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God of War 3 director leaves Sony

After 11 years with the company, Stig Asmussen no longer working at Sony Santa Monica.

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God of War III director Stig Asmussen has left Sony Santa Monica, though the situation surrounding his departure from the Sony-owned studio is unclear.

"SCEA can confirm that Stig Asmussen is no longer with Santa Monica Studio," a Sony representative told IGN.

Asmussen was a Sony Santa Monica veteran. He joined the company in 2003 and worked on God of War, God of War II, and God of War III.

He did not work on God of War: Ascension, and was reportedly leading development on a new IP that Sony canceled last month as part of a round of layoffs. Asmussen is, according to IGN's sources, now interviewing at several studios, though none were named.

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Boddicker

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Good!!!!


GoW3 was shit compared to 1 and 2.

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Avatar image for PlatinumPaladin
PlatinumPaladin

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Well that sucks. I thought God of War 3 was arguably the best game of the series. I hope he didn't leave just because his new game got cancelled.

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je29836

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good cuz gow 1 and 2 shit on gow 3

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Appel-Strong

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Wow, first Uncharted Amy Henning, then Infamous: Second Son lead designer Jamie Griesemer and now this guy... whats next? Sony-pocalypse?


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PS4Lives

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Didn't matter anymore if Sony financially turns to profitable or lose after seeing huge number of layoff, This isn't good for business.

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Avatar image for Evilbunz
Evilbunz

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<< LINK REMOVED >> Because it really made a big deal to the end user when this happened during the ps2 era... people's ideas get shelved their project is not what sony supports they cry and quit. Others create an amazing game and need a new challenge to leave in good terms.


Yet some how sony still manages for 4 console cycles to have the best 1st party games on their platform.

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soheil_nassri

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Guys dont you think Gamespot is supporting XboxOne? Please look at titles all good and promising things about xboxone and negative news about PS4:

More Xbox One games will run in 1080p over time, Microsoft says

God of War 3 director leaves Sony NEWS

PS4 system update 1.62 released, but what does it mean

and many more. Just read the texts. All news about Titanfall. This is the same happens to Apple products.

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Avatar image for PlatinumPaladin
PlatinumPaladin

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<< LINK REMOVED >> Nope. You're using as examples articles from one day. Go back a week or so, or the few months before and people were accusing GameSpot of supporting the PS4.

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godfather830

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@soheil_nassri Nah, if you read the titles a few months ago, you'd see the extreme opposite. It was much worse in fact. There would several Xbox stories, and they were all very negative, while the PS4 stories were all positive.


I don't think Gamespot is biased in this way. Sometimes, you just get a run of bad/good publicity.

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Moun7ainMan

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<< LINK REMOVED >> Probably has nothing directly to do with Microsoft just everyone hates on MS and the Xbone. Draws in all the haters creates a storm.

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Blazen702

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That's because the X1 is a news maker and all xbox one articles always get over 1000 comments while the PS4 articles barely 50-100. Look for yourself.

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CharlesSwann

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<< LINK REMOVED >> The american press are all deferential to Microsoft. It is one of most power companies in the world. And it has never been afraid to strong arm. That said Eddie seem pretty even handed in his trolling of new stories. Sony is very much a foreiner to the press.

Anyway, if you think this is bad and one sided try reading stories about Israel in America. Press are all crooked.

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soheil_nassri

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Thanks. You are right. My problem is they blame they are not bias at all. But if you be clever and read carefully you find they are absolutely bias

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deactivated-57bac25e99ee3

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This quarter of 2014 seems to have marked the departure of many employees in the industry. But the question is, why? Is it because they grow tired of the AAA trend or just want to move on to something smaller in scope?

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Shouoken4Peace

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<< LINK REMOVED >> I'd say it's all about freedom. The market is dominated by sequels whose focus is on profit and not creativity. People with talent and know-how want to make original IPs, they want to work at their own pace, and they feel like they don't need to be part of a AAA studio to live and work comfortably.

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hoyholyhoy

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I remember his Art Institute commercial haha he'll be up and running in no time.

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x-2tha-z

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GoW3 was awesome. He's very talented so I boubt he'll be out of work for very long. All the best, Stig.

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ps3gamer1234

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Why is lately people is leaving studios they been for years crazy.

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deactivated-609fe4eae5287

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I'd quit too if all I worked on was God of War and when I finally had something new they shit canned it.

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GarGx1

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Doubt this guy will have any problems getting a new job. Good luck to him.

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heartindarkness

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so what the heck is happening to the industry as a whole what happened to new ips everytime along with creativity in makin games AAA games were everywhere !! I mean so far i didn't jump into next gen and with how things r going not sure if i want to !! gaming is becoming more indie than ever, it is not a bad thing just that i missed when a game was released it was a big one i mean we can all agree ps1 was the beast of games !! what happened to all of that people gettin fired or leaving here and there studios bitin the dust as well, with how bleak the situation is turnin out to be my gaming days may end with ps3 but a year or so may change everything :/

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RSM-HQ

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@heartindarkness I wouldn't worry so much. Developer employees come and go all the time. Always have, always will. For financial or independent purposes. However with twitter now, each individual get's an article dedicated to their leave.


This isn't new in the gaming industry so no reason to stress over it.

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heartindarkness

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<< LINK REMOVED >> hopefully man i don't want to buy a next gen console to play indie games only or games tht are beingshared with current gen i need the exclusives i need that drive that made me buy ps3 i want it for the ps4

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RSM-HQ

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<< LINK REMOVED >> I'm all for Shadow of the Beast personally. It is THE early exclusive that interested me in grabbing a day one PS4 ^_^

*Also really want Evil Within- hoping it's a massive leap over the PS3 version*


But... yeah, fully agree. PS3 has more to offer in pretty much every way (other than the obvious leap in performance). PS3 really is an amazing console that is my prime source of gaming.


If no game interests you on PS4 right now? Best wait. At this moment PS4 really does lack a generally great game as of now.


No need to dive in with 0% gaming interest :)


All the same I don't think PlayStation first party developers will go under anytime soon, let's just hope they make excellent games. Even with certain employees moving on and all that.

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Bregzeinkul

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PS4 is sinking. Abandon ship!!

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GIF

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It doesnt make any sense to fire or not retain the same team that made your company millions time and again. They should have done everything to keep that team intact going forward. You dont kill the goose that lays the golden eggs, you treat it well and try to extend its life.

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Ivora

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<< LINK REMOVED >> Doesn't say anything about him being fired, more likely he left on his own after they cancelled the project he was working on.

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DrizztDark

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Lol sony fanboys don't want to hear that they are all leaving to work for the real next gen console which is the Xbox one. It's fact children

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tima44444

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<< LINK REMOVED >> Xbox one...."real" next gen. - Clown statement.

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RSM-HQ

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What a shame, God of War 3 being one of the best PlayStation 3 exclusives and all.


That said, each God of War (minus the portable games) always changed directors anyway.


God of War- David Jaffe


God of War 2- Cory Barlog


God of War 3- Stig Asmussen


It would be easy to wildly say 'Sony is going out of buisness, this kinda **** shows why'. But more likely Stig just wants to move on, rather than budget reasons.

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tommynj

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Leaving the sinking ship. Sony can hardly pay anyone these days.

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blackace

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Why are all these people leaving Sony? That's like 4 people in 2 weeks.

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rasterror

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Maybe money troubles. Maybe they tried to renegotiate their contract or ask for a raise and when they said no they left. Who knows but honestly this is not looking good for Sony.

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idk95

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Actually it cost around 380 to make a ps4, they're not selling them at a complete loss, it is just that the profit is small in comparison.

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RSM-HQ

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<< LINK REMOVED >> Does that include shipping cost, bundled controller/ HDMI cable/ Power lead. Or just the machine itself?


I'm not trying to be clever, just wondering if these add to the gross cost you've calculated?

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blackace

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<< LINK REMOVED >> They are actually losing about $20-$25 per unit for the PS4. They won't start getting a profit until next year some time. Same with the XB1.

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Blazen702

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You are wrong. X1 is selling at a profit. Source: << LINK REMOVED >>

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Blazen702

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Here to make it easier for u. << LINK REMOVED >>

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Blazen702

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Learn how to frickin read. You truly are retarded. You must be like 12. It clearly states that x1 is winning in profit margin this generation. Get your head out if your ass and deal with the facts. No matter how hard you try to spin it the truth is there. Google it if your to stupid to read a whole article clearly.

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monkeypukefight

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<< LINK REMOVED >> you again... read an article before you post it, it says xbox leads in dollar amount because it costs 100 bucks more... nowhere does it even remotely say it sels at a profit.

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rasterror

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Nope. They make an 18 profit per console on the PS4 and $28 per console on the Xbox One.

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deactivated-5a30e101a977c

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<< LINK REMOVED >><< LINK REMOVED >>They do sell 2 games per console at the moment. So maybe that fills the gap? And some people get PS+, so I think they are just above break-even.

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monkeypukefight

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<< LINK REMOVED >><< LINK REMOVED >> its nice to see they aren't losing a fortune on each one they sell like with the ps3... lets hope the ps4 will bring in a healthy profit over time...

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Mikz_Nyc

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<< LINK REMOVED >><< LINK REMOVED >><< LINK REMOVED >> Even if it does,what's the point when they're loosing a lot of money on their other products,ps4 alone can't save them,their TV's,cameras computers are all down on sales and other products as well

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unreal101

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<< LINK REMOVED >> The parts add up to 380. You're not factoring in overhead for manufacturing and shipping.

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