Rumor: Zipper Interactive Being Shut Down by Sony

Quite unfortunate if true.

Quote :: Zipper Interactive, a first-party Sony studio responsible for the creation of the SOCOM series and PS3 shooter MAG, is in the process of being shut down, according to Kotaku sources.

Sony has repeatedly declined to comment on the matter to Kotaku this week, citing their policy not to discuss rumor or speculation.

But we've heard chatter for several days that Zipper was in the process of being hit with layoffs and a project cancellation. The scope of the layoffs appears to indicate a studio shutdown.

Zipper has been in the business since 1996, with fan favourites like Mechwarrior 3 and Crimson Skies to its name before it was bought by Sony in 2006 to focus on the console business. The studio's last game was third-person shooter Unit 13 for the PlayStation Vita.

Once seen as one of Sony's most important studios, especially in the days of the PS2, Zipper has seen its titles struggle to find the same level of success in the PS3 era, with MAG never really catching on with players and the latest SOCOM title having the misfortune of being released right in the middle of 2011's great PS3 downtime.

Without official confirmation, there is still the possibility that Zipper will remain open in a nominal fashion but the extent of layoffs that we're hearing about appears to indicate studio closure.

We've again reached out to Sony for comment and will update this story if we hear back.

http://kotaku.com/5894692/rumor-socom-creators-being-shut-down-by-sony

The Judge **Stature** : 88

MAG and SOCOM 4 were pretty big flops. I think if Unit 13 on the Vita isn't a success, they may have to shut them down.

Certified IGN Reposter **Stature** : 194

Dammit! I was just about to post this earlier until my friend called me over the phone.

Mecha wrote:: Dammit! I was just about to post this earlier until my friend called me over the phone.

Yeah, I saw you post it after me but then deleted it.

MAG suffered from some major issues like not being bundled with a mic, some dodgy spawns (snipers could snipe you as soon as you parachute into the map since you always spawn in the exact same spot) and some maps were woefully unbalanced towards certain PMC's.

I never played SOCOM 4 due to being skint and or waiting for other games.

I suppose they have just lost their touch this gen, maybe they should have stuck to the SOCOM 2 formula instead of trying to break into the FPS market which is already heavily saturated and fickle.

Founding Father **Stature** : 264 **Playing** : Tu madre

The developers still might be transferred to other sony first party projects.

Sub-Boss **Stature** : 11 Australia

They did get very unlucky since SOCOM 4 came out right at the start of the PSN hacking and no one bought it because it couldnt be played online.

The Judge **Stature** : 88

ghost23 wrote:: They did get very unlucky since SOCOM 4 came out right at the start of the PSN hacking and no one bought it because it couldnt be played online.

That, and Portal 2 and Mortal Kombat came out the same day.

Certified IGN Reposter **Stature** : 194

It is now confirmed.

http://www.vg247.com/2012/03/31/sony-confirms-zipper-interactive-closure/

Well they couldn't capture their former Socom I/II glory days and their last two PS3 games were critically and sales wise a flop. MAG had potential but didn't come with a mic and Socom 4, well that was Zipper fault. They couldn't pay attention to what the fan base wanted and it came to bite them in the ass.

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