Sony Europe Job Cuts Numbered

[dpatel]

According to the site, the following SCEE studios, responsible for some of Sony's biggest internally developed franchises. Killzone developer Guerilla looks to have escaped the cost cutting axe.

* Sony Liverpool - where WipeOut and F1 are produced - lost over 50 employees. Sony QA for European titles is also largely based at Sony Liverpool.
* Sony Cambridge (Primal, Medieval, 24) lost about 20 people, almost a full quarter of their staff.
* The Sony London studios also let go of over 50 employees. It handles various projects such as HOME, The Getaway, EyeToy, SingStar as well as various R&D and support departments.
* 30 staff across Sony Territories, mostly in sales, marketing and PR in various countries were dismissed as well.
http://kotaku.com/gaming/sony/sony-europe-job-cuts-numbered-detailed-delivered-255333.php

I seriously hope they are not putting all their faith in Killzone. Yea, the trailer wow'd everyone, but the game wasn't that huge of a franchise to begin with. Sony has much better first party games than this. That E305 trailer was a mistake, as it is giving everyone unrealistic expectations for a franchise that was just above average.

It's possible they just want something to push visual boundaries. While the first Killzone wasn't amazing, it produced some of the best graphics the PS2 had seen, so I wouldn't be surprised if the team did it again.

[captmurphy]

While it is a bummer so many people lost their jobs, I think it is a bit of a reach to extrapolate from this information that Killzone is to blame.

[dpatel]

While it is a bummer so many people lost their jobs, I think it is a bit of a reach to extrapolate from this information that Killzone is to blame.

Yea, maybe I should reword my title. Killzone isn't really to blame for the job cuttings, but I am sure that job cuts were needed, and, since Killzone is a high priority, that team was safe. I guess they weren't sacrificed for Killzone development costs, but they were cut first because they are not as much of a priority as Killzone.

[dpatel]

Edited the title. Guess I was too quick on that one. Was just copying topic and title from another forum where I saw it. Now that I think about it, I believe my revised post is more accurate.

I guess, if Killzones budget was increased, we could make that assumption, but, given the current information, it would be a bit of a stretch.

[captmurphy]

Strange move, even if Sony isn't turning a profit right now. More than anything the PS3 needs exclusive software, and cutting your in-house dev teams isn't going to help that situation.

EVERYTHING else the system has going for it is swell (except, debatedly, the price)... they need those exclusives.

[Zoglog]

actually the job cuts are pretty natural due to bloated operations and less people needed since the console has already launched. It's a good thing really.

you gotta remember they've produced some shitty games as well. i'm suprised more people didn't get axed for that shitty psp game, gangs of london.