Pixelopus is Shutting Down [Confirmed]

[Danja]

I dont care how it sold, it played like ass compared to other 1st party games. Yeah it had some good bits and the story was told decently/ presentation, graphics, music but it wasnt amazing gameplay wise especially against human enemies. Look at the reviews. It was the only 1st party game I couldnt finish last gen.

They spent years making that game and it just wasnt good. Like I said, Im not an investor, Im a gamer. It sold better than Demons Souls and bloodborne, doesnt make it better than them

Okay? But your comment wasn't about your personal opinion on the game. You were talking as if the studio / game was a failure, which was not the case. So why should they be axed at all? This shouldn't even be in the conversation.

I found the game enjoyable. Even so, I still think the studio is highly talented and will be great eventually. It was their first AAA game on that scale ever coming from portable. Other first party studios had years and years of more experience.

End of the day a studio being a financial success will always be their biggest asset.

 

[Gods&Monsters]

Okay? But your comment wasn't about your personal opinion on the game. You were talking as if the studio / game was a failure, which was not the case. So why should they be axed at all? This shouldn't even be in the conversation.

I found the game enjoyable. Even so, I still think the studio is highly talented and will be great eventually. It was their first AAA game on that scale ever coming from portable. Other first party studios had years and years of more experience.

End of the day a studio being a financial success will always be their biggest asset.

Days Gone was one of the best games of the PS4 generation. If it was third-party from Take 2 (let's say from the Mafia team) it would be praised to high heaven but it was a Sony game and they always get judged more harshly. Unbelievably high standards no one else in the industry needs to reach.

At least now the game has a big cult following after all the unfair controversies.

 

[Yurinka]

Some of the keys guys making Bloodborne are gone.

No, some guy may have left but the Bloodborne devs still are at FromSoftware. And the 2nd party publishing team that was at Japan Studio now they have their own office, are growing and also publishing 2nd party games made in the rest of Asia.

I also think Sony killing off Evolution was a huge misstep along with Guerrilla Cambridge but hey?

I hope so, I guess Evolution members are still around. Another team that didnt deserve the sack

Firesprite is basically Liverpool Studio + Evolution + Bizarre Creations. So by acquiring Firesprite, Jimbo and Hermen basically resurrected these studios.

 

[Remember_Spinal]

 

[Danja]

Days Gone was one of the best games of the PS4 generation. If it was third-party from Take 2 (let's say from the Mafia team) it would be praised to high heaven but it was a Sony game and they always get judged more harshly. Unbelievably high standards no one else in the industry needs to reach.

At least now the game has a big cult following after all the unfair controversies.

Fully agree! I loved it. The first half was a bit sluggish at times but they pulled it together. They fixed the bugs and added so much content to the game. The one thing I wish we had was some Co-op horde and multiplayer free-roam.

 

[SLB1904]

Fully agree! I loved it. The first half was a bit sluggish at times but they pulled it together. They fixed the bugs and added so much content to the game. The one thing I wish we had was some Co-op horde and multiplayer free-roam.

Yeah my theory reviewers didn't get yo the second area. The game is really good. I'd give an 8/10 easy

 

[Remember_Spinal]

Days Gone sucked, sorry guys.

 

[Vertigo]

Abandoning days gone doesn’t mean they’re abandoning the studio. They just don’t believe in the Ip. That’s fine… it is a bit redundant even in Sony’s own lineup.

The game did well anyway and I’m sure the fan reception is recognized (never played it I’m indifferent just calling what I see). Days gone was just a stepping stone for potentially bigger things from Bend.

 

[Kokoloko]

Okay? But your comment wasn't about your personal opinion on the game. You were talking as if the studio / game was a failure, which was not the case. So why should they be axed at all? This shouldn't even be in the conversation.

I found the game enjoyable. Even so, I still think the studio is highly talented and will be great eventually. It was their first AAA game on that scale ever coming from portable. Other first party studios had years and years of more experience.

End of the day a studio being a financial success will always be their biggest asset.

My comment was most probably personal opinion and if not, review scores reflect what most people thought of it. For me it was a disappointment. Us Sony fans are loyal, I bought the game. I never said it wasn’t a success, but review wise, it wasnt. And it definitely wasnt a great game for me.

So many games sell well, doesnt make it good. COD is the higest selling game every year, doesnt make the best game ever. Fifa sells millions more than God of War, it doesnt make it better. Same with GTA. Pokemon. Animal Crossing. So sales don’t mean game = amazing. For suits it means its amazing, but thats not where I want to see gaming.

So many amazing games dont sell, doesnt make it bad. Im not a suit or an investor, I play the games.
Bloodborne and Returnal supposedly didnt sell great, but they are amazing titles, both leagues above Days gone. If Sony cut Housemarque, it would make sense because it didnt sell MILLIONS, but it would be a huge disappointment because they are amazing. Yes they have some duds, but gameplay wise they are top dog.

The reason I said they should be axed if there next game doesnt do well is because they spend years with a big studio making Days Gone and it released as a buggy mess. It wasn’t like the other 1st party games quality wise. Maybe Im being too harsh on it, it was decent, just the melee really put me off.

TBH, I dont want them to be axed, I like Syphon Filter, I hope they make another one. But when people here are saying Sony should cut Japan studios and Ueda and Evolution then Im like fuck that, just because the game doesnt sell well, doesnt mean it wasnt amazing.

I admit, it had great production value, animations, facial animations, voice acting, graphics, music and the zombie combat was decent. But when I did the Melee I was like wtf is this? This doesnt feel like a 1st party great.

Bend has been around for years, they have enough experience, since like 1992

 

[Kokoloko]

Abandoning days gone doesn’t mean they’re abandoning the studio. They just don’t believe in the Ip. That’s fine… it is a bit redundant even in Sony’s own lineup.

The game did well anyway and I’m sure the fan reception is recognized (never played it I’m indifferent just calling what I see). Days gone was just a stepping stone for potentially bigger things from Bend.

Tbh, we need some new ips or older classics brought back. It would be retarded if every studios was making a sequel to there last game. Spiderman 2, obvious, sold loads. Horizon, big hit. Ghost big hit. Gow Ragnarok, had to happen. Days gone 2 would just sequel station

 

[Kokoloko]

Days Gone was one of the best games of the PS4 generation. If it was third-party from Take 2 (let's say from the Mafia team) it would be praised to high heaven but it was a Sony game and they always get judged more harshly. Unbelievably high standards no one else in the industry needs to reach.

At least now the game has a big cult following after all the unfair controversies.

Im glad you liked it bro. I just didnt like the melee and when I tried it with PS5, I didnt want to get into a whole big open world again at the time. Maybe I should give it another chance, the rest of the stuff was done well.

But Im still bitter about Ueda, Acquire, and Team Gravity and all the other smaller Japan studios gone lol. They rocked my PS2/PS3 generation. And Evolution. Driveclub was amazing

And bring back Hohokum, Tokyo Jungle and Locoroco lol

 

[Danja]

My comment was most probably personal opinion and if not, review scores reflect what most people thought of it. For me it was a disappointment. Us Sony fans are loyal, I bought the game. I never said it wasn’t a success, but review wise, it wasnt. And it definitely wasnt a great game for me.

So many games sell well, doesnt make it good. COD is the higest selling game every year, doesnt make the best game ever. Fifa sells millions more than God of War, it doesnt make it better. Same with GTA. Pokemon. Animal Crossing. So sales don’t mean game = amazing. For suits it means its amazing, but thats not where I want to see gaming.

So many amazing games dont sell, doesnt make it bad. Im not a suit or an investor, I play the games.
Bloodborne and Returnal supposedly didnt sell great, but they are amazing titles, both leagues above Days gone. If Sony cut Housemarque, it would make sense because it didnt sell MILLIONS, but it would be a huge disappointment because they are amazing. Yes they have some duds, but gameplay wise they are top dog.

The reason I said they should be axed if there next game doesnt do well is because they spend years with a big studio making Days Gone and it released as a buggy mess. It wasn’t like the other 1st party games quality wise. Maybe Im being too harsh on it, it was decent, just the melee really put me off.

TBH, I dont want them to be axed, I like Syphon Filter, I hope they make another one. But when people here are saying Sony should cut Japan studios and Ueda and Evolution then Im like fuck that, just because the game doesnt sell well, doesnt mean it wasnt amazing.

I admit, it had great production value, animations, facial animations, voice acting, graphics, music and the zombie combat was decent. But when I did the Melee I was like wtf is this? This doesnt feel like a 1st party great.

Bend has been around for years, they have enough experience, since like 1992

Okay Fair enough! And I have no issue with you not liking the game at all. It's not perfect, but I did enjoy my time with it and all the added content and challenges they added to keep the community engaged (which was refreshing from a Sony 1st party studio) when it came to the treatment of a single player game.

It was Bend's first major AAA console game since 2006? Taking 6 years wasn't that bad? Nobody holds this against Sucker Punch. Reviewers were overly harsh on the game going as far as to knock off points over miniscule stuff.

I also think Sony killing off Evolution was a huge misstep along with Guerrilla Cambridge but hey?

 

[Nhomnhom]

So what? It's not our job to pretend to be interested about their games. I guess people should just ignore the news then, works for me.

Sony made plenty of mistakes shutting down studios in the past for a PlayStation fan this is big news because it shows that Sony is still willing to shut studios down if they don't perform.

 

[Yurinka]

Days Gone was one of the best games of the PS4 generation. If it was third-party from Take 2 (let's say from the Mafia team) it would be praised to high heaven but it was a Sony game and they always get judged more harshly. Unbelievably high standards no one else in the industry needs to reach.

At least now the game has a big cult following after all the unfair controversies.

I'm with you. It had some flaws specially at launch but I really enjoyed it. For me it was in the top 15-20 favorite games of the generation.

 

[Yurinka]

It was Bend's first major AAA console game since 2006?

Since 2007 in fact. But between it and Days Gone they released 4 portable games, 3 of them being top tier tech wise stuff in portables, to the point one of them is one of the best selling Vita games.

Days Gone was their first AAA console game in a while, their first open world game, their first game in that engine and a new IP. They also made the game with less people than games of that size had. Spending 6-7 years considering all this is normal.

Sony supported the game with post launch content, a PC port, a PS5 patch, including it on PS Plus Collection (which was a collection of some of the best PS4) and now making a movie. So they are happy with it.

Bend also made quality, well performing games since the PS1. There's nothing wrong with them. Other than having an asshole as head of studio that didn't want a Days Gone sequel at least right after Days Gone, which did cost him to lose its two game directors.

But Im still bitter about Ueda, Acquire, and Team Gravity and all the other smaller Japan studios gone lol. They rocked my PS2/PS3 generation. And Evolution.

Acquire never has been a Sony studio, it was a 3rd party studio that got some games published by Sony's Japanese 2nd party publishing team, which was inside Japan Studio and now have their own office. Shuhei Yoshida -the one in charge of the games published by PS Studios back then- now also runs PlayStation Indies from Japan, where still supports 3rd party indie games but with better conditions for both sides: now Sony doesn't get the IP, they let the indies self publish them and release them in other platforms too. And all the Acquire games (that aren't for mobile only) released after Rain are available in PlayStation.

Firesprite is basically Evolution + Liverpool Studio + Bizarre Creations. Jimbo and Hermen buying them basically resurrected these studios.

Team Gravity and the other internal development Japan Studios teams like Team Ico have been merged (obviously without some folks who over the years left or were fired) into Team Asobi. There are many people who worked in Astro that previously had worked on games like Gravity Rush or The Last Guardian.

 

[Box]

Until today i had no idea this studio even existed

 

[Box]

Hohokum, Tokyo Jungle and Locoroco lol

As much as i liked Patapon and Locoroco, they didn't sell all that much. I do wish they get vita sequels though

 

[Remember_Spinal]

Sony made plenty of mistakes shutting down studios in the past for a PlayStation fan this is big news because it shows that Sony is still willing to shut studios down if they don't perform.

I’m not sure why that would be news lol

Do people not see playstation as a business?

 

[Kokoloko]

Acquire never has been a Sony studio, it was a 3rd party studio that got some games published by Sony's Japanese 2nd party publishing team, which was inside Japan Studio and now have their own office. Shuhei Yoshida -the one in charge of the games published by PS Studios back then- now also runs PlayStation Indies from Japan, where still supports 3rd party indie games but with better conditions for both sides: now Sony doesn't get the IP, they let the indies self publish them and release them in other platforms too.

I see,either they worked with Japan Studios for a long time and would of Been smart to bring them to the Japan Studios family/1st party family. They had a long running relationship with Playstation and then went on to make a great game (Octopath Traveler ) that didn’t come to PlayStation, which is a mistake on Sony’s part. Some that could of happened to Insomniac, did happen t Ninja Theory.

And all the Acquire games (that aren't for mobile only) released after Rain are available in PlayStation.

Octopath Travler didn‘t come to PS4 or PS5 and it was great.

Firesprite is basically Evolution + Liverpool Studio + Bizarre Creations. Jimbo and Hermen buying them basically resurrected these studios.

Which is great to hear, thanks. Hopefully they can work on a racer too. Driveclub and Motorstorm was good.

Team Gravity and the other internal development Japan Studios teams like Team Ico have been merged (obviously without some folks who over the years left or were fired) into Team Asobi. There are many people who worked in Astro that previously had worked on games like Gravity Rush or The Last Guardian.

Its not just about the teams. Its what the directors/the heads like Ueda and Keiichirō Toyama who arent there anymore brought to the table. They would each bring a new exclusive game to the console and probably great/decent games. Another SOTC or Ico, yes please.
Its like Tango Studios and Xbox, that studio is worthless now without Mikami.

Asobi is good, but Id rather have Asobi plus Team Gravity, Team Ico and then Sony bringing new studios to the Japan Studios Division like Clap Handz, Acquire, Pyramid run by Ejun, A team run by Tsutomu Kouno etc and also buy Level 5. That for me would be amazing.

Anyway, this is my desires and its not happening lol. I Wish Sony expanded there Japan studios with more teams. Ill go where those directors go either way

 

[Kokoloko]

As much as i liked Patapon and Locoroco, they didn't sell all that much. I do wish they get vita sequels though

But they were popular with the fans. Something like Team Ico made amazing games.

The landscape is different to Vita and PS3. Infamous only sold 1.3 million or something? Ghost of Tsushima sold 10million plus? The PS3 and Vita were the worst times for PS.

Bloodborne and Returnal supposedly didnt sell great compared to others but damn they are amazing. It would be retarded if Sony drops HouseMarque if there next game doesnt sell millions. If it makes its money back and some, then that is fine for the fans.

Jak N Daxter didnt sell as good as Ratchet and Clank but look at Naughty Dogs games now. Probably amongst the best studios in the world if not thee best.

Look at Octopath traveler, there previous games didnt sell huge amounts but Tenchu was popular and way of Samurai was a good series.

Demons Souls was ignored by fans and by Sony heads and now look at Elden Ring and Dark souls..

Sometimes some patience and chances is needed.

Games like Locoroco, Everybodys Golf and Gravity Rush arent world beats and sellers but they cost a fraction of Ghost of Tsushima and Horizon and could be supported easily.