WipEout Pulse may be heading to PS2

By Tom Bramwell Published 27 January, 2009

Sony says decisions are based on demand.

PSP title WipEout Pulse has been in development for PlayStation 2 for some time, Eurogamer has been told by a source close to Sony, but a statement from the publisher this week suggests it may no longer appear.

The PS2 version has been rumoured for a while - first in a French report in the middle of last year and then early this year in European retail guidance subsequently disowned by the publisher.

Sony declined to comment directly on WipEout Pulse for PS2, but told Eurogamer in a statement: "There are over 9.5m PS2s in the UK and we will continue to support this large userbase with software on an ongoing basis.

"Of course, we need to make a business decision that there will be sufficient demand for a particular product, but we see franchises such as SingStar and Buzz still selling very well - for example SingStar Abba which launched in December proved very successful.

"With regards to other titles we will judge each on an individual basis and make decisions accordingly."

WipEout Pulse was released for PSP in late 2007 in Europe and kept up the standard of the excellent WipEout Pure with numerous tracks and race types set over an extensive campaign, along with online multiplayer options.

Check out our WipEout Pulse PSP review to see what we made of it at the time.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (23) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Eraysor #1 3 years ago

    The more WipEout the better.

  • neonemesis #2 3 years ago

    Official - the PS2 will not die.

  • Beano #3 3 years ago

    Who cares... just give us more tracks for Wipeout HD :)

  • leftlion #4 3 years ago

    I know this is a Sony game and everything, but if they're listening to demand then why not release a wipeout for the Wii if PS2 is getting it. They might as well make a bit of extra cash. I'd buy one.

  • peterfll #5 3 years ago

    I'm confused about PS2 support going forward. It's still selling loads world-wide, yet the coverage for new games is negliable.

    Do Sony keep their PS3 BC up to date too?

  • superjag86 #6 3 years ago

    no

  • Beano #7 3 years ago

    Actually they do, but they only add support for some new titles and not old games.

  • zedzee #8 3 years ago

    For goodness sake, Sony.

    You either support the PS2 or you don't.

    You either release this rehash of previous versions of Wipeout (because that's what the tracks are, by the way, a rehash of Pure and some are in reverse) or you bloody well don't.

    This is precisely the kind of arrogance and contempt that Sony is showing to UK/Euroland PlayStation fans, and not just on the PS2, but also on various disastrous decisions on the PSP and the PS3. Explains why they're losing the consoles war.

    Stop dangling the carrot and then leaving PS2 owners with just the stick to hold...from the wrong end!

  • spk #9 3 years ago

    as a matter of fact Wipeout Pulse is entirely new tracks and there is no "rehash" about any of it. On PSP it features a total of 16 new tracks (including 4 on DLC) in forward and reverse versions, making 32 new tracks in total.
    Edited by 1 at 27/01/09 @ 14:51

  • neonemesis #10 3 years ago

    @zedzee

    Yeah, they need to give definitive answers and confirmations.

    I can't remember how many news stories there have been on the front page about Sony not confiming the Killzone 2 date.

  • Rash' #11 3 years ago

    zedzee & neonemesis,

    Oh please give it a rest. PS2 is into it's 9th year on the market, with continued support from a company that not only manufactures and supports it but two other platforms at the same time. Bear that in mind before passing judgement.

  • Feanor #12 3 years ago

    I own Pulse on the PSP, but I would buy this if it got a NTSC release. Phantom tracks are too annoying to control using the D-pad or nub and a little screen.

  • kangarootoo #13 3 years ago

    @leftlion

    Never going to happen, and neither should it.

    First off Nintendo probably wouldn't allow it.

    Secondly, it would be PR suicide for a platform developer to start making games for a rival platform. Imagine what kind of message that would send out.

    It might be good for gamers as a whole, but its unreasonable to ask any business to throw common business sense out of the window. As consumers we can only expect so much.

  • agparrot #14 3 years ago

    I reckon I'd buy it, if that sways the 'demand' branch any.

  • Flying_Pig #15 3 years ago

    Loved Pulse on PSP, certainly the next best after Wipeout HD. Should be easy to switch to PS2 - I say go for it!

  • zedzee #16 3 years ago

    @ Rash':

    No one is passing judgement. I was under the impression that this was a blog, where OPINIONS can be stated by all.

    @ spk:

    You're quite right. The rehash was WipeOut HD.

  • Ryze #17 3 years ago

    @kangarootoo

    Rare have made a couple of Nintendo games - although the suggestion would be quite different.

  • konniehuqfan #18 3 years ago

    please release it sony, make up for the abomination that was fusion :/

  • FOSTERSMAN #19 3 years ago

    sony need to make money quickly, so they still need to support the ps2.

  • Eraysor #20 3 years ago

    I thought Fusion was brilliant >_

  • Obli #21 3 years ago

    Do people still buy PS2 games (apart from Singstar and Buzz casuals) ?

    If the PS3 was a bit better off, I'm sure Sony wouldn't be dragging out the life of the PS2 so much. Anyway, I'd rather the developers worked on PS3 content, namely Wipeout HD DLC.

  • 3william56 #22 3 years ago

    They can call it Wipeout SD?

    It's a good question: how do they determine "demand"? The gajillion PS2s still being used say that there's a market, but it seems like most of the gamers likely to buy Pulse would have already moved on to a next gen console, and that most of the PS2s still in use are casual games machines used for Singstar and Buzz, or the massive 2nd hand market. Haven't seen anything else for the PS2 in the charts recently.

    Would personally "demand" that the resources were spent on HD tracks for download. Any word from Studio Liverpool about those?

  • Rabbinash #23 3 years ago

    The game has sneaked into game stores across Europe!
    [link url=http://it.playstation.com/games-media/game s/detail/item152266/WipEout/
    ]http://it .playstation.com/games-media/ga...[/link]
    26th in the UK I believe.