Unlike movie studios that can afford to release movies that fail to gain box office traction, game studios tend to live on a game-by-game cycle. If the game they’ve been working on is a hit, the studio can move on to a new project, whether it’s a sequel or an all-new IP (though that tends to be more rare). When a game released fails to gain a large audience, the story tends to change quickly with layoffs which usually lead to studio doors closing. It should also be taken into account that a game’s financial success is not always related to the critical appeal and quality of the game. Poor marketing or an overcrowded market are just two causes that can lead to a studio’s demise.
Evolution Studios, the team behind the PlayStation 3 exclusive series, MotorStorm, is no stranger to this formula. Launching the original MotorStorm alongside of the PlayStation 3’s debut, Evolution Studios has followed up the series with MotorStorm: Pacific Rift and MotorStorm: Apocalypse, the latest in the franchise. Unfortunately for studio boss Matt Southern and the team, Apocalypse was met with poor sales, despite rave reviews. To make matters worse, the game, which was based around racing while landscapes around you were destroyed by the likes of earthquakes was released at the same time as the devastating earthquakes and tsunamis that hit Japan. Due to this, Sony would cancel the games release in Japan, in respect of the people there. Matt Southern:
“We made a game we’re really proud of and for some really heartbreaking reasons things didn’t go so well”
Luckily for Matt, the team at Evolution Studios and PlayStation owners, Sony would step in and help the studio out. Backed by the folks at Sony and PlayStation, Evolution Studios is again able to continue working on games for the PlayStation brand, including DLC content for the PS3 and an all new game for the PS Vita.
“We split the company up into three teams, one making RC, one supporting MotorStorm Apocalypse post-launch with DLC and multiplayer, and another bunch of guys just brainstorming new ideas. In a climate like the one we’ve had this year, that is rare.”
In a time where studios closures are nothing new and the slow economic recovery for the entire globe continues, it’s nice to know that a beloved franchise is able to continue and those behind it will not have to be looking for a new job. With the studio finishing development of MotorStorm: RC for the PS Vita, Southern and team seem to be in a much better place now.
“We all started to pick ourselves up and get excited about it. We’re not out of it yet, [but] things are turning round, I think. The studio’s really, really buzzing now.”
Well done, Sony, well done.
After the jump, our comments section and a trailer for MotorStorm: RC await you.
Discuss:
When was the last time you played a MotorStorm game and do you think Sony did the right thing to step in and save the studio?
[Via EuroGamers]