Two First-Party Sony PS3 Titles Cancelled

Sony has cancelled production of two of its first-party PlayStation 3 games. The games - The Getaway and 8 Days - were both in production at its London Studios.

A statement from the platform holder reads, "It has been agreed that production of both 8 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, resource should be reallocated to enhance those projects closer to completion.

"WWS has a reputation for innovative and entertaining games, with titles such as LittleBigPlanet, SingStar,Buzz, EyeToy and Eye of Judgement, and will continue to push the boundaries on all PlayStation platforms."

The statement does leave open the the possibility that work on the titles could be resumed at a later date. While that wiggle room is there, however, the wording sounds rather final.

This comes following Kaz Hirai, Sony Computer Entertainment CEO, leaving open the possibility of Sony once again paying for third-party exclusive titles. If such a move is a genuine consideration for Sony, cancelling first-party titles it has already put time and resources into seems counter-intuitive. Why pay for third-party exclusives while throwing away money spent on first-party titles?

So, 'redistribution of resources and budget' - we're using our best CorproSpeak translator to see if this means:

a) Money and people were put elsewhere and then the games were canned.

b) The games were canned and then the money and people were put elsewhere.

c) Something else has sucked out the existing budget and resources in order to get it out as soon as possible.

We're finding out exactly what it means right now.