Great article-how Sony closed 1 of the best studios ever

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-03-22-wipeout-the-rise-and-fall-of-sony-studio-liverpool

This is why I have hard time accepting the notion that somehow Sony is "purer" when dealing with its studios than other companies, say, Microsoft. It's a load of BS, and you know it.

Psygnosis was one of the very best developers of 16-bit era, with god-like status on Amiga where they had released several classics of all-time, this upward trend continued into PlayStation era where they released at least 3 classic and influential franchises that helped define PlayStation into what it was: WipeOut, Colony Wars and G-Police. moreover they were also quite a prolific publisher with such series as Destruction Derby, Formula 1 series and Discworld under their belt.

It's very, very sad that they ended up like this, and it makes me insane with rage, to think that such a respectable developer / publisher had to be made defunct.

This also reminds me how huge of a distance there is between current Sony and the Sony from PS1 era, which had pretty much an international "face", with British studios being at its forefront, and actually they had a Nintendo-like magic back then that it's all but gone now (unlike Nintendo).

Rant by a former cow.

Signing off.

Lol, ironically they published Lemmings.

People didn't appreciate their games. I don't think Sony closed them at a whim.

"You've not heard the last of Studio Liverpool, I'll tell you that," Eggleton says, defiantly. "The name won't come back, but every other person who comes out of the Liverpool development community now will have at least one Studio Liverpool project on their CV somewhere."

Might be, but ever since the transition to PS2, all they ever did were Formula 1 and WipeOut games, and most of the latter were on PSP...They could've worked on something else, that's why I'm blaming Sony. Not even Rare was so badly misused by Microsoft.

Why don't you do a post about how Rare went to mediocrity under MS?

The Studio Liverpool closure was as much to do with Sony as it was with the cutting of tax benefits for game developers just the British Government.

At least Wipeout was a quality franchise unlike the Kintect garbage Rare has been reduced to.

Anyway Wipeout and F1 were popular for a time and then the landscape changed a bit and taking a big risk and throwing money into an entirely different type of IP- Sony decided to call it quits. I wouldn't look back into the 80s-mid 90s and use that as proof that Liverpool could be equally diverse in 2010.

Even more unfortunate is how Sony closed them when one of Liverpool's members had passed away. Just bad timing.

You're trying too hard, and convincing no one.

Genres that were popular in the ps1 days have largely faded in the modern shooter era. Same thing happened with Twisted Metal. Some studios adapt and try new things, even fewer succeed. This studio got many chances by sony, and while the games were actually pretty good, the audience just isn't there anymore.

MS had no excuse forcing Rare to put out garbage for their camera.

i am just going to leave this here....

Rare was already on a slippery slope before MS bought them.

sony arent perfect but they are 100 times better than ms at managing studios

uhhh, you do know gaming landscapes change right? some genres and titles rise in popularity and others fade into obscurity. it happens over tie, quit playing dumb and acting like sony had some sort of malicious intent here.

I still miss them. I actually own every Wipeout game ever made apart from 2048 (don't have a vita) and 2097 got me into electronic music as well.

To chime in with the whole Rare thing going on, yes their IPs are being massively underused by Microsoft but the people from the N64 era aren't there anymore and haven't been there for a while. Also, I'd rather make Kinect games than be on the dole personally.

I'm going to leave this here..

Rare lost a humongous chunk of their dev team at the tail end of Nintendo's ownership of them.

That's when they went to "mediocrity"

I was ready to read about how some corporal BS was to blame...and while it was kind of truth, it's algo pretty obvious that their games didn't sell that well, and they even admit that they only knew how to make Wipeout games, i mean i fell sorry for them, but at the end of the day this are different times and it seems that they failed to adapt, not blaming them nor Sony, they were just victim of the circumstances.

11 years of slavery vs 6 years of slavery when it comes to direct Psygnosis / Rare comparison, and Rare has released nothing but fantastically received games on Xbox 360 up till 2008, and we don't know what they're cooking now under Phil Spencer's helm, and they are making a new non-Kinect game now.

Try harder, rabid cows.

I see I struck a nerve. Like I said, I was a huge fan of Sony and a huge fan of Psygnosis. My stance is one of someone who's concerned, and not someone who's looking for trouble.

For Christ sake!

Wipeout made the ps1 stand out. They needed to evolve past racing games though. Even if they didn't evolve past racing games, they should have perfected it. Sony should have gotten involved more than they have. A good publisher would have offered suggestions on how they could refine their games beyond what they are. Nintendo did this with Bayonetta 2, and it went from a great game to a 10/10 GOTY nominated game. Then again Sony isn't really a game company, so I can understand why they left them the way they did.

TC is trying too hard

TC: You've lamented Psygnosis before in a thread (it was about your passion for Sony's PS1 British Studios) that went two pages six months ago. LINK.

Funny thing for me is I never liked racing games now or then, so while I remember Wipeout on various systems, I didn't buy or like any of them. I own a few of them as gifts though, but it's racing. It's like F-zero, Forza, Gran Turismo, Mario Kart, Destruction Derby...it's not for me.

I wasn't a fan of Psy/Sony Studio Liverpool's games. Colony Wars was decent ish, but nothing came out of that studio that I personally cared for. Shame for them but they lasted a lot longer than I thought considering I didn't buy their games for decades. The market shifted long ago and they failed to adapt to modern gamers tastes. In fact, other than the internet, I never met a real life Psygnosis fan. I meet them all the time on the internet though. The circles I ran with were into Fighting games, Platformers, Adventure, MMO, RTS, and FPS. I've been gaming before Psygnosis was even a studio and certainly before Sony bought them to fill up CD's for PS1.

It's hard for me to get worked up for them since I have no nostalgia for any Psygnosis games, not a one. The game "Lemmings" was okay, but again, they didn't release anything in their entire run that I really and honestly cared for. They could have been closed 10 years ago and I wouldn't have noticed (they were closed in 2012). It's sad, but I think a lot of modern gamers don't care for Psygnosis tbh, based on sales and my encounters with gamers (I've met thousands). We live in completely different worlds in that respect. Some gamers would claim you have just the worst taste when it comes to this subject and they have in fact said that about you here in SW in the previous link. Psygnosis stayed open a long time past their prime well after it was established they weren't being very productive, and for that I say good for them. They shed a lot of talent and that hurt the studio.

In contrast to Ensemble, a studio that created games I actually liked and still own. Although I never made a 'woe is Ensemble' thread (they were closed), I could and do such a thread just as passionately. It's the same with RARE, another company I've known since the original R.C. Pro-Am and Battletoads games on NES. Those are two companies I enjoyed their games that are gone/ruined. I understand TC that you liked Psygnosis games so you liked PS1 to a degree way back in the late 1990's (1998). However, even you went astray in buying and supporting their Psygnosis games during the PS2-PS3 years as you jumped in with Xbox. My point is that even Psygnosis wasn't a compelling enough reason to stop you from completely abandoning them and jumping in to Xbox and Xbox 360 gaming (no Psygnosis games). If former Psygnosis "super fans" like you didn't support them by purchasing their new games for a decade+, then Psygnosis had no chance.

I have to question how passionate and sincere you actually are about Psygnosis/Studio Liverpool closing two years ago in 2012 when you didn't own a various platforms to even play their brand new offerings and games (PS2 and PS3). You didn't buy Psygnosis/Studio Liverpool games brand new for the PS2 or PS3 as you were mentioned before you left the PS1 behind in 2002 and you were gaming on PC and 360 by that time. I feel bad the studio never got back on track so to speak, that does suck.

read the title and immediately thought, "psygnosis".

@Salt_The_Fries: former cow? then what are you now? and by the way, Sony still has the "magic"

Around here he has been associated as a longtime passionate lemming since his first posts in 2008. He joined GS with this account in 2008 and by that time he was an old school lemming it seemed with a lot of knowledge and memories of Xbox IPs, PC, and and Xbox 360 gaming information.

If I remember right, July 28, 1998 to 2002 he had a PS1 (he got a into PS1 two years before PS2 released), then was a PC gamer from 2002 to 2008, and when he joined GS he was a full blown 360 gamer. Although he did seem familiar with original Xbox 1 IPs as well, not sure about his original Xbox memories.

Nothing wrong with that. He went from 360 to Xbone recently. He did not go from PS1 to PS2, but instead went from PS1 to PC. So in terms of loyalty, Xbox secured that two generations in a row. In fact, he was a very late adopter of the PS1 in 1998 (two years before the PS2) and that machine released in 1994. He got a 360 in 2008, three years after the 360 launched. He got the Xbone as soon as it released in his country. If anything, he now as joined a new club this generation, the early adopter club and did so with the transition between 360 to Xbone. He went Xbox back to back. He now has owned two Xbox systems back to back which is a first based on his posts.

He was a self proclaimed "cow" apparently long before he joined SW (apparently due to British Studios Sony had back then) and way before Xbox existed. Way back in the PS1 (the 1990's) days...before any of us forumers got to know him.

Although, he does know a lot about the original Xbox 1, so maybe he had one of those as well. (?)

If you're a fan of Psygnosis' games, you might like a little something at Playstation Experience.

Around here he has been associated as a longtime passionate lemming since his first posts in 2008. He joined GS with this account in 2008 and by that time he was an old school lemming it seemed with a lot of knowledge and memories of Xbox IPs, PC, and and Xbox 360 gaming information.

If I remember right, July 28, 1998 to 2002 he had a PS1 (he got a into PS1 two years before PS2 released), then was a PC gamer from 2002 to 2008, and when he joined GS he was a full blown 360 gamer. Although he did seem familiar with original Xbox 1 IPs as well, not sure about his original Xbox memories.

Nothing wrong with that. He went from 360 to Xbone recently. He did not go from PS1 to PS2, but instead went from PS1 to PC. So in terms of loyalty, Xbox secured that two generations in a row. In fact, he was a very late adopter of the PS1 in 1998 (two years before the PS2) and that machine released in 1994. He got a 360 in 2008, three years after the 360 launched. He got the Xbone as soon as it released in his country. If anything, he now as joined a new club this generation, the early adopter club and did so with the transition between 360 to Xbone. He went Xbox back to back. He now has owned two Xbox systems back to back which is a first based on his posts.

He was a self proclaimed "cow" apparently long before he joined SW (apparently due to British Studios Sony had back then) and way before Xbox existed. Way back in the PS1 (the 1990's) days...before any of us forumers got to know him.

Although, he does know a lot about the original Xbox 1, so maybe he had one of those as well. (?)

oh look more fake concern in a bash sony thread from a rabid lem, we haven't seen that before.

Ha, really good profiling, yes to all, including the exact date of PS1 purchase. I only called myself a "cow" for a reference sake, back then everybody was so much into Sony's ass and fanboyism was facilitated by every single gaming magazine, at least in Europe, so that no one thought it's anything wrong. I have never had OG Xbox btw, I know of its some games, as I'm into everything, and I appreciate lesser known titles as well, but I also own Dreamcast and GameCube (bought retroactively), and I've owned DS as well (as well as briefly PS3). As of now, I'm thinking of getting a Wii U. BTW some people know I have a very vigorous quest against Cows. I don't enjoy smearing one company just for the sake of it or sucking off the other (I've bashed MS numerous times), it's certain people I have strong feelings towards.

It's a lot of fluff it can be simplified as saying that Psygnosis / Sony Liverpool died because they wasted their time, talent, ambition on niche Formula 1 games, when things went over to PS2 that's pretty much all they made for it year after year. I have fond memories of them, heck I thought they embodied the awesomeness of the PS1 days, but they were gearing to go.

Wow. What an asshole.

I come from a completely different world...but I understand. It's interesting to read about the vigorous quest against Cows. Where I'm at 360 was and still is all the rage and Xbox is incredibly popular. I don't meet PS3 gamers too often, although I have met a ton of Wii Owners. It's rare to meet people that bought a Wii U, Xbone, or PS4 yet (other than some personal friends). As far as the 360 goes, it's apart of the vernacular. I have one friend who is a very passionate SEGA gamer and refuses to buy any modern consoles and has retreated to handhelds and PC gaming...even then, when we hang out, we don't talk much about games anymore, more about movies. He did buy an original Xbox in hopes of getting Shenmue 3 and other SEGA IPs way back when, but that never panned out completely as my friend has planned as SEGA (Panzer, Shenmue) did support the Xbox at first, but then moved to GC (Sonic, Billy Hatcher) and PS2 (Virtua Fighter 4) as well.

Amen to that

Alundra,Barbarian,lemmings, colony wars,G police,lemmings, ODT, Rastan, shadow of the beast and wipeout.

all great games i played made by Psygnosis

I actually played shadow of the beast (Amiga) on my Tab the other day.

What's that about a mantra around here?

I'm a long time fan of Psygnosis from way back in the Amiga days. They were THE dev house on that platform (and the Atari ST)..It's really sad to see people dismiss them outright as they were a big part in the success of the Playstation platform..I mean, without them there would be no GTA as Dave Jones's first projects (under DMA design) were Menace and Blood Money.

And they always had the most awesome intros.

R.I.P. Psygnosis.

Ouch.

Someone struck a nerve in here. Yikes.

They haven't closed Rare but... and I'm liking what I hear from Phil Spencer about where Rare is heading too.

I used to play a lot of Psygnosis games back in the PS1 days. They were pretty much Sony's British equivalent to Nintendo's Rare. Wipepout 2097 was one of my all-time favourite racers, more so than Nintendo's F-Zero series.

But like Rare, Psygnosis ended up declining after the 32/64-bit era, which is a real shame. If it's not bringing in profits anymore, you can't blame Sony for closing it. That's just what happens with studios that used to be great but declined after their hey day.

Obituary: Tony Bourne

Rest in peace.

Psygnosis ehhh... loved their games...

Because it's been done to death?

Seriously? Damn, that is horrible.

@Salt_The_Fries: Sony doesn't close studios because it's fun. They close them down because they have to