I don't get it sometimes, I mean I didn't have a Vita but from the sounds of it the Killzone game they did there was actually good, just the system was poor performing commercially so of course the game would also sell poorly, but Sony should have realized the studio as an asset had great potential, they just need to make the games for a better performing system with a larger userbase.
Same thing I think killed Evolution in many ways. Going back to the PS3 era, I loved the first two Motorstorm games, but they then decided to make a PSP/PS2 Motorstorm game (why?!), and I think the commercial performance really affected their leverage on getting funding for their next Motorstorm game, which probably meant Apocalypse was developed under budget which probably explains a lot of poor design choices and lack of polish all around. That too probably effected their leverage to the point Sony wouldn't fund anohter, which is probably where they changed direction to try to make something of Drive Club, they're last shot, when that blew up in their face that was it, studio closed. I really wish they didn't go this direction. Maybe start the new gen off light, maybe do a Motorstorm 1 & 2 remaster collection with enhanced graphical performance; that would have really wet my appetite for a new Motorstorm game.
In many ways it saddens me that Guerrilla is doing Horizon Zero Dawn because I'd much rather they stick to doing Killzone games. My disappointment with the last game they made had less to do with their abilities and more to do with their design direction. Mainly they gutted the series established dieselpunk aesthetic approach, also gutted the idea of large scale shock and awe retro-futuristic warfare for a more covert special ops approach, less of a grunts in large scale warfare and more of overpowering players with special abilities. All they had to do IMO was step back these big changes, and keep going the direction they were going before. If Horizon Zero Dawn fails to establish itself big commercially, my worry is that's it for them. On the other hand, if it's a success, why would Sony stray from that? They'd probably just make another, and we'd probably never see another Killzone game for quite a while, not until that IP loses steam after its whatever'ith iteration. Not that I ever thought, but now hearing this news I can't help but feel it's a wasted opportunity that they didn't have the two studios juggling different IPs, let the main Guerrilla studio work on Horizon Zero Dawn, let the other studio take it's time on a new Killzone game reboot; that way, at the least, they could have hedged their bets.
I wish publishers would sometimes realize with studios maybe the fault isn't in the studios or abilities, but the fact they have to grovel for an idea until the publisher says they'll okay that one, they do it, and the publisher isn't impressed with the commercial performance. They should be able to step back regardless and go "geez, you guys made a quality product there, but maybe the problem was we kind of set you up for failure on our end, we'll try utilizing your talents better next time". Yeah, but nope, never seems to happen. Such a shame.
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