Sony London Studios has announced that it has reallocated its development resources away from
The Getaway and
Eight Days, both previously in production as PlayStation 3 titles.
Planned as the third entry to Sony's
The Getaway series, the PlayStation 3 release for
The Getaway was being considered for a possible film adaptation, according to screenplay writer Katie Ellwood in a
March interview with UK entertainment site Den of Geek.
Despite earlier rumors of the game being canceled, an April article in UK newspaper The Guardian reported that London Studios
devoted a small team to pre-production on
The Getaway. The group was to be joined by the bulk of
Eight Days' development team once the third-person shooter was completed. The team working on
Eight Days, which was announced at Sony's E3 2006 press conference, was said to have begun "ramping up to full production."
The decision to stop production on
The Getaway and
Eight Days comes after the
May promotion of Shuhei Yoshida from senior vice president of SCEA to president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide.
Speaking on Yoshida's appointment, SCEI CEO and president Kaz Hirai said, "Under the leadership of Yoshida, who has proven track record in managing creative talent, SCE WWS will accelerate the software development for the PlayStation 3 and PSP platforms and vigorously expand the gaming market."
Said Sony London Studios in a statement released earlier today: "It has been agreed that production of both
Eight Days and
The Getaway will cease immediately due to the redistribution of resources and budget. This decision was made following an internal review of all games and it was deemed that with the incredibly strong list of exclusive first party titles coming up both this year and in the near future, [resources] should be reallocated to enhance those projects closer to completion."
