RIP: Sony Liverpool... UPDATE: Studio now Firesprite

[gaggle64]

This one has genuinely made me sad - Sony's Liverpool studio, formally known as Psygnosis, has been officially disbanded after nearly 30 years in business. One of the oldest surviving studios they were directly responsible for landmark moments in gaming, including publishing the first Lemmings game and creating the Wipeout racing series. The well reviewed Wipeout 2048 for the Vita was their final title.

 

From Sony's statement to Kotaku -

It has been decided that Liverpool Studio should be closed. Liverpool Studio has been an important part of SCE Worldwide Studios since the outset of PlayStation, and have contributed greatly to PlayStation over the years. Everyone connected with Liverpool Studio, past and present, can be very proud of their achievements.

 

However, it was felt that by focusing our investment plans on other Studios that are currently working on exciting new projects, we would be in a stronger position to offer the best possible content for our consumers.

 

Although I've never owned a Playstation system I thought the Wipeout games were wonderful, but I especially thank them for publishing one of my favourite games of all time,

. No doubt the older gamers among us will have similarly fond memories of their various productions.

 

So thank you, Psygnosis. You will be well remembered.

 

Edited August 23, 2012 by gaggle64

[Jamba]

Such a fantastic studio and I'm actually horrified that Sony is shutting them down. Sony actually owe those guys big time for creating some of the most recognised franchises on the PS1 and this is a shitty way of repaying them.

 

This gives me a very bad feeling about the future of people at Sony, they have been shutting down studios that have done them some excellent service but seem to have been badly managed into positions where they aren't releasing that many products. So here's looking at you Naughty Dog and Media Molecule...

[Agent Gibbs]

A truely monumental mistake in my book! they've produced some of the better games on sony consoles, and some downright classic games full stop! Sony could have saved money clossing other studio's before them really! get rid of some of the shovelware studio's you own that produce some of your pap!

 

honestly it boggles the mind, Wipeout on the Vita is one of the best reasons to buy a vita! now we can see no more sequels coming or if they do likely to be carbon copies that are essentially worse

 

uhhh the industry is imploding,its loosing the best studio's who produce great games that less people buy but play forever while other studios producing crap are surviving because they sell the popular games people put down after 5 min and regret buying

[jayseven]

 

Can't they just... let the devs find their own legs and keep the name, or anything like that? Just shutting them down and shitting on the good name and memories seems... harsh, dude.

[The Bard]

This is a fraking disaster. The two best series on a Sony console were made by these guys (Wipeout, and Colony Wars).

[Fierce_LiNk]

Disgraceful, really. I feel sorry for those who have lost their jobs and for those who want to get into the industry but find the carpet is being pulled from under them.

 

30 years of service is incredible. A really cruel way to end it, though.

[Dog-amoto]

Does this mean that the Discworld games will never come out for iOS devices now?

[jayseven]

WTF DOGAMOTO WHY MAKE THE SITUATION WORSE WTF WTF WTF

 

... The discworld games were AWESOME. I need more o'dat shit...SON.

[Cookyman]

Very very sad - everybody had the same reaction when they heard the news.

 

 

[flameboy]

I hate it when these studios that got acquired get shut down by their supreme overlords...It outright sucks you can only hope they reappear as an indie studio like some of the Bizarre guys did.

[Cookyman]

Shit does this mean the only Wipeout game we'll be getting will be....

 

[flameboy]

Shadow of the Beast another cracking series they published bk in the day

[Dcubed]

Disregard... seems that someone said something they shouldn't have...

 

That Tweet should not have been posted, Studio Liverpool is closed, there is no new Wipeout game. Ami Nakajima was not released [i wonder why ], she was just tweeting to say that she "is still alive". Which is pretty tactless.

Edited September 17, 2012 by Dcubed

[Lens of Truth]

That's excellent news if true! My god, the council simply don't have the money to be making any 'deals', unless their fat pay checks have been slashed (unlikely) and or a dozen more old people's homes closed (extremely likely). I suspect private money must be involved from a kind benefactor or another company..?

 

I know guys who work there and they haven't mentioned a thing! Do we have a solid source? I sincerely hope it's true. All power to them if they are now an indy studio!

 

Edit - Sigh... too good to be true

Edited September 17, 2012 by Lens of Truth

[Retro_Link]

The employees have put themselves back together...

 

http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/12/05/firesprite-sonys-studio-liverpool-lives-again

 

Firesprite: Sony’s Studio Liverpool Lives Again

 

 

Wipe away those tears, PlayStation gamers.

 

When Sony-owned BigBig Studios closed-up shop shortly after its last game – PS Vita’s Little Deviants – was released, it created a minor tremor in the PlayStation ecosystem. Zipper Interactive was the next casualty several months later, and PlayStation gamers were shocked.

 

An even bigger shock came when, several months after BigBig and Zipper went bust, Sony Liverpool did too. Founded in 1984 and originally called Psygnosis, Sony Liverpool – more often called Studio Liverpool – was Sony’s oldest and most-established first party developer.

 

When Sony acquired Psygnosis in 1993, the studio was already responsible for major titles like Shadow of the Beast (which is making a comeback on PS4 via developer Heavy Spectrum). Following the acquisition, Psygnosis (rebranded Sony Liverpool in 2001) created hit after hit. Franchises ranging from F1 and G-Police to Colony Wars and WipEout were their many calling cards.

 

Today, IGN can confirm that the spirit of Sony Liverpool has officially returned, and it’s done so in the form of Firesprite, a studio made of remnants from the defunct studio. The team’s first project together was helping a still-functioning Sony-owned developer – Studio Japan – with the bundled-in PlayStation 4 game The Playroom.

 

“[Firesprite] came about organically, but we all had a shared vision,” the new studio’s Managing Director, Graeme Ankers, told IGN. “The founding team met up socially after Studio Liverpool and we talked about all the things we had achieved over the years, the platform launches, the variety of games, going back to [the] Psygnosis days and through to F1 and WipEout. We knew we wanted to carry on making great games.”

 

Indeed, the core leadership team at Firesprite – consisting of five people – helped create games for each and every piece of PlayStation hardware, from PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 3, to PSP and Vita. They have over 80 years of collective experience working on PlayStation titles.

 

With Studio Liverpool shuttered and some core members of the team still talking regularly with each other, they began meeting at one of their apartments, discussing what they wanted to do next. They began to figure things out and “moved quickly into getting an office and putting together the Firesprite team,” according to Ankers. “Over the years, we worked with some of the best games content creators and quickly built a team of 20 people, 15 of which had been on the journey with us through the years at Studio Liverpool. It’s an energetic mix of experience and new talent.”

 

Firesprite’s Art Director, Lee Carus, noted that the team is “very proud and honored to have been part of such an exciting project” like The Playroom, and the team is working on something new, starting with the engine and tools necessary to create their next game.

 

“We have been working hard on creating a new game engine and tool chain that allows us to put the creative power in the best hands – the artists and designers,” Firesprite’s Technical Director, Chris Roberts, said. “That puts us in a great position delivering the best experiences for players. It also allows us to get our games running on multiple platforms including mobile – so we can deliver platform specific features that make the best games.”

 

As for what that game is, Firesprite is mum. “Unfortunately, I can’t talk about the next game yet, [but] sometime soon I hope,” Ankers said. “We do love playing with new ideas and technology and have put a lot of work into building a game engine. We’re excited about the future. It’s a great time to be making games and it’s what we love.”

 

When asked if Firesprite can be counted on to make a PlayStation-exclusive, what with its experience slanting heavily towards PlayStation development, Ankers stressed that his team is independent, even with their solid Sony connections. “We do have a lot of experience on PlayStation platforms,” he admitted, “and it’s been fantastic being part of the journey on all of them.”

 

And would Firesprite ever want to go back to its old franchises with Sony’s permission? Say, a new Colony Wars or WipEout? “I don’t know where this journey is going to take us. Ultimately, we love these games, but the decision isn’t ours. WipEout is a special game. Its soul comes from Liverpool’s development history.”

 

We’ll have more on Firesprite’s upcoming game soon here on IGN.