.

SolidSnakex said:
We don't even know if it was a PS4 game. People keep speculating about Stig and Cory's games because those are two we know about, but companies often times have games in development that are canned that people outside of the company never know about unless it's mentioned later down the line. A good example of that is Naughty Dog and Jak PSP. Was it ever even rumored that they were working on that? I sure can't remember it, but it was and Neil Druckmann was on the project. But Uncharted was hitting a rough patch so they quietly canned it and the people slid over to help with that game.
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Didn't that Jak game become High Impact's The Last Frontier?

Yawnier said:
I find the notion that SSM had a team that was working on a Vita-only game a bit odd, but weirder things have happened I suppose.
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Sony Santa Monica made a Neopets game for PSP.
 
D

Dragon1893

Member
nampad said:
He is really a destroyer of worlds :(
Studio Liverpool and Zipper still hurts so much.
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Sony isn't paying him to make the company lose money. People not buying wipeout isn't his fault.

Anticitizen One said:
Yea I agree with you but something tells me they cancelled the fresh IP in favor of yet another fucking God Of War. It would definitely match up with Sony's MO at the moment of releasing the same shit again another Killzone, infamous, uncharted, etc.
Click to expand...

Yeah, we haven't seen new IP from Sony in years and who in their right mind makes sequels to successful franchises?
 
L

leadbelly

Banned
Tadale said:
I can't understand first-party closures/downsizing. Sony's got three platforms they're trying to support - don't they need all hands making as much content as possible?

If it's in response to Ascension - the problem with that game was not with the developer, it was with a franchise that had seen its logical conclusion and was fatigued.
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Maybe it had something to do with the game that was cancelled?
 
Doug Heffernan

Doug Heffernan

Member
Trevelyon said:
Even in jest, I'm getting little nervous that Sony are about to double the fuck down on baldy rage head, and break are hearts on the big e3 stage.
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Kratos is to Sony what Mario is to Nintendo what Master Chief is to Microsoft.
You can bet there will be a new God of War game.
 
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