Category: ASOBI! Team

Posted on

Report: Sony Spinning Off Astro Bot Team In Japan Studio Shut Down

According to multiple unnamed sources, VGC reports that Sony Japan Studio is shutting down and spinning off ASOBI Team (the Astro Bot devs) into a new standalone studio. The news comes mere days after the confirmation of a next-generation PSVR designed for PS5.

Sony Japan Studio is one of Sony’s longest-running internal studios with decades of experience dating back to the PS1, but they’re mostly known in the VR world for their work on The Playroom VR and Astro Bot: Rescue Mission, in the ASOBI Team division. They also provided support on Everybody’s Golf VR, Deracine, and The Last Guardian VR experience.

In the report from VGC, their sources say that the studio is currently winding down and it seems legitimate. Several key members of the studio have departed in recent months. According to source, the studio hasn’t been profitable in recent years and changes in leadership hadn’t helped recently. A Bloomberg report from late last year mentioned expiring contracts and the studio falling out of the spotlight of focus for the PlayStation brand.

There is of course precedence for this sort of thing happening. Last year, almost a year ago exactly in fact, it was revealed that the mysterious UK-based studio Sony founded to work on a “AAA” PSVR game was shut down before its project was even revealed. When Evolution Studios closed, DriveClub VR was shut down and pulled from the PlayStation Store. A similar situation occurred with Starblood Arena. And of course Guerilla Cambridge, the developers behind RIGS: Mechanized Combat League, was shut down shortly after the game first launched on PSVR.

While this is unfortunate news for one of the most storied Sony studios with a stable of talented developers, the good news seems to be that ASOBI Team is living on in its wake wit hopefully more resources to continue building Astro Bot games.

Let us know what you think down in the comments below! We’ve reached out to Sony for comment and will update this story if we hear back.

Posted on

Astro Bot: Rescue Mission Wins at the Game Awards 2018

The Game Awards 2018 held its much-coveted event last night in Los Angeles, awarding accolades to some of the best videogames available over the last 12 months. The show has grown so much in scale that it’s now used as a platform for big announcements, with Ubisoft revealing Far Cry: New Dawn, and Epic Games officially launching the Epic Games Store. When it comes to virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), these technologies are still on the fringe, with the only mention being the winner of the VR/AR category, PlayStation VR exclusive Astro Bot Rescue Mission.

Astro Bot Rescue Mission

It was almost a given that Astro Bot Rescue Mission would likely come out on top thanks to all the positive reviews the videogame has had, demonstrating that VR doesn’t necessarily need to be in first-person to offer an engaging and immersive experience.

That’s not to say that its competitors were of a lesser calibre, with Tetris Effect, Firewall Zero Hour, and Moss all deserving of a place. And Beat Saber did well considering its still an Early Access title on PC, and only just arrived for PlayStation VR.

In VRFocus’ review of Astro Bot Rescue Mission we gave it a solid four stars, saying: “While Astro Bot Rescue Mission isn’t quite as charming as Moss, or as superbly crafted as Mario Odyssey, it is a great old-school platformer for the VR era, bringing some of the best features of both 2D and 3D platformers of old and incorporating VR in a way that doesn’t feel awkward. This is a fun, lighthearted way to spend some time in VR, and worth checking out.”

Astro Bot Rescue Mission - Screenshot (E3 2018)

Hopefully, in future years VR and AR will gain a more prominent place in the videogame industry and at these type of award shows. Until then VRFocus will keep championing the technology.

Posted on

Bring on the Sci-fi Cuteness With Some Astro Bot Rescue Mission Gameplay

This week saw the long awaited release of Sony Japan Studios virtual reality (VR) platformer Astro Bot Rescue Mission. Featuring the lovable robot character which first made its appearance in PlayStation VR Worlds, the adorable character now gets its own fully realised adventure and what any experience it is. So naturally VRFocus recorded some gameplay footage to show you what it’s all about.

Astro Bot: Rescue Mission

If you’ve somehow managed to miss all the coverage regarding Astro Bot Rescue Mission the title features 26 levels across five different worlds ranging from city, sky, water and fire stages. Each has its own puzzles to solve, plenty of collectibles to find and boss battles to face at the end. Fully controlled using the DualShock 4 gamepad, Astro Bot: Rescue Mission furthers the immersion by putting the controller in the videogame, using it to not only collect Astro Bots but help the main character as well.

The title has already seen universal acclaim from media outlets, with VRFocus giving it an impressive four star review, saying: “While Astro Bot Rescue Mission isn’t quite as charming as Moss, or as superbly crafted as Mario Odyssey, it is a great old-school platformer for the VR era, bringing some of the best features of both 2D and 3D platformers of old and incorporating VR in a way that doesn’t feel awkward. This is a fun, lighthearted way to spend some time in VR, and worth checking out.”

Astro Bot Rescue Mission - Screenshot (E3 2018)

The gameplay video showcases plenty of action, with Astro Bot traversing thin ledges, taking out enemies and collecting those all important coins. Also there’s the all important human interaction, not merely controlling the little robot but also getting the controller involved to help solve puzzles, there’s even points where you have to head butt obstacles.

Astro Bot Rescue Mission is out now exclusively for PlayStation VR. It can also be found in a new bundle which became available yesterday for North American customers for $299.99 USD (MSRP) / $379.99 CAD (MSRP). For further news or updates on Astro Bot Rescue Mission, keep reading VRFocus.