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God of War studio Sony Santa Monica hit with layoffs
Sony Santa Monica, the studio best known for its work on the God of War series, has suffered layoffs today. Sony representatives confirmed the dismissals with IGN, citing "resource re-alignment against priority growth areas" within Sony Worldwide Studios as the cause. The statement reads: "SCEA can confirm that we have completed a reduction in workforce at Santa Monica Studio. This is a result of a cycle of resource re-alignment against priority growth areas within SCE WWS. We do not take these decisions lightly. However, sometimes it is necessary to make changes to better serve the future projects of the studio. We have offered outplacement services and severance packages to ease transition for those impacted." Sony Santa Monica most recently shipped God of War: Ascension. Currently, the studios is working on three collaborations due to launch this year: Hohokum with Honeyslug; The Order: 1886 with Ready at Dawn; and Everybody's Gone to the Rapture with The Chinese Room. It's currently unclear how these layoffs will affect ongoing projects, so we've contacted Sony for clarification. We wish the best of luck to those affected. [Image: Wikimedia Commons]
Nariko kills a lot of dudes in this Heavenly Sword movie trailer
Nariko, wielder of the titular Heavenly Sword in the upcoming film, is a life insurance company's worst nightmare. In this trailer she kills over a dozen soldiers in under a minute – wait, do henchmen even get life insurance?
In Heavenly Sword's name, the first trailer for a CGI movie [update]
Six months ago it was a footnote to the Ratchet & Clank movie's announcement. Now the Heavenly Sword film has a full-blown trailer and is really rather real, apparently. Yes, it does seem bizarre that an IP neglected by Sony since it was a 2007 PS3 game is being converted into a CGI movie. Nonetheless, that is what's happening, and the film will be shown at "some theaters" in the coming summer, before heading to DVD. Blockade Entertainment's movie stars the very recognizable likes of Anna Torv (Fringe), who voiced Nariko in the game, Alfred Molina (all the best films), and Thomas Jane (The Punisher), as well as Nolan North (all the games) according to an IGN interview. The interview also revealed Andy Serkis, who acted in and provided motion-capture for the Ninja Theory game, wasn't available. That's a precious shame, but by the sound of things the film will at least tie closely to the game's plot, albeit with one "major deviation." "In the game you never actually get to see the true 'chosen one' because he was never born," producer Brad Foxhaven told IGN, "In the film, though, we introduce him-and give Nariko the task of getting the Heavenly Sword to him. This creates a driving element through the second act of the film, and places even more pressure on Nariko when everything falls apart." Update: According to the PlayStation Blog, "The Heavenly Sword film is slated to be released digitally worldwide, as well as theatrically in select global markets, in Spring 2014."
New Vita ditches proprietary charging cables for micro USB
The next model of the Vita handheld (officially dubbed model 2000), will not be tethered to Sony's own power cords. Instead, the handheld gaming machine will be able to pull down both power and data through the same micro USB cables currently in use by many portable devices. "You'll be happy to know PS Vita 2000 can charge with a smartphone charger with micro USB," wrote Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Worldwide Studios in a tweet translated by CVG. Alongside the message Yoshida posted the above image which clearly shows the handhelds' micro USB port. This new version of the Vita was initially announced at this year's Tokyo Game Show. As we reported at that time, the 2000 model Vita is both lighter and slimmer than the models currently found on retail shelves. The next Vita is currently slated to hit Japan on October 10. As of now there is no word on when it might find its way to the West.
MAG, SOCOM PS3 servers signing off for good
Servers for MAG, SOCOM 4, and SOCOM: Confrontation are shutting down on January 28, 2014, Sony has announced. As it stands, the server shutdowns will essentially make MAG and Confrontation obsolete, due to their reliance on online play. The news follows the closure of MAG and SOCOM studio Zipper Interactive last year. When asked then about future SOCOM entries, Sony Worldwide Studios chief Shuhei Yoshida said his company never retires a franchise. Nonetheless, today's news will sound like a death knell for fans of the long-running shooter series, and certainly as one for MAG, which will go offline two days short of its fourth birthday.
PlayStation Plus price not changing for PS4, video services don't require Plus
The PlayStation Plus service will remain the same price at the launch of the PlayStation 4. SCE America VP of Publisher & Developer Relations Adam Boyes confirmed to Joystiq during a roundtable that the price will remain $50 annually in North America. Boyes also said "all video services [on the PS4] will be outside of Plus," meaning that services like Netflix and Hulu won't require Plus. Furthermore, free-to-play games won't require PlayStation Plus for online multiplayer. During a separate roundtable Joystiq was present at, Sony Worldwide Studios President Shuhei Yoshida said, "As far as free-to-play games are concerned, it's the publisher's decision whether they put it inside or outside of PS Plus." The news follows confirmation that a PlayStation Plus subscription is required for online multiplayer on the PS4. Existing PS Plus subscriptions will extend onto the console's lineup when it launches this holiday.
Sony rules out PS Vita price cut in 2012, works to lower the price later
It's time to get realistic about the prospects of a PlayStation Vita price drop. Sony Worldwide Studios' head Shuhei Yoshida dampened the fires of speculation at GamesCom this week by telling Eurogamer that it was simply "too early" to slash the price on the gaming handheld -- it was only just launched this year for every active region beyond Japan, after all. That's not to say Sony is determined to keep the PS Vita at $249 forever. Much like what it did for the PS3, the company is working to bring down the price by streamlining part costs. The cuts might be necessary given the mismatch between the warm reception to the quad-core, OLED-packing hardware and the actual sales; Sony would "like to see more uptake" than what's been seen to date, according to Yoshida. In the meantime, we'll have to be content with bundles like the European LittleBigPlanet combo if we want to eke out a little more value at the game store counter.
Yoshida on SOCOM: We 'never retire any franchise'
Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Worldwide Studios, wants to quell fears that we'll never see another entry in the SOCOM franchise. Even though series creators Zipper Interactive was shuttered back in March, "never say never," he said."It's not done. We never retire any franchise," Yoshida told Official PlayStation Magazine (via UK) when asked about future entries. Yoshida then pointed to Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, the recent resurrection of the Sly Cooper series, as a sign. "It's sometimes good to have a fresh look at the franchises we have."The last game in the series, SOCOM 4, was far from the series' best. So while it's hardly confirmation we'll see a new SOCOM game in the future, at least Zipper's closure is not the death knell we feared it was.
Sony's Rohde explains The Last Guardian's E3 absence: 'It just wasn't appropriate for us to give an update'
Sony's E3 2012 press conference was full of surprises. For one, Quantic Dream's new game was unveiled – Beyond – Two Souls. Just like that!More surprising, however, was a game that didn't make an appearance: The Last Guardian. Since being teased in a January 2008 Sony Japan job listing with a single image, the Team Ico-developed game has only been shown by Sony a handful of times. Moreover, the only news we've heard recently on the long in-development project has been worrisome – the game's creative lead, Fumito Ueda, ended his employment at Sony and began working on the game as a contractor. And then in February, Sony revealed that the company's Santa Monica studio was assisting in the development process.SCEA senior VP of product development and worldwide studios, Scott Rohde, assured me in an interview this week that the game's absence from Sony's presser isn't something gamers should be concerned with. "It just wasn't appropriate for us to give an update. That's just how it worked out," Rohde said. Rather than seeing it as a potential sign that the four-plus year project is stagnating, Rohde said that it's absence was a question of time limitations during the press conference and Sony's approach to internal development. "Almost more than any game that Worldwide Studios develops, it's all about the emotion and the experience that's crafted in what that team can deliver. And there's a vision that must be upheld. And until it can be upheld, it's not gonna ship," he said.
Sony confirms Zipper Interactive closure
Today has been a rough one for the games industry. Following massive layoffs at Sega today, Sony has confirmed Zipper Interactive's closure after it was rumored last week.In a statement given to Game Informer, a Sony representative stated the move was the "result of a normal cycle of resource re-alignment within SCE WWS." Though the studio has been shuttered, "Zipper titles MAG, SOCOM 4 and Unit 13 will continue to be supported, including the new Daily Challenges in Unit 13."
Sony hopes Heavy Rain will appeal to casual audiences, too
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, the senior vice president of Sony's Worldwide Studios Europe Michael Denny disclosed his desire to see Heavy Rain "appeal to the core [audience] and then the consequence-based gameplay can appeal to a newer audience, a more casual audience as well." The exec then goes on to explain how Quantic Dream's PS3 exclusive will do just that. "It's trying to do something very new, whether you call that the adventure genre, action adventure, we're calling it interactive drama ... It's really not played on the control pad, as much as in your head. It's about making choices and consequences, it's not about twitch gaming and how good you are." Is Denny correct? Do you think a plot-heavy, mature title like Heavy Rain can appeal to the same audience who plays Buzz! and Singstar? Fire away in the comments below.
Sony's Afrika soundtrack is safari-sational
Ludwig's on vacation, but we're sure he'll check the site sooner or later and see that we have news to report on his most wanted game ever. Sony's lovely, yet elusive safari sim, Afrika, has surfaced again (albeit briefly) in a new behind-the-scenes clip of its soundtrack being recorded in Hollywood.Afrika's score is the work of Wataru Hokoyama, who is new to games but not other media. In addition to film scores, Hokoyama has brought his talent to TV, including orchestrations for "Once More, With Feeling," the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He also conducts his own works, as you can see in the above video. Now that we've seen and heard the game, here's hoping (if only for Ludwig's sake) that we finally get to play it next week at E3.[Via MTV Multiplayer]
Sony: First-party games 'more important' this generation
Sony Computer Entertainment's president of worldwide studios, Shuhei Yoshida, isn't blind to the fact that exclusive games are becoming a rarity these days. In an interview with UK blog ThreeSpeech, the man who replaced Phil Harrison says that, given the trend towards multi-platform releases of major titles, first-party studios and games become "more important" – and that Sony is focusing its assets internally. Yoshida echos much of what we've been hearing from Sony over the past few months with regards to exclusives, stating that "in this generation, it costs much more to develop one product." This results in what he says is "pure economic pressure" that has caused "most of the third parties to move from some exclusive titles to more multi-platform titles." "Because we know that is the trend, we, as a company, can invest in our first-party studios," says Yoshida, who is relocating to Japan as his division is set to play an ever more integral role in PlayStation's future success. Collaborating more closely with SCEI prez Kaz Hirai, Yoshida says he'll be working "not only to create games, but to participate in the overall direction-setting of our company and our future platforms." Future platforms? Let's just focus on exclusive, first-party titles for those present platforms of yours for now, 'kay? [Via CVG]
Sony Worldwide Studios welcomes Michael Denny, Scott Rohde
Since we love keeping up with all the body-moving inside Sony, we thought we'd alert you to a couple of new faces that'll be helping to make decisions regarding the company's future. Aside from the promotion of Shuhei Yoshida as the new Sony Worldwide Studios head, Sony's Worldwide Studios Europe (apparently one worldwide studio isn't worldwide enough) sees the promotion of Michael Denny (pictured) as new VP. Sony San Diego Studios senior director Scott Rohde also got a promotion to VP of Worldwide Studios America (every country is their own world?). All jokes aside, we'd like to take this opportunity to welcome Denny and Rohde into their new positions and we hope to hear good things from them soon!
