Evolution Studios closed by Sony

  • Thread starter TonyJZX
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After all the anger, it is probably time to properly say

a big thank you to Rushy & all of Evo

for what surely was and still is one of the most awesome racing games of this generation. They pushed boundaries and set new standards with both the gorgeous game itself and its phenomenal post-launch support and DLC. I applaud and salute you, gentlemen!

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While people losing their jobs is never a good thing....

Sony have gained a lot of development with VR from this title which has been known for sometime, they also have extensive range of car marques presumably under license or in good terms to continue such in future.

So if Sony have future plans for an alternative "car game" to GT to be on PS4 then it is very possible such could come about. I doubt the VR testing/development was done that it will go to waste, it very much could of been for the benefit of GT Sport or yet unknown title under Sony control.

Credit indeed to the devs and the work that they done and how they turned the issues with this game around.
 
I'm seeing a silver lining. Did Evolution have their own building? Possibly in the same city as another Sony developer? If they did then Sony is smart to just say "Ya, get out of that building, move to the other building across the city, lose the EVO name and keep working on what you guys are doing because it is working just fine. I imagine one big studio is more cost effective than two smaller studios after everything is said and done.

The EVO people already said they were sticking together, and would still support the game so who knows. All speculation from my end.
 
The offices are in Runcorn and the only other studio in the area was Studio Liverpool. I think they're hoping to stay together and work on a new project, at least that's what Rushy gave an impression of.

There aren't many big studios in the UK anymore.
 
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Do you think they would have enough community support for a future public funded project i.e like (Project Cars) where it would not cost Sony too much outlay?

My only other thinking was they were told to 'finish and complete' the whole game as it should be left what ever it costs, (taking longer than they thought). Did you notice they completed the I App, all online aspects, updated weather/graphics, all dlc, all tours, Bikes, I felt like they were 'coming to completion' and was wondering how it would move forward.

Mean while GT7/Sport is 'nearly' ready after a few years of waiting??:ill:
 
We don't know under what conditions the studio was closed and if the team still can use its developed game engine and maybe a few assets. The DC engine is a really good one and even if Sony has closed them down they still could be allowed to create a project with that engine?!?

I think they way EVO has shown dedication and loyalty to their product it would be very well possible they achieve to have enough support for a crowdfunded title.

Hope to hear from them soon on what they are going to do!
 
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I definitely think that the old Evolution team could move forward through kick-starter, as there looks to be more than enough support there. Sony wouldn't be a part of that picture though, as game development that uses crowd-funding from bigger studios tends to get frowned on. Crytek were asked about this option for a new Timesplitters game some time after they had bought the IP from Free Radical, but declined, saying it would be too cheeky as they had the money.

Personally, I was surprised at SMS for going back down the same route straight after producing pCars - I appreciate that game production takes time and costs money...but using crowd-funding once again? That ruined their credibility for me.

Like Mr @torque99 says, they were given the time to straighten things out, complete it and tidy up any loose ends - that in combination with Rushy's tweet about the future looking bright says that they have been planning what to do for some time.
 
Yeah it's not like they start to think about what to do after Sony closed them down. Surely there are plans and ideas in place which need to be worked out and developed. Probably they already have a certain "model" running on where to go next.

@Rushy33 said something about E3, which means as well that there must be something in development for a while. You can't come to E3 with solely a few sketches on paper.
 
Personally, I was surprised at SMS for going back down the same route straight after producing pCars - I appreciate that game production takes time and costs money...but using crowd-funding once again? That ruined their credibility for me.

Playing the devils advocate here, you must have gotten something wrong: Pcars2 is not crowdfunded. You could buy into it to see the development behind the curtains, have a say in the design and test it/play it during development. But the money that those 2000 people (IIRC) brought in is somewhere around 3-5% of the total budget.
 
Playing the devils advocate here, you must have gotten something wrong: Pcars2 is not crowdfunded. You could buy into it to see the development behind the curtains, have a say in the design and test it/play it during development. But the money that those 2000 people (IIRC) brought in is somewhere around 3-5% of the total budget.
Fair enough, I take my comment back then. I didn't read much past the initial announcement, which at the time did seem to imply that it would be by invitation to crowd-fund - my mistake though.
 
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that in combination with Rushy's tweet about the future looking bright says that they have been planning what to do for some time.
I'm not sure about this.

Jamie tweeted this:

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I think @Rushy33 is referring to DriveClub's bright future in his tweet (by the Sony team), not the people from Evolution Studios.
 
I think @Rushy33 is referring to DriveClub's bright future in his tweet (by the Sony team), not the people from Evolution Studios.
He might be - that's the problem with Twitter, too little space to say it all. My point though stands, being: that they are working it out. I think he said something about a bright future/good things coming more than once.

As to what he was referring to...we'll just have to wait.
 
I saw Youtuber: Blackpanthaa's vid about this and man was he not happy.....

Plenty of people are not happy with this decision at all but I rate since the racing game niche is pretty small compared to let's say the FPS niche, it's just a mosquito bite to Sony. Then again a mosquito bite can soon develop into malaria.
 
I saw Youtuber: Blackpanthaa's vid about this and man was he not happy.....

Plenty of people are not happy with this decision at all but I rate since the racing game niche is pretty small compared to let's say the FPS niche, it's just a mosquito bite to Sony. Then again a mosquito bite can soon develop into malaria.

Their biggest franchise is a racing game.
 
Their biggest franchise is a racing game.

One game compared to how many others?

Destiny, Call of Duty, Tom Clancy Stuff to name off hand.

Ok they're not owned by Sony per se but you get what I mean. Those are all huge games but from 1 genre.

When one (lets think of a casual gamer) of racing you just think NFS or GT. Boom that's maybe about it.
 
I saw Youtuber: Blackpanthaa's vid about this and man was he not happy.....

I'm watching that video right now. Maaaaan, to say that King Pleb is angry would be an understatement.
 
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I don't even have a PS4 and DC and I'm feeling a loss at this news. People say it's not unexpected because of the launch fiasco, but IMO Evolution have redeemed themselves 10x over with their amazing post launch support. Probably one of the best support for any racing game since Burnout Paradise back in the early days of PS3. If Sony is expecting DC to sell GT numbers, then obviously it's not gonna happen. Hell, I don't think future GTs will ever sell 10 million copies anymore. The racing game landscape is just not what it used to be, and DC is performing remarkably well, considering it's not even multiplatform. Also, they didn't even consider their past successes with PS2's WRC and Motorstorm games? Even if DC is a flop, they have proven that they can make great games. Very frustrating.

I'm just losing more and more faith in the console and gaming industry in general. We have lost 4 very talented developers of racing games in a very short space of time in the last generation alone: Bizarre Creations (PGR, Blur), Black Rock Studio (Pure, Split/Second), Studio Liverpool (WipeOut, F1CE) and now Evo. Whereas PD keeps bumbling along with broken promises, setbacks and PS2 era cars and they still get all of Sony's money and patience :banghead:

I hope these guys can regroup and find their own studio. With their talent I am sure the future is still bright for them. Go on PC, get a kickstarter and get your revenge on Sony :mischievous:👍
 
I don't even have a PS4 and DC and I'm feeling a loss at this news. People say it's not unexpected because of the launch fiasco, but IMO Evolution have redeemed themselves 10x over with their amazing post launch support. Probably one of the best support for any racing game since Burnout Paradise back in the early days of PS3...
Many of the people who say the shutting down of DC isn't unexpected are ones who aren't aware of how much the game has shifted around since the launch problems. I actually find it quite abhorrent how those who deem themselves to be the perceived 'internet cognoscenti' are so out of touch with the reality, beyond what they first heard of or experience, as if first impressions are an immutable law of physics.

Okay, rant over - I have seen since that so many people, like your good self, have a respect for what Evolution have achieved, and that is a good thing.
 
This was an image i created, i didn't think it was any good, but Jamie over at Evo seemed to like it. I'll miss the communication and banter with the guy's at Evo, I'll be watching E3 with great interest to see what they are planning.

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I can see why, It is a great capture, you caught the headlight reflection off the signs, rear tail light reflection perfect in the road, you got the shutter speed right with the road and caught the driving rain but not too much to spoil the pic, and got the lighting just right on one side of the car and the sky reflecting through the rocks.Great keep them coming and maybe post a few in the photo thread here so we can all see them :gtpflag:👍
 
One game compared to how many others?

Destiny, Call of Duty, Tom Clancy Stuff to name off hand.

Ok they're not owned by Sony per se but you get what I mean. Those are all huge games but from 1 genre.

When one (lets think of a casual gamer) of racing you just think NFS or GT. Boom that's maybe about it.

I do agree the racing genre is on the decline, but I feel the somewhat healthy indie scene and with VR taking off, the genre can be brought back to life. I'm interested in what Dirt Rally and AC do on consoles.
 
Their biggest franchise is a racing game.
I do agree the racing genre is on the decline
And GT's is on a decline too, presumably. Now they're making an even more niche game within the genre. With Evolution Studios out of the picture, that's all Sony have got to rely on, as far as 1st party racing games go. Polyphony Digital. Not a portfolio to brag about in this day and age.

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...With Evolution Studios out of the picture, that's all Sony have got to rely on, as far as 1st party racing games go. Polyphony Digital. Not a portfolio to brag about in this day and age.
Don't MS only have one too? Forza Horizon although developed by another company is still under Dan Greewalt's control.
 
I do agree the racing genre is on the decline, but I feel the somewhat healthy indie scene and with VR taking off, the genre can be brought back to life.
To be honest, I think the games and their quality aren't the issue here as much as the interest of the consumers are. Many people that grew up on racing games have since either abandoned gaming for good or moved on to other genres for various reasons. Others have just lost interest in racing games, despite being very familiar with modern day car culture and car news.
I also doubt the indie scene can bring something different to the table ... in sim racing, definitely. Other racing game subgenres? I wouldn't count on it. I'm not a analyst, but this is what I see based on my connections, both in real-life and through virtual means. (by the way, the latter group seems to like sim-racers more than arcade games, despite having more experience with the latter of the two - at least from what I have seen)
 

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