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Sony Closes WipEout Developer Studio Liverpool

Posted by Unknown on from the who-needs-launch-titles dept.

RogueyWon writes "Eurogamer is reporting that Sony has closed its subsidiary developer Studio Liverpool. Beginning its life in 1984 under the name Psygnosis, the development house has played an important role in the history of computer and video gaming, publishing classics such as the Lemmings series. Since its acquisition by Sony in 1993, the studio has been best known for its work on the WipEout franchise, which helped to establish the PlayStation console as a successful brand. Sony's statements indicate that it will seek to find positions for staff in its other development houses, but that some redundancies will be necessary." Eurogamer posted an update, indicating that the studio was working on WipEout for the PS4.

71 of 102 comments (clear)

  1. No by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    It's Psygnosis.

    1. Re:No by Hatta · · Score: 2

      It was, but it's not anymore.

      How much of the original Psygnosis was left anyway? I know they were awesome in the 80s and later in the PSX days. But I wasn't aware of them doing anything in the past decade. Were any of the original people still around?

      I guess this kind of puts a damper on any hopes for another Colony Wars. Damn.

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    2. Re:No by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      That's because you don't own any Sony consoles, since Sony bought them everything they'd made was Playstation exclusive. But there are emulators for that ;-)

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  2. Sony and Lemmings by MickyTheIdiot · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "Lemmings" seems appropriate when you think about Sony executives.

    1. Re:Sony and Lemmings by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      "Lemons" would be more appropriate RE Sony execs.

    2. Re:Sony and Lemmings by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      "Lemmings" seems appropriate when you think about Sony executives.

      Ironically, Lemmings wasn't developed by Psygnosis themselves (they just published it). It was actually written by DMA Design, who later wrote the Grand Theft Auto series then became Rockstar North.

      Still, it's worth remembering Psygnosis, who came to prominence in the early 16-bit era due to the high presentational standards of their games and went on to develop the Wipeout series before losing their name and (inevitably) some of their identity.

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    3. Re:Sony and Lemmings by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      Some other good Psygnosis games you might not have heard of: G-Police and Shipwreckers.

      Unfortunately they loved to put some clock-cycle-dependent code in their games making all of them a PITA to run on newer computers.

      --
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    4. Re:Sony and Lemmings by Black+LED · · Score: 1

      Colony Wars for PlayStation was awesome too.

  3. "Since its acquisition by Sony" by sqldr · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Since its acquisition by Sony

    Well that's where they went wrong. Whenever these things happen, developers leave in droves anyway and start new development houses, until they're bought again. Most game developers have some sort of idea for a game, and this is usually how it happens.

    --
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    1. Re:"Since its acquisition by Sony" by Desler · · Score: 2

      Except developers didn't leave in droves when it was acquired nearly 20 years ago.

    2. Re:"Since its acquisition by Sony" by h4rr4r · · Score: 2

      20 years ago getting bought up did not mean you would be doing sequels until they shut you down.

    3. Re:"Since its acquisition by Sony" by Hatta · · Score: 2

      I would *love* to see more sequels of more Psygnosis stuff.

      Why no 3d rendered Lemmings? It was the best selling video game ever at the time, let's revisit it. It will work great on tablets too!

      Why not another Colony Wars? 3 of them on the PSX and then nothing.

      Why not another cinematic adventure along the lines of Shadow of the Beast? Why let Quantic Dream and Team ICO have all the fun?

      Why not another Destruction Derby game? Wouldn't that be great on the PS3?

      There's a ton of old Psygnosis stuff that could be brought back and received very well by current gamers. But I guess Sony doesn't like money or something.

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      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    4. Re:"Since its acquisition by Sony" by MickyTheIdiot · · Score: 1

      It turns out that Lemmings wasn't a hardy enough platform for a root kit to be inserted. No big whup.

    5. Re:"Since its acquisition by Sony" by djdanlib · · Score: 1

      Why no 3d rendered Lemmings? It was the best selling video game ever at the time, let's revisit it.

      Been there, done that in 1995: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_Lemmings

    6. Re:"Since its acquisition by Sony" by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      D'oh, beaten. The extra dimension made it much harder in the later levels.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    7. Re:"Since its acquisition by Sony" by stor · · Score: 1

      Or a version of Obliterator that runs at a playable frame rate! :)

      I have extremely fond memories of 1980s Psygnosis. "Shadow of the Beast" was my first introduction to "parallax scrolling", which seemed to become a mandatory feature of all side-scrollers from that point on.

      Absolutely *loved* their logo too.

      --
      "Yeah well there's a lot of stuff that should be, but isn't"
    8. Re:"Since its acquisition by Sony" by hack++slash · · Score: 1

      Absolutely *loved* their logo too.

      I still have a couple of small, original, 19" x 27" Psygnosis posters snagged from them at the end of an Amiga show. And yes the logo is excellent.

      --
      To do something right, you often have to roll up your sleeves and get busy.
  4. RIP Psygnosis by logicassasin · · Score: 4, Informative

    Shadow of the Beast, The Killing Game Show, and Awesome were my favorite Atari ST and Amiga games ever. Stunning graphics (for the time), unparallelled music, great game play out of their games. RIP to the greatest studio of my youth. ... BTW, has anyone ever completed Shadow of the Beast 2 WITHOUT using the "ten pints" cheat?

    --
    Fifty watts per channel, baby cakes.
    1. Re:RIP Psygnosis by cathector · · Score: 1

      IIRC their first title was an absolute chunk of crap for the Amiga, called "Brataccas".
      even in 1986 i knew i deserved better.
      the cover art was pretty cool tho.

      they must have acquired some serious talent out of the demo scene to produce Shadow of the Beast and the others which followed on.

    2. Re:RIP Psygnosis by crgrace · · Score: 2

      Wow I played those games so much on my Amiga.... except for Awesome, since it was not compatible with the 512kB memory upgrade for the A500. Grrr! I played Awesome at Winners Circle Systems in Berkeley, CA and bought it, but had to return it when it didn't work at home. This is the kind of thing that very much upsets a 15 year old boy haha.

      But, I probably spent more time playing the Killing Game Show than I want to admit.

      Remember how hard those games were? It really took commitment to make it far (especially in Shadow of the Beast). Seemed later NES and Playstation games were much easier for the most part (in my opinion).

      The graphics and sound of Shadow of the Beast were so amazingly ahead of its time. They used to have the intro movie on repeat at Whole Earth Access in Berkeley to attract potential buyers to their Amigas.

      Lastly, remember the awesome package art on those games? They used the same artist who did those iconic album covers for Yes.

    3. Re:RIP Psygnosis by logicassasin · · Score: 1

      grab an Amiga emulator, the roms for the three games I mentioned and play them (also include Shadow of the Beast 2 and 3). Come back and let us know if you still believe this.

      --
      Fifty watts per channel, baby cakes.
    4. Re:RIP Psygnosis by tedgyz · · Score: 2

      "Shadow of the Beast" has great game play? You're kidding, right? If great game play means ripping your hair out, wailing, and gnashing your teeth, then yes. It was indeed the coolest game of the time (I played on the Amiga 2000) with mutli-plane parallax scrolling and amazing music. The dark underbelly was the cruel restart from the beginning after dying. If a game transitions from fun to torture is it still a game? I still have emotional scars from that beast.

      --
      "No matter where you go, there you are." -- Buckaroo Banzai
    5. Re:RIP Psygnosis by Dogtanian · · Score: 2, Informative

      grab an Amiga emulator, the roms for the three games I mentioned and play them (also include Shadow of the Beast 2 and 3). Come back and let us know if you still believe this.

      The problem with asking someone to do this is that if you weren't there at the time (as I assume the OP wasn't), you probably wouldn't get how technically impressive such games were. Even people like me who came to the Amiga later on were spoiled by the increase in standards that those earlier games forced. For example, I recently saw a video of Xenon 2, a game I remember hearing described as technically brilliant when I had my Amiga but never actually saw then. I really wasn't that impressed- the graphics were good for the time, but the music was no better than countless tracker modules and the chrome effect title page lettering? Meh.

      I do remember seeing (and hearing!) an Amiga on TV circa 1986 and being blown away by its sampled sound, but most of my expectations were formed at a baseline circa 1991/92.

      If you never even played an Amiga at the time it was current, let alone having played the games in question back then rather than 20 years on, it's going to be impossible to really *feel* how they would have blown people away at the time.

      Also, I've never played Shadow of the Beast, but I've heard that it was notoriously difficult.

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      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    6. Re:RIP Psygnosis by logicassasin · · Score: 1

      true to a degree. By today's standards these games, visually anyways, are simply dated against even some smartphone games. However, one thing will remain true about them (as well as many games made in the 80's): They're far more challenging than many games available today.

      --
      Fifty watts per channel, baby cakes.
    7. Re:RIP Psygnosis by idontgno · · Score: 1

      Ah, Psynosis box art. How did those guys ever hire Roger Dean?

      I don't know how many Psygnosis titles I bought because the cover art reminded me of Yes, Uriah Heep, and Asia albums.

      Some real stinkos of games, but you could frame the box cover and hang it on the wall if you wanted to.

      --
      Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
    8. Re:RIP Psygnosis by Haoie · · Score: 1

      Don't forget Colony Wars, and its 2 sequals!

      --
      If each mistake being made is a new one, then progress is being made.
    9. Re:RIP Psygnosis by stor · · Score: 1

      > Lastly, remember the awesome package art on those games? They used the same artist who did those iconic album covers for Yes.

      Indeed. The artist is Roger Dean. I love his work.

      --
      "Yeah well there's a lot of stuff that should be, but isn't"
    10. Re:RIP Psygnosis by RaceProUK · · Score: 1

      I think in this context, 'ROM' has become a generified term.

      --
      No colour or religion ever stopped the bullet from a gun
  5. Too soon to throw Sony in the same box as EA? by ctheme · · Score: 1

    How many of my game development heros must die before this acquisition madness is brought to an end?

  6. Psygnosis are gone? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Oh no! *BOOM*

  7. Psygnosis. by Moskit · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Not Psygonis or Psygnonis.

    Please shows some respect and check spelling of last names and company names at the very least. Basic Editor skillz, rigot?

    1. Re:Psygnosis. by Tapewolf · · Score: 1

      Not Psygonis or Psygnonis.

      Please shows some respect and check spelling of last names and company names at the very least. Basic Editor skillz, rigot?

      I remember being disappointed when I realised they weren't called PSYCHOSIS Software. That's what it looked like on the Lemmings box art, anyway.

    2. Re:Psygnosis. by gorzek · · Score: 1

      Is it true they get paid for this?

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  8. Lemmingme at 'em! by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 1

    Ahhh, original Lemmings. Was proud I finished all 120 levels without looking up solutions.

    Actually, finished 121 levels if you count figuring out how to hack the binary startup file that limited demo startups to 10 starts. Made the "You impressed us by finishing all 120 levels!!" screen all the sweeter.

    Had I known they were from Liverpool, land with avowed, literal communists on the city council, I wouldn't have let the guilt rot my gut all these decades. QQ me.

    --
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  9. Psygnosis... :'( by euxneks · · Score: 2

    Psygnosis deserves much more than this. Shadow of the Beast, WipEout, Lemmings. These are all iconic games which I remember VIVIDLY, much more than most other games. Sad day indeed. :'(

    --
    in girum imus nocte et consumimur igni
    1. Re:Psygnosis... :'( by P-niiice · · Score: 1

      They will be missed.

  10. Sad day for the Vita Sony completely baffles me by Teknikal69 · · Score: 1
    Wipeout 2048 is really the best game I have for it and the DLC was excellent as well, I just don't understand Sony first Zipper make Unit 13 which is still the vitas best shooter and they get canned, then they give resistance to Nihilistic of all companys who ruin it and then as a reward they also let them work on Vita COD which I predict will be basicly the same.

    Now they kill Studio Liverpool it's almost like the companys are being rewarded for bad games and punished for good ones.

  11. The future of gaming by Iniamyen · · Score: 1

    We can't afford to give money to innovators to create new and exciting games which push the envelope. That money is already earmarked for the outrageous licensing fees for the constant iterations of the Madden franchise, et. al.

    1. Re:The future of gaming by hairyfeet · · Score: 1

      But whose fault is that? How many times have we seen the megacorps like EA and Sony go "New ideas? innovative gameplay? Fuck that noise! Just keep squirting out sequels to this hit so we can keep on milking the IP, that's the ticket!". I'm sure the guys there had plenty of good ideas but got shut down by the PHBs.

      The only nice thing is good devs with good ideas always seem to be able to find someplace to make them and now that indie gaming has exploded they can always start a little shop and actually use those ideas...until they get bought by one of the IP milking megacorps...sigh.

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    2. Re:The future of gaming by VGPowerlord · · Score: 1

      You chose to mention EA instead of CapCom for your example? What were you thinking?

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  12. What an important part of my early life they were by crgrace · · Score: 2

    I have wonderful memories from high school of playing Shadow of the Beast for hours while listening to the Pet Shop Boys on autoreverse.... does that date me much?

    It was amazing that such a frustrating game could hold my attention for so long, but it did. I highly recommend trying it out in an emulator if you have a chance. It was so, so far ahead of its time.

  13. "Some redundancies will be necessary" by RandomUsername99 · · Score: 1, Interesting

    "Some redundancies will be necessary"

    You mean, those redundancies will be deemed unnecessary, and therefore eliminated. Hate to be a wording nazi, but that's bad.

    1. Re:"Some redundancies will be necessary" by interval1066 · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I caught that too. They package it as if they'll just "live" with the redunduncies, but its clearly doublespeak for layoffs.

      --
      Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
    2. Re:"Some redundancies will be necessary" by Iniamyen · · Score: 1

      I think the word "redundancy" in this sense is used to mean "layoff." While not technically correct I believe it's a widely used term in the HR world.

    3. Re:"Some redundancies will be necessary" by jareth-0205 · · Score: 5, Informative

      "Some redundancies will be necessary"

      You mean, those redundancies will be deemed unnecessary, and therefore eliminated. Hate to be a wording nazi, but that's bad.

      This is a UK-ism... a 'redundancy' is a job that has been made redundant, and therefore terminated. It's a common phrase here.

    4. Re:"Some redundancies will be necessary" by demonbug · · Score: 1

      "Some redundancies will be necessary"

      You mean, those redundancies will be deemed unnecessary, and therefore eliminated. Hate to be a wording nazi, but that's bad.

      This is a UK-ism... a 'redundancy' is a job that has been made redundant, and therefore terminated. It's a common phrase here.

      It is a common expression here, too (US). But the parent is grammatically correct; HR means what he is saying, but generally just call these doomed jobs "redundancies" because it is obvious to them that any redundant job will be eliminated - no need to say it outright.

    5. Re:"Some redundancies will be necessary" by gorzek · · Score: 1

      It's an annoying euphemism, in any case.

      Someone who has never seen the term in that context would have no idea what "there will be some redundancies" is supposed to mean.

      Just come out and say "some people will lose their jobs" and be done with it.

      But no, we have to pretend we aren't doing anything unpleasant to anyone, so we have to dress it up in dry, clinical-sounding lingo so no one's emotions are stirred.

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    6. Re:"Some redundancies will be necessary" by RandomUsername99 · · Score: 1

      Oh, I assumed that this was some sort of HR-ese, but that doesn't make it correct. I make an effort to call out every kind of terrible business-ese, everywhere I see it.

      How much more can businesses try to rework the phrase "fired them because we didn't want to pay them?" Maybe eventually we'll call them 'happies' because they have a good work record and they didn't stop working there because they were killed on the job.

      What business administrators say can be terribly confusing if you use the rather inconvenient lens of the actual meaning of their words, rather than simply substituting them, when we hear them, with what we all know they're actually saying to us.

    7. Re:"Some redundancies will be necessary" by gorzek · · Score: 1

      The British euphemize everything. :-p

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    8. Re:"Some redundancies will be necessary" by Iniamyen · · Score: 1

      This is why I visit /.
      /Learning is FUNdamental!

    9. Re:"Some redundancies will be necessary" by timq · · Score: 1

      I guess most of us know what redundancy in this context is intended to convey, UK or not.

      It's still a nice example of saying the opposite of what you mean because the convolutions of politically correct newspeak went over your head.

    10. Re:"Some redundancies will be necessary" by jareth-0205 · · Score: 1

      It's still a nice example of saying the opposite of what you mean because the convolutions of politically correct newspeak went over your head.

      No, not really. It's 'redundancy' the noun as opposed to 'redundancy' the adjective. It's the English language adapting. This usage is hardly "new PR speak", it's been used for atleast the last 20 years.

    11. Re:"Some redundancies will be necessary" by jareth-0205 · · Score: 1

      It's correct as a noun. Just because you haven't heard it before doesn't mean it is (a) new or (b) wrong.

      There are lots of examples of crappy business-speak to rail against, but this isn't one of them.

  14. Rollcage! by miknix · · Score: 1

    Rollcage was one of the best fast racing games I ever played.

    1. Re:Rollcage! by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      Huh you know I bought that used when I was like 12 and never played it? Just remembered...

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  15. I remember it in its heyday by snap2grid · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Which for my purposes was the early 90s. DMA Design (the developer of Lemmings, Hired Guns) had a not always amiable relationship with Psygnosis, who was our publisher at the start. I visited it only a couple of times, but it always felt like an important place, like going to visit the emperor. Best memories were of the largest, tastiest pizza I'd ever had and of being crammed into the back of Ian Hetherington's Porche as a bunch of us were taken out for a meal. So, sad day.

  16. I always appreciated thier use of Roger Dean art by Picass0 · · Score: 2

    The Dean Brothers and Hipgnosis produced some of the most iconic album cover art of the late 60's and 70's. Roger Dean brought his trippy style to game covers like "Shadow of the Beast" and early Pygnosis titles.

    Great games complimented by great art design.

    I dug Wip3out too.

    Sorry to see the studio axed.

  17. Re:I always appreciated thier use of Roger Dean ar by evilned · · Score: 1

    They had a great eye for visuals all the way around. The Designers Repubic artwork really made those Wipeout games special (that and the amazing sound tracks). Hell, Wipeout Pure was the main reason I bought a PSP.

    --

    "My head hurts, My feet stink, and I dont love Jesus." -Jimmy Buffett

  18. What a disappointment. by MaWeiTao · · Score: 1

    I put countless hours into Wipeout HD and Fury, not to mention many of the Psygnosis games long before that. Growing up, I was enthralled by their distinctive visual style. So this news comes as a massive disappointment.

    Unfortunately, I'm not terribly surprised. This was a long time coming; since Wipeout HD nothing has really come out of Studio Liverpool. It looks like their resources were diverted to projects at other divisions. So at the end of the day, what was the point of keeping them around? What was the point of even acquiring them? They probably would have thrived if they hadn't been under Sony's heel.

    Sony seems to be having a hard time getting a grasp on modern gaming. They're afflicted by the same kinds of tendencies endemic in the Japanese gaming industry; they don't get the DLC model, they're stuck in long-winded development cycles and they seem to be struggling with modernizing gameplay. I'm not a fan of the countless Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto clones, but too many Japanese games feel a bit stale. And worst of all, Sony seems incapable of nurturing studios with real potential.

  19. Re:WipEout by BenJury · · Score: 2

    I don't think closing this particular studio will stop Sony from milking that particular cash cow...

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  20. Wipeout by petsounds · · Score: 2

    RIP Psygnosis.

    Wipeout and Wipeout 2097/XL was a groundbreaking title on the first PlayStation. Its stunning graphics and stellar soundtrack were way beyond what others were doing at that time. And the gameplay was dialed-in perfection. None of the followup Wipeout games I've played really matched up to it.

    I worked with Sony back then, and I heard a lot of rumors through the grapevine about Psygnosis being arrogant and difficult to work with. This culminated in Sony completely swallowing them up so they could control the studio better. Well, many talented chaps left as they are wont to do, and it's been a slow-motion death for them ever since.

  21. A job well done then... by logicassasin · · Score: 1

    Hats off to Psygnosis for making such an impression on you and everyone else that played SOTB. Whether it infuriated you or simply challenged you like none other before it ('cause SOTB2 was infinitely harder), you still remember it well.

    --
    Fifty watts per channel, baby cakes.
    1. Re:A job well done then... by RocketRabbit · · Score: 1

      Everybody remembers the games that were made just to frustrate. This does not make them good games. If I sawed off your leg, slowly, over the course of hours, without anesthesia, you'd remember it as well, but this does NOT make it a good thing!

  22. For all of you missing Psygnosis... by photonyx · · Score: 1

    www.psygnosis.org

    I still terribly miss playing Drakan: Order Of The Flame. Was way ahead of its time.

  23. Re:Wipeout by LanMan04 · · Score: 1

    The gameplay was fantastic, I agree. But the soundtrack and look (Designer's Republic) were what made the game.

    --
    With the first link, the chain is forged.
  24. Re:Wipeout by petsounds · · Score: 1

    Agreed, Wipeout brought a certain sophisticated, adult sensibility to the visuals and sound that we hadn't seen much in games.

  25. Really Psygnosis? by Mr_Silver · · Score: 1

    Out of interest, does anyone know how many of the original Psygnosis staff worked at Studio Liverpool till the end?

    My gut feel is that all the people that really made it Psygnosis are probably long gone, which means the company (as we Amiga and Atari ST owners remember it) has actually been dead for a very long time.

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  26. This is sad news to me by Y2KDragon · · Score: 1

    One of the things I liked about the WipEout games for Playstation was that all the music was on the game disks. There was some good stuff, and I started listening to more music from some of the artists. I'm glad I've kept the games all this time. Think I know what I'll be listening to on the drive home from work today.

  27. Better send out more then by Y2KDragon · · Score: 1

    I loved the series too. There was a lot to like. It was a well-made game, even if it was incredibly hard at times. Lots of fun, and great to play with friends. Considering how this predates the MarioKart games, with a lot of similar concepts, RESPECT YER ELDERS!

  28. Re:TFA links 1996 promo vid for memory lane by Y2KDragon · · Score: 1

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHMzCpy0fXc Original music video by Fluke that was a tie-in to WipEout. More goodness from our memories.

  29. Re:Sony=bad by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

    What? Psygnosis didn't do the first Drakan, they were just the Publisher. Surreal Software was the developer, it was their choice to do it for the PS2, and a good choice it was. As an Actiony/Adventurey/RPG-y game it was well suited for a console. They'd been experimenting with Playstation-foo hardware BEFORE Pysgnosis got acquired by Sony.