cutbacks
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SOE suffers cutbacks as 35 employees are laid off
Four percent doesn't sound like a lot, but when it comes to Sony Online Entertainment, it represents nearly three dozen employees who no longer have a job. G4 reports that the company has let 35 people go from its full-time workforce in an effort to "better align the company's resources against areas of growth that meet consumer demand in today's online market as well as improve operational efficiency." The company is being tight-lipped as to the specifics of the cuts, including who was let go and from which development teams. This may come as a surprise to some, especially when you consider that SOE is riding high off of its Free Realms mega-success and is poised to launch several new titles including The Agency, DC Universe Online and Clone Wars Adventures. Hopefully we'll hear more details soon, but in the meantime you can read the full announcement over at G4.
Sony cuts 8000 jobs, SCE division under review
We won't insult your intelligence by telling you that the current global economic climate is a bit cloudy and that companies are closing and making cutbacks left, right and center. Actually, we just did, but we did it in a way that suggests that you already know it. We have faith in our readers. Sony's the latest big company to announce cutbacks, with 8000 people losing their jobs in their electronics division. At the moment, this has no effect on the Sony Computer Entertainment division, which is separate from Sony's electronics division. Though SCE has told GameIndustry.biz that the division is, along with the rest of the company, under review. With analysts saying that these 8000 jobs won't be enough, there's a chance that more cutbacks could be made as part of this corporate review, which has the potential to affect SCE and the PlayStation brand. We'll be keeping our eyes open for any developments.
Mark Jacobs clarifies the loss of Warhammer classes, cities
Yesterday's unexpected news of deep cuts into Warhammer Online's at-launch content is still sending shockwaves through the fan community. It seems like it's just been a whirlwind of WAR news of plate, with the announcement of the Guild Beta and the reacquisition of the Mythic Entertainment name close on the heels of the content losses. In the forums at the largest WAR fansite, Warhammer Alliance, Mythic VP and General Manager Mark Jacobs attempted to further clarify what prompted these dramatic announcements.Jacobs and WAR community coordinator James Nichols have been on the front lines of this discussion. Jacobs in particular has offered up two lengthy posts on the issue, providing Mythic's viewpoint on both the classes and cities pulled. On the class front, it sounds as though these offerings simply weren't coming together from a design perspective. Jacobs even goes so far as to say that new classes may be put in their place if they can't 'get them right' post-launch. The pulled cities, on the other hand, will probably be added to the game at a later date. For now, the team wanted to focus the energy of the players and the developers into two red-hot points. There's a ton of perspective on this issue in the forum posts - make sure to check them out.
