Why Europe doesn't 'get' Twisted Metal

By Fred Dutton Published 9 June, 2011

Jaffe: "Your WipeOut is our Twisted Metal."

While it's always done great business in the US, OTT PlayStation car combat franchise Twisted Metal has never quite replicated that success on European shores.

So, why the disparity? According to creator David Jaffe, it's all down to cultural identity.

"My layman's sociological view of Europe is that you guys tend to respond to things that are sleeker, cleaner, more refined, a bit more humorous," he told Eurogamer backstage at E3 today.

"I think Twisted Metal is rough around the edges, it's raw, it's like a garage band. It's dented, it's busted up, it's oil and diesel fuel. And to us in America, at least to Twisted Metal fans, it wears that as a badge of honour. We like that spirit.

"In the same way Wipeout was never a mega hit over here and has always been appreciated by a smaller group than in Europe. There's a similar dynamic going on. Your Wipeout is our Twisted Metal."

Jaffe also blamed heavy censorship of the series' last outing, Twisted Metal Black, in a number of European countries for reducing its impact on this side of the Atlantic.

"Our last really big Twisted Metal went out everywhere except America with all the storytelling, cut scenes, characters and things that gave it a conceptual definition ripped out for censorship reasons."

Finally, he argued that both the developer and publisher haven't done a good enough job of properly explaining what the game is all about.

"If you just look at the game on face value you either respond to the spirit and the imagination or you don't. What you don't see is the depth in the game. You don't see the fighting game and the sporting spirit.

"I think especially in Europe the candy wrapper is so off-putting to certain people. You say 'that's not for us, there's not enough irony, there's not enough humour'. It's not given the chance to unveil what's beneath the candy wrapper."

Jaffe added that he was hopeful gamers in Europe will give it a fairer crack of the whip when it launches on PlayStation 3 later this year, but he hasn't been tempted to sand off its edges to appeal to a wider audience.

"In terms of reaching out through the internet, reaching out through Twitter, in terms of having SCEE being much more excited about the game, yeah, of course we're hopeful," he explained.

"What we're not going to do is go 'how do we cut the balls off this spirit, of this essence, just in order to say maybe we'll get more fans. There are games that can survive that kind of neutering, but Twisted Metal isn't one of them. If you don't get it, you don't get it.

"I hope Europeans give us a shot. I know we'll do better with this one than we have ever done before, but I'm not going to beg."

Among the unconverted? Our recent hands-on preview should help you decide whether Jaffe's creation is up your street.

Picture of Fred.

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (38) Latest comment 12 months ago

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  • tokenwebster #1 12 months ago

    WHAT?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!??! This is madness!!!!

    EDIT: First time ever I don't read the whole article and drop a comment straight away (probs got excited coz i was gonna be first :$) Title mos defiantly needs changing
    Edited by tokenwebster at 09/06/11 @ 01:38

  • ulix #2 12 months ago

    Next time you write an article use a headline that can be misunderstood even harder. Come on! The first thing I thought when reading the headline was, of course, "He means we don't appreciate Twisted Metal".... not "Twisted Metal won't be released in Europe". Who'd think that? The headline is so clear!

  • wez_316 #3 12 months ago

    @tokenwebster

    Did you read the headline and think they were not bringing it to Europe? I did but then read it and was relieved. I think EG should have replaced the word "get" with the word "understand" for this because it is very easily misinterpreted.

  • insincere_dave #4 12 months ago

    We get it alright. We get that it's shit.

  • insincere_dave #5 12 months ago

    We get it alright. We get that it's shit.

  • sfp_noodle #6 12 months ago

    @ulix

    I thought the exact same thing. Regarding the game, never been a fan personally, but the new game does look interesting. It seemed to have been in development for quite some time when they showed it off last year, but there's been no info on it since. Jaffe normally shits and screams every little piece of info regarding his work so it's suprising he's kept this game so under wraps.

  • dirtysteve #7 12 months ago

    Where is the 'irony' in Wipeout? I guess yanks really don't understand the meaning of irony.

  • tokenwebster #8 12 months ago

    @wez_316

    Yes I did haha! That's sooooo misleading, I nearly fainted.....................phew!!

  • captain_Carl #9 12 months ago

    Nice attention grabbing headline, EG. You get those hits!

  • sirBetamax #10 12 months ago

    Now Europe censors things too much? I am so confused, the Witcher told me it was the other way around! I'll just move to Australi- Oh wait.

  • TudeScud #11 12 months ago

    @dirtysteve Is "WipeOut" really about 'Wiping Out'? Though it does make use of weapons, my understanding was that the game was more defined by its futuristic high speed racing. If I misunderstood, feel free to say so, as I don't have much experience with the series.

    Anyways, I think you're splicing two of his ideas together and that his reference to irony was really about the nature of some of the humor in the game(TM) rather than it's title underpinnings (which are about weaponized vehicles 'twisting metal'). He had made qualifiers for WipeOut specifically in it's sleekness and I believe the intent was to be left at that.

    I do think stereotyping the audiences, whether he was admitting his layman viewpoint or not, was rather daft of him. Even if it's true, it never makes for good PR.

    Edit: To be frank, I think the word irony in Jaffe's case would be better replaced with subtlety. Twisted Metal's irony is obtuse and over-the-top to the point of cliche. When irony is appreciated it's usually in its more subtle, subversive and accidental form. Americans appreciate irony plenty (maybe a little too much).
    Edited by TudeScud at 09/06/11 @ 03:05

  • RobotRocker #12 12 months ago

    We get it alright. We get that it's shit.

    Username/Post combos eh? Heh.

    Now Europe censors things too much?

    Calm down. Black got censored as shooting a jet liner down wouldn't fly post 9/11 as well as the general "Can't have dark stuff about" feeling at the time.

  • NegativeZero #13 12 months ago

    @sirBetamax: Australia's unfortunately part of Europe, in the bizzare alternative universe that game publishers live in.

  • Collymilad #14 12 months ago

    wipeout > twisted metal

  • Markusdragon #15 12 months ago

    It's Battle Cars but darker and edgier. What's not to get?

  • Zaiz #16 12 months ago

    I'm pretty sure that Twisted Metal isn't an american thing, I personally can't stand it.

  • Aiten #17 12 months ago

    He's right I don't get it...the whole game just seems a mess.

  • thefilthandthefury #18 12 months ago

    Have they changed the title or something? At the moment it says "Why Europe doesn't 'get' Twisted Metal" which is perfectly clear.

  • ThePissartist #19 12 months ago

    I agree with him; WipeOut is great, Twisted Metal is poor.

  • mukki #20 12 months ago

    Sheesh, like most readers when I read the headline I thought the game would not be released in europe...

  • Whizzo #21 12 months ago

    Not sure Europeans want something much more sleek and refined, Carmageddon was rough as hell but it's ten times the game Twisted Metal has ever been.

  • MiY4MOTO #22 12 months ago

    I spotted the quotes and fully understood the headline. Saying that tho, if we didn't get it (without quotes) it would be no great loss to me.

    I've always found them to be a complete mess of game, the antithesis of WipeOut. So yeah, maybe Jaffe is right, or maybe I just the series is shit.

  • login_name #23 12 months ago

    The reason I didn't like Twisted Metal was because it was an ugly, boring, buggy pile of shit. At least on the original PS. Never did play Black, was well put off by then.

  • Beek4257 #24 12 months ago

    I don't think TM is shit per sé. I wouldn't know really. I think Jaffe is right: we (Europeans in general) don't "get" it. And I think we don't even want to "get" it at all. Which is why I think TM will never be a big succes sales wise in Europe.

    It's like Nascar: there might be a thrilling sport in there somewhere, but the general premise is just so off putting, I can't be bothered to even try and find it.

    Which says more about me than it does about TM (or Nascar), but there you go..

  • beelzebozo #25 12 months ago

    I played Twisted Metal World Tour every day for a year. Loved it. Black sucked in comparison.

  • Vlad27145 #26 12 months ago

    Bah, I'm going against the tide. I REALLY love me some Wipeout, but I love Twisted Metal too. It's a different experience and it's supposed to be "messy", as in chaotic, as opposed to Wipeouts grace, elegance and precision.

    Why can't we have both??

  • DrStrangelove #27 12 months ago

    I also think Twisted Metal is a nice visualisation of the American state of mind.

  • JamieR #28 12 months ago

    Dose he need reminding that carmagadden what he copyied was made in europe

  • xero521 #29 12 months ago

    i loved the old twisted metal games just hope its not changed a lot coz im looking forward to it! but reading the headline of the article i thought it wasnt getting released in europe! pheww

  • Moshbag #30 12 months ago

    Well I'm European and I 'get it'. Twisted Metal World Tour is the greatest game ever made, so this one's an instant pre-order for me.

  • MARKIV #31 12 months ago

    "Wipeout was never a mega hit over here" It was over in the UK was it? I'm with the tanks on this one!

  • dahsif #32 12 months ago

    "Humour"? "irony?"

    This chap has obviously never been to Germany.

    /more clichés
    Edited by dahsif at 09/06/11 @ 12:12

  • disappointed #33 12 months ago

    @TudeScud
    Irony doesn't just mean saying something that isn't literally true, it means (roughly) saying the opposite of what you really mean for the purpose of emphasis. So, while it's true that WipeOut wasn't about wiping or out or wiping out*, that doesn't make the title ironic. On the contrary, there was a great deal of sincerity in that game.

    *Actually, it is, to some significant degree, about wiping out and the avoidance thereof. That's what stops you just bouncing off the walls.

  • blackbriar101 #34 12 months ago

    Split screen on the PSX was fucking hilarious.

  • Bluetooth #35 12 months ago

    Yeah, we just don't understand crap games at all.

  • WeakOrbit #36 12 months ago

    But guy's Twisted Metal was actually on FRIENDS. Joey and Ross were playing it.

    How american is that.

    I heard Werner Herzog had to cut all the footage of wipeout from his films to even get them released.

  • Torkin #37 12 months ago

    I really don't 'get' the hating comments. He didn't say anything offensive, in fact I think he hit the nail on the head.

    I love Wipeout since the first one, the sleek and refined (as Jaffe says) look of the game, it's one of the defining things of the series. And I had so much fun with Twisted Metal World Tour back in the PS days... I've never played another TM but this new one caught my attention some time ago and probably will buy it if it turns out good. But I recognize that the style is very american and may not be everyone's taste.

    European and american cultures are different in the games market too, a simple example would be the different covers of the games, many times we get the japanese, stylish cover, while the american market gets a new one redesigned, with more action oriented images. Think about the Final Fantasy XIII cover, how many of you think that It would have been better the classic logo on a white background? I do. Instead, we got the american one with a horrible picture o Lightning.

    So... Wipeout is a far better game than Twisted Metal, though I like TM too.
    Edited by Torkin at 09/06/11 @ 21:54

  • TudeScud #38 12 months ago

    @disappointed Fair enough. I would argue "avoidance thereof" is synonymous with 'opposite of your goals', but I suppose you could say the same in regards to Twisted Metal when referring to your own vehicle (disregarding its nonliteral meaning of course). I would see the game contained in "Burnout" or "FlatOut" as more fitting to the title (WO), but I digress.

    Personally, I never would have compared the two titles (WO and TM) as they're very different playstyles. I haven't seen anyone compare it to the more similar combat arena playstyles that many the kart racers feature. MarioKart, Crash Team Racing, Jak X or any number of Destruction Derby titles would be a better comparison, but perhaps none of those games are popular in Europe either :/ .
    Edited by TudeScud at 09/06/11 @ 23:14