MotorStorm Apocalypse had a snakebit retail release, when it missed its 18th March release date due to the major Japanese earthquake; the game’s theme resembled the devastation in Japan to a frightening level. The game’s eventual release was muted, and despite critical raves, the game simply stalled on the shelves.
”It’s been quite a tough year for us, especially early on in the year,” Southern related. ”We made a game we’re really proud of and for some really heartbreaking reasons things didn’t go so well. In perspective we’ve got nothing to complain about. I was worried it might be the end of Evolution. Racing has had a very tough time, even without extraordinary circumstances like the ones we went through.”
Evolution also felt some measure of insecurity when two fellow UK racing game studios, Black Rock and Bizarre Creations, were shuttered by Disney and Activision respectively in 2011 due to poor sales of Split/Second and Blur. The developer feared that they would be next on the chopping block.
Fortunately, Sony needed a high profile racer for their new portable console, the PlayStation Vita, and Evolution Studios was commissioned with developing a new MotorStorm for the handheld. MotorStorm RC was the result.
Regarding the green light for RC, Southern revealed, ”we all started to pick ourselves up and get excited about it. We’re not out of it yet, (but) things are turning round, I think. The studio’s really, really buzzing now.”
Motorstorm RC will be released for both the Vita and PlayStation 3 via PlayStation Network next Spring.
