First party development is really tough these days with the increasing costs. There's little room for an exclusive that isn't a slam dunk.
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Sony closes Evolution Studios (Motorstorm, Driveclub)
- Thread starter Finaj
- Start date
CrimsonEclipse
Member
Well, if that was the case they could of just restructure the studio and new name, right? If a new studio comes up, it's not going to be under Sony, but most likely independent.
That would be my guess.
Liverpool was loosing money hand over fist. Big staff, including support people like HR & payroll, and poor to mediocre sales for the games.
Why keep it open?
OT - gutted for Evo about this, and I guess it means DC:VR isn't happening now :/
The writing was probably on the wall. Maybe the only reason they continued to support DriveClub was to mitigate the image loss caused by the botched launch.
Still sad. DriveClub is easily my favorite racing game of the generation. The quality of the game is amazing.
Still sad. DriveClub is easily my favorite racing game of the generation. The quality of the game is amazing.
viveks86
Gold Member
Indeed
Dragon Puncher
Member
Don't know if this has been answered yet, but it's definitely true. It's the law in Britain, that companies must try to find other jobs for their former employers, when they shut down stuff like studios or departments.
And yeah this sucks big time, I figured Sony would at least keep the studio going until Driveclub VR was done. And I guess the decision also just came from the fact that racing games aren't selling like they used to so it was probably hard to justify having another dedicated inhouse racing studio, when Sony already has Polyphony.
Huw_Dawson
Member
The support staff are still there - the site is the hub of European QA. xDev is also there as well.
Studio Liverpool would have put out a solid, functioning Wipeout title on launch at 60fps. Evolution were a year over schedule with Driveclub, a game that took a long time after launch to work at all.
LunaticLMD
Member
Sad to hear. They gave me Pacific Rift, my favorite racer last gen.
viveks86
Gold Member
Correct observation but incorrect inference
Head.spawn
Junior Member
That's a shame to let all of that talent go when their game cleared 2 million. Maybe they pictured it eating into GT series?
Hopefully they land on their feet and I hope Turn 10 snags a few of them.
Hopefully they land on their feet and I hope Turn 10 snags a few of them.
thepenguin55
Member
Along with Burnout Paradise the Motorstorm games were my favorite racing games last gen. I was one of the crazy people who bought a PlayStation monitor that came with a copy of Motorstorm Apocalypse. Also, fuck that "hacker" from 2011 who caused the PSN outage as this was one of the games who I'm sure was was hugely impacted by the outage. Then there was also the Godzilla controversy which most likely did not help....
Anyways, my point is had that outage not happened that game would've sold better to where maybe Sony would've been more willing to let the failure that is DriveClub slide. This is just a theory of mine based on nothing but how much damage that outage caused.
Anyways, my point is had that outage not happened that game would've sold better to where maybe Sony would've been more willing to let the failure that is DriveClub slide. This is just a theory of mine based on nothing but how much damage that outage caused.
How could any one come to this conclusion?
dreamlongdead
Member
Yikes. This is a major loss to Sony just like the Lionhead closure was for Microsoft. Both studios made some big exclusives, and their games definitely have a sizable fan base.
Hope these guys can find work, too.
Hope these guys can find work, too.
bigboss370
Member
goddamnit Sony. Driveclub is an absolutely fantastic game. Its a goddamn shame Evolution is being closed
Because they were one of the few reasons people like me were ever even considering to buy their consoles?
I understand that business sometimes gets in the way but it's sad that Sony can't manage their studios better, so that they wouldn't have to close so many of them.
And to clarify, I know it's not just Sony.
If studios are forced to only ever produce mega 'hits' or face closure, then the larger parent company that owns them is in my opinion missing the bigger picture. You keep the studios that deliver great games, irrespective of the sales volume, so long as they don't end up costing you money (Eg you at least break even, or close to). A bit like movie studios where the majority of releases actually don't make those massive profits, which are made up by just a few blockbuster releases. But they continue to keep funding more alternative releases either way, as it not only gives you a more diversified catalogue (great for consumers), but a greater a chance that something uniquely or unexpectedly special might filter through.
Now I don't know if Evolution was costing Sony money, but given Driveclub has actually sold pretty well, and that the team was already downsized in a big way before this closure, I can't imagine they would have been an exponentially expensive studio to maintain. I really think this move is a blunder on Sony's part. A highly talented studio that has consistently made great games. They should have at least seen the downsizing or re-managing through.
StrongBlackVine
Banned
Terrible news. I'm not a racing game fan, but a lot people seemed to love their games and Rushy seemed to have a great relationship with the fans of their work. This is way the business works even though sometimes we forget it really is about the money.
TheDarkKnight774
Member
Noooooooooooo
They were so good.
They were so good.
roddjbrown
Member
Just wanted to add my condolences.I don't love driving games, I have limited gaming time and Driveclub was an unwanted Christmas present... One that I've become absolutely addicted to through its brilliance.
BiGBoSSMk23
A company being excited for their new game is a huge slap in the face to all the fans that liked their old games.
What the fuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NO!
noooooooooooo. god fucking dammit ,man
NO!
noooooooooooo. god fucking dammit ,man
Maroon Gamer
Member
Mass_Pincup
Banned
Kinda funny since Sony's whole philosophy was that the heavy hitters like Uncharted and GT are here to offset the underperforming titles so that they can keep having a diverse lineup.
I guess that's not the case anymore.
Now you are making me think theyll just fit within PD - tbh I still dont understand why Sony doesnt seem to farm out a lot of the model/track work to third parties like Turn 10 does...
ps3ud0 8)
You know, Sony really is amassing quite the collection of dead studios. They'll soon be comparable to EA at this rate.
Does this one closure really change that?
BiGBoSSMk23
A company being excited for their new game is a huge slap in the face to all the fans that liked their old games.
I'm so fucking mad right now. Now I keep remembering that god awful fuckfest of a review thread and the cuntastic Giant Bomb review...
So I'm just gonna go play DriveClub when I get home and avoid a perma ban, because this is all kinds of fucking horseshit.
So I'm just gonna go play DriveClub when I get home and avoid a perma ban, because this is all kinds of fucking horseshit.
blame space
Banned
Driveclub, it had a very shaky launch but Evolution turned it around and it ended up being one of the greatest racers of all time with the best season pass and post launch support of any game this gen. I guess this puts any hope of a season pass 2 to bed. Very sad news indeed.
Mass_Pincup
Banned
It's a pattern, Yoshida stated a couple of years ago that Sony was now focusing on big titles and leaving mid tiers games behind, now Evo is dead. Seems like they're either going to bet on AAA titles or on cheap indie games.
I mean look what happened with Until Dawn, the game was a success despite Sony, they didn't market the game because it didn't fit the AAA games tentpole genre and when they realized that the thing was starting to become popular Yoshida release statement like this:
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2015/09/...awn-a-sleeper-hit-addresses-lack-of-marketing
Until Dawn released in August by the way.
This reeks of "I didn't play a minute of the game but I'd already made up my mind down to GAF threads."
Bartholomuse
Member
Haha, a what now? What was wrong with GB's review?
ProfessorMoran
Member
Loved Motorstorm and especially Drive Club but it was clear that Drive Club just didn't sell and critically it was hit with too many negative reviews, just not much of a market for the kind of output they produce and subsequent DLC, not sure what else they could have done, the racing genre is in a major decline.
Still, very sad to see Evolution go, still love driving that motorcycle in Motorstorm and taking ridiculous shortcuts.
Still, very sad to see Evolution go, still love driving that motorcycle in Motorstorm and taking ridiculous shortcuts.
DragoonKain
Neighbours from Hell
Sucks to hear about this, but what can you do? Just gotta hope moving forward we can get bigger and better things from the people involved.
Yeah, we can stop with this bullshit. I'm sick of GAF saying Bloodborne sold amazingly well for a new IP and then calling Driveclub a failure when they both sold similar numbers (not to mention Season Pass).
privitsan02
Member
What happens to Driveclub along with its upcoming updates, VR and potential season 2? Sony are axing the game as well? Evolution being shut down was long coming but it would suck real bad if Sony just pull the plug on everything Driveclub.
Best wishes.
Best wishes.
That was Sony's philosophy last gen actually.
PS3 era SCE funded/published games:
I want that Sony back.
StrongBlackVine
Banned
Bloodborne surely cost less to make than Drive Club and most of its sales were at full price or close to it while Drive Club had a lot of bargain bin sales.
ForsakenLotus
Member
Such a same. Really hope these great devs land somewhere soon.
Just because they sold around the same doesn't mean they were both successful. Different titles have different expectations, one could have cost more to make one could sell more copies at a higher msrp.