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WipEout HD delayed due to technical issue News

PlayStation 3 News by Tom Bramwell

17 July, 2008

WipEout HD has yet to be released because of a "specific technical problem", but Sony hopes it will be out "before the end of the year".

"There is a specific technical problem with WipEout that we have to solve. I can't go into details but it is a really, really tricky technical problem that no region has been able to solve at the moment," Sony Europe boss David Reeves told us when we hassled him about the game's progress this week in LA.

"I think it will come out before the end of the year but it is something that was just very difficult to get to grips with."

Which is a shame, because WipEout HD looks great and we were pretty happy with it when we got to play around with an unfinished build a few months ago.

WipEout HD features eight tracks borrowed and spruced up from the excellent PSP games along with online multiplayer and the promise of downloadable content. It also aims to run at 60 frames-per-second in 1080p.

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Comments: 1-50 of 93 in total | next 50 »

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chris_ace
17/07/08 @ 19:05
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let me get it out of the way.... PS3LOL, Delaystation3, power of the cell etc etc
Gaol
17/07/08 @ 19:05
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Damn.

Delays on this system are becoming legendary.
Mugwum [staff]
17/07/08 @ 19:06
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Hi guys. Just a quick note about these Reeves stories - we know you'd prefer to read the whole interview rather than having split it up like this, but we thought you'd appreciate some of these updates before I get round to transcribing it properly. He said some properly wacky stuff, so watch out next week :-)
Law07
17/07/08 @ 19:06
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Wonder what this issue is.

General Xbot: The PS3 is the issue lololololol
Edited 1 times, most recently on 17/07/08 @ 20:06
bad09
17/07/08 @ 19:06
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Darren won't be happy :)
the_dudefather
17/07/08 @ 19:07
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@chris_ace

you forgot blu-ray lolololololololololrofllol
GitSomE UK
17/07/08 @ 19:10
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Oh FFS this is taking the piss.

What specific technical problem? The PS3?

/Kicks PS3 across the room
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/Runs to PS3 and hugs it
Aloominum_man
17/07/08 @ 19:16
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Surprise surprise. I said this in a thread yesterday, and some tool threatened to use troll spray on me... *sniff*
des
17/07/08 @ 19:19
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Some people are saying that trophies are to blame hmm...
Mr_Bison
17/07/08 @ 19:22
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I DEMAND WIPEOUT!
jmctavish
17/07/08 @ 19:35
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F-Zero>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>WipeArse

(i did like the music in the first wipeout)
tonynibbles
17/07/08 @ 19:36
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Big shame, hope they fix this soon, need this game.

:(
tobsen
17/07/08 @ 19:42
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I guess that the "60 frames-per-second in 1080p" part is the technical issue that nobody is able to figure out.
Miths
17/07/08 @ 19:44
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Thanks for hassling them - it was about time somebody did. Well, at least bad news is better than no news (well, some might disagree :p) - guess it's WipEout Pulse on the PSP for another several months then.

It certainly sounds a bit odd that "a specific technical" problem - even a very tricky one - should take months to solve for a full development team though. And if they can't solve it in few hundred man hours, what makes them think that several thousand will make a difference if we're talking about a specific hurdle rather than unexpected extra volume work?
Well, hopefully they'll figure it out eventually - though if the developers really are more than fairly loosely connected to SCEE, perhaps there's reason to be very afraid indeed :).
Rash'
17/07/08 @ 19:45
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bad09, No he won't. :o)
DrDamn
17/07/08 @ 19:45
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Bit strange he said "No region has been able to solve".

@the_dudefather
No exactly appropriate given it's a PSN title. :)
Krelle
17/07/08 @ 19:46
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"I guess that the "60 frames-per-second in 1080p" part is the technical issue that nobody is able to figure out."

id guess so
Artemus
17/07/08 @ 19:49
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I was thinking online might be the problem.
Carlo
17/07/08 @ 19:55
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"Hi guys. Just a quick note about these Reeves stories - we know you'd prefer to read the whole interview rather than having split it up like this, but we thought ..."

We'd get more clicks this way.

/counts money
zedzee
17/07/08 @ 20:03
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"it is a really, really tricky technical problem that no region has been able to solve at the moment,"

Why don't they ask Microsoft to look at it for them...they cut code for a living, you know!
Krelle
17/07/08 @ 20:03
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Bit pathetic that Mugwum tries to justify splitting up articles into smaller stories.

We all know its just to get more "clicks" anyway. Keep some of your honor and dont try to fool us aswell.
pac666
17/07/08 @ 20:06
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Chuffin nuts to that!
Vertical Stand
17/07/08 @ 20:10
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Fusion suffered similar delays, yet maybe those problems being addressed in Pure and Pulse made up for it, perhaps the nature of the game, handling model make them difficult to pull off, pure speculation.

Anyhow, unlike others not overly bothered, happy with Pure and Pulse, would much rather see a Rollcage HD, maybe Evolution Studios could lend a hand on that one eh, Motorstorm assests and whatnot (actually that would be a pretty good direction fote Evolution to take after Pacific Drift, upside down bouncey physics joy that is Rollcage!).
agparrot
17/07/08 @ 20:13
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Fixing Broken Game > Releasing Broken Game.
Darren
17/07/08 @ 20:41
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Bloody typical. Just about every other major announcement that Sony have made over the past year has been subject to some delay. It's getting ridiculous really not to mention annoying. I wish Sony would shut the f*** up about this stuff until they know it's almost ready for release, that way they don't look foolish when they have to announce yet another game is being delayed!

*sigh*
Darren
17/07/08 @ 20:45
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I'm guessing at this technical issue being somehow related to the game's online features. After all it can't be anything to do with rest of the game since Sony showed us videos of the game running months and months ago and bar a little tearing it was all looking very slick and running well. Oh and the first trailer for the game has been around almost a year, hasn't it? Tut.

/curses Sony
photosinferno
17/07/08 @ 20:49
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Technical issues???? any chance on this 'Jim' bloke expanding on that??
If it's the on-line aspect then fair enough...but hey at least give 'us' a reason for the delay!

Poll... which will come out first 'Wipeout HD' or 'Home' ?
....both seem to be going 'backwards' fast!

gggrrrr
SeesThroughAll
17/07/08 @ 20:52
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First game broken by in-game XMB confirmed!
squarepusher
17/07/08 @ 20:59
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technical issue is sony parlance for please buy this piece of shit called fatal inertia EX while you wait
SeesThroughAll
17/07/08 @ 21:03
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technical issue is sony parlance for please buy this piece of shit called fatal inertia EX while you wait

Tried the demo and it is indeed quite dire. I feel sorry for anybody who actually bought that shit on DVD before.
Darren
17/07/08 @ 21:04
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@SeeThroughAll - Hey, you know, you could be right... maybe the new XMB uses memory that the game needed and so it won't run without crashing. LOL

That would be funny especially as I read an article earlier that basically stated that Sony design the hardware first (blindfolded... nah, just joking!) then pass it onto to the software people to see what they can do with it rather than sitting down with both and building the console together like Microsoft and Nintendo do. Thus they spend a lot of time trying to get stuff working on the hardware and we already know from developers that the PS3, like the PS2 before, is a complicated machine to code for. Seems like Sony haven't learnt anything from the PS2 at all. Based on what I've read and seen for myself I suspect there's a lot of truth to it.
SeesThroughAll
17/07/08 @ 21:09
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@Darren: I think the only lesson they learned was that they got easy profit from the PS2, innit? ;)
And although I joked, I wouldn't be surprised that the technical issue comes from the new firmware either...
JohnnyWashnGo
17/07/08 @ 21:09
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Delays are great when they mean that the final game is as polished as can be.

The modern attitude of release it as soon as possible and fix it later is appalling. It is one of the reasons I gave up PC gaming a long time ago and it is the thing that is really pissing me off about console gaming now.

SeesThroughAll
17/07/08 @ 21:11
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I don't think delays ever are great. Indeed, polishing a product and making sure it works right is the only acceptable reason behind them, but I never like to hear about games being delayed.
jonbwfc
17/07/08 @ 21:17
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Official Sony page for WipeOut HD
"WipEout HD represents the future of the iconic anti-gravity racing series when it launches in late 2007."

Lol at them not even updating the web page for the last 9 months.

It's going to be a year late. 12 whole months. Do they really think they'll have some miraculous breakthrough in the next couple of months they haven't had in the previous 10?

Releasing a working game (even if you end up with foot in mouth cos you promised what you can't deliver)>>>>>> not releasing a game because you're embarrassed about promising something you couldn't deliver.

if they can't manage 1080p/60, drop it down to 720p/60 and GET IT OUT THE DOOR. Delaying it further now just makes them look even more useless by the week.

Jon
Edited 1 times, most recently on 17/07/08 @ 22:28
APHIZM
17/07/08 @ 21:25
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Wouldn't surprise me if it's a net code issue. Hasn't it already been running in 1080/60 for a while?
JediMasterMalik
17/07/08 @ 21:34
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1) This really sucks, I hope hey fix the issue quick cause I was really looking forward to having this soon.

2) The problem is most certainly not the resolution and framerate, they've had it running at that for a while now afaik. I also agree that 1080p is not important if they can get 720p working fine, but somehow I can't imagine that being a reason to delay the game, it simply would not compute. Fanboys are just using that as some kind of dig at the PS3, when it doesn't really fit as the reason for the delay.

3) I think it probably does have something to do with the latest firmware as well.
Stoatboy
17/07/08 @ 21:44
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@Krelle: Please fuck off. If EG post these articles as quick as possible - i.e. split into chunks (which they've been doing for a bastard long time btw, and nobody's cared until now) they now get accused of doing it for the clicks. If they wait, edit and compile them into one article they get told they're late with the news.

Just accept the content the site has, or shut up and fuck off. I'd rather have the mindless fuckwit fanboy rhetoric that I can pity and laugh at than mewling snide comments like yours about a site that you're not paying a fucking penny to access. If you don't think the time you spent "clicking" was worth the effort then a) stop fucking clicking and then EG'll get the message sooner, and b) don't bother wasting more time whining about it afterwards.
Edited 2 times, most recently on 17/07/08 @ 22:49
yupyup
17/07/08 @ 22:04
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A delay on Playstation 3? Oh my, now that *is* newsworthy.
neilka
17/07/08 @ 22:19
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Trouble at t'Blu-Rays mill.
onyxbox
17/07/08 @ 22:20
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As some one pointed out earlier, I think the "No region has been able to solve" bit is the clue to the problem.

I'd go with some kind of net code problem... or he could be just making it up... you know plumber style.

So why isn't it ready?

/rubs chin, deap noisy inhale

Well it's very technical sir, it a problem no one's been able to solve.

edit: we turned the speed up to 11 and now it's fooked.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 17/07/08 @ 23:22
phatb0y
17/07/08 @ 22:25
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Home integration perhaps?

Tell you what, fuck it off, nobody will care.

It'll run from the XMB just fine without going into that polygonal self-promotion shitfest.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 17/07/08 @ 23:25
SpaceMidget75
17/07/08 @ 22:36
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I haven't read that this game is doing anything particularly unusual as far as networking is concerned so I really can't see it being a netcode issue. How many players per race? Does it have spectator options?

To say its a very tricky problem would point to it either being a pure processing grunt issue such as getting 1080p 60fps or the aforementioned firmware issue.

Given that the firmware must have been tested with every game released thus far I can't believe it would suddenly cause problems with Wipeout HD.

So I'm gonna plump for the 1080p thing as it fits the 'very tricky' description and I can imagine that Sony would delay it for this purpose do to all the bad press they're getting about the performance of the PS3. The game has also got HD in the title so it would be embarrassing if it had to drop to 720p. (Yes, I know 720p is HD but you know what I mean.)

I know some of you have said that it's already been running as such, but can you confirm that and even then it may not be smooth throughout a full race or with the max number of ships they want per race.
Kazzahdrane
17/07/08 @ 22:49
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Wouldn't be surprised if it's something to do with the networking for the multiplayer aspects.

If I happen to have a PS3 when this is released I'll get it for sure, Wipeout is awesome!
Gormless
17/07/08 @ 22:55
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Gobble my fucking stoppard, i am so glad i bought my PS3 for this!
haldier
17/07/08 @ 23:10
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Actualy do'nt think it's ps3 but Sony, Fatal Inertia just released........
Krelle
18/07/08 @ 00:16
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lol, to close to home Stoatboy? Keep of the sterioids, mate (y)
ChrisOTR
18/07/08 @ 00:24
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Bad news... but great news for my wallet. I don't own a PS3, but I've never been able to resist Wipeout games - Pure was the only reason I bought my PSP...
Aretak
18/07/08 @ 02:01
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Great to see so many programmers in tonight offering their expert analysis on the delay.
barnard666
18/07/08 @ 02:21
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I thought at one point this was intended to be out by last Xmas.

at least we should see it the same day as the rest of the world right? localzsation cant really be an argument when they have had so many extra days, errrr wekks....errr months...(years?) to finish it.

I guess It really must be an online issue.

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