Hey all! David Jaffe here with some good news and bad news on behalf of myself, my Eat Sleep Play partner and Twisted Metal co-director Scott Campbell, the entire Eat Sleep Play team, and Sony Santa Monica.

First the good news: Eat Sleep Play and Sony Santa Monica are cranking like mad to get a fantastic Twisted Metal build ready for both Gamescom and PAX Prime! For those not in the know: Gamescom is August 17th-21st in Cologne, Germany and PAX Prime (link) will take place here in America August 26th-28th in Seattle, Washington. Both shows are open to the public but PAX – I believe- is already sold out. If you’ve got PAX Prime tickets, I can’t wait to see you there! I hope you’ll swing by the Twisted Metal booth and give our game a try!

At Gamescom and PAX we’ll be showing off a brand new level called Thrills & Spills Amusement Park! It’s one of our favorite all time Twisted Metal levels and it’s filled with the over the top destruction, strategic level choices, and twisted humor that fans of the series have come to love and expect. Players at both shows will also get hands on with TEAM HUNTED, a brand new mode that we’ll be unveiling – for the first time ever – at Gamescom. We’ll also be premiering the new Dollface story trailer which delves into just what makes that nutty-but-sexy pink-haired freak tick.

And at both shows we’ll be handing out some super cool, super creepy Sweet Tooth masks! Halloween will be here before you know it and we want Twisted Fans to be able to represent their favorite slasher in style!

Ok, so now…the bad news. Or at least the ‘news that seems bad at first but after you read the rest of my post I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s actually fantastic news’ news. So here it is:

We’re not shipping Twisted Metal October 4th, 2011. We’re going to miss our date. We’re going to be late.

Ugh! I know, I know. A lot of dedicated, supportive, passionate Twisted Metal fans have been waiting for the return of Calypso’s demented contest for a long time but the truth is: we’re just not ready yet.

Sony has been – and remains – a super supportive champion and collaborator on this title and all of us at Eat Sleep Play are so grateful that their patience and generosity will allow us the extra time needed to polish our demented baby until it shines. NOTE: I don’t actually think that qualifies as a mixed metaphor… just a bad one. But the ‘demented baby’ part was really cool to me, and it felt very Twisted Metal-y, so I’m keeping it in this post.

Anyway – it sucks bad when games miss their announced launch dates. We’re gamers too and we know how annoying it is. It’s disappointing and frustrating and it really takes the wind out of your sails if you’re a fan that has been looking forward to playing a title for a long time. Thing is, you gotta trust me when I tell you that – with this extra time for tuning and polish – the game is going to be so much better than it already is. And if you played Twisted Metal and liked it at E3 or Comic-Con, or if you get to play it (and you enjoy it) at one of the August shows, just imagine how much more fun the final game will be with some extra time, polish, and love.

There’s a great, classic industry saying by legendary Nintendo designer – and personal hero – Shigeru Miyamoto that goes a little something like this:

‘A late game is only late until it ships. A bad game is bad until the end of time.’

Now, if we shipped Twisted Metal tomorrow – going off the response from folks who have played it – I assure you, it would never be a bad game. Not even close. But we’re aiming for a heck of a lot more than that! With Twisted Metal we plan to ship a multiplayer classic. We plan to ship the best Twisted Metal ever made. We plan to convert a lot of folks who think vehicle combat is a relic best left to 90′s nostalgia. And we plan to explode the belief that the only relevant kind of shooter is a first person one (or a 3rd person one, where you play a human… with a tee shirt not all the way tucked in …).

Most importantly, we plan on treating you – the kind folks who play our game (and pay our bills) – like the VIPs that you are. You only deserve our best and we appreciate your understanding as we take a little more time to guarantee that our best is what we deliver.

Twisted Metal for PS3 will ship early 2012. Stay tuned for more details.

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Hey ya’ll! In case you missed it last week, here’s a broadcast segment we did with the PlayStation.Blog live from the SCEA booth on the E3 show floor. I get into a little about the character stories as well as talk about gameplay balance and the pros and cons between the game’s 15+ vehicles. I also gab a bit about the reveal of Iron Maiden, the biggest and most complicated boss we’ve ever had in a Twisted Metal game!

E3 was a blast this year! It was really cool to connect with fans at the booth while they went tried out Twisted Metal‘s signature Nuke mode. It was also fun showing off our newest level: New York City during the holiday season. The very first Twisted Metal game – released back in 1995! – takes place at Christmas time as well and I guess we wanted to pay a little homage. Also, I just love the idea of chaos and destruction centered around what is usually one of the happiest, warmest, most fun times of the year! Does that make me bad?!? So check out the video- hope you dig it!

And next up is Comic-Con in San Diego July 21-24 so hope to see ya’ll there. Thank you again for the support, thanks so much for stopping by to play our game and say ‘hey’ at the show, and please stay tuned for more announcements about the game over the next few months!

P.S. In the video, I also explain why – for the campaign mode only – we’ve limited the selection to three playable human drivers (versus the usual 10-12). Campaign still lets you drive and battle in 15+ vehicles but we have limited the driver roles. I know focusing on just three character stories for the campaign has been a bit controversial for some of our Twisted fans and I’m curious to see – in the comment section below – if you agree or disagree with our decision after you hear me state our reasoning in the video.

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Hi ya’ll! We’re all crunching like mad on the game while also trying to get ready for the holidays! But I did want to stop by, say hey, and answer some of the more frequent questions we’ve been getting about the new Twisted Metal. Watch the video below to get some info on things like multiplayer balance, my all-time favorite Twisted Metal weapon, and the huuuuge bosses you’ll encounter in the game. Thanks again for your great questions, and happy holidays! Oh, and stay tuned to the end of the video for info on how you can win a brand new Sweet Tooth action figure signed by the whole Twisted Metal team! Have a great holiday ya’ll! Be safe, have fun! Later!

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Man I love surprises!

And I ESPECIALLY love E3 surprises!

Thing is, in this day and age, it’s super rare for a game to surprise anyone at E3 anymore. There are just too many leaks. And the Internet makes sure those leaks travel fast and furious. From the moment the info first gets out to the time when the hardcore gamers know about it, you’re talking 12, maybe 18 hours tops. Many publishers have simply given up trying to surprise gamers at E3 because they know it’s just not possible anymore. But back in the day – when E3 first began – you’d walk onto the show floor and have no idea what new games and new ideas you’d find as you travelled from
booth to booth. That sense of wonder, of discovery, of sheer surprise…it was total gamer joy. But these days that sense of surprise and discovery
has all but vanished from the E3 experience.

Which is why when Sony asked if we wanted to close out their E3 press conference by announcing the new Twisted Metal AND asked if we wanted to
try to keep it a surprise…well, we were thrilled! An attempt at a good, old fashioned E3 surprise? Hells yes, baby! Sign us up!

Not sure if you missed the press conference but if you did, you can check out surprise announce right here:

We know this is going to be the best Twisted Metal ever released. 16 players online, 2-4 player split screen, amazing new game modes,
helicopters, motorcycles, sports cars, all battling it out in highly interactive levels with all the skill, speed, and strategy you could ask for! It’s been a long while since the last console Twisted Metal was released, but we think the wait will have been worth it. We’re crazy proud of the new game and are looking forward to entertaining all of the loyal TM fans as well as earning many new Twisted Metal devotees with this title.

But the game is not done yet. We’ve got a ways to go so we could really use your help. The game is playable on the show floor starting now.  So if
you’re able to get into E3 this year, please come to the Sony booth and give Twisted Metal a play. And then please hit us back on our brand new Eat Sleep Play forums with your likes, dislikes, issues, changes, fixes, etc. Whatever feedback we can get, we are grateful for. Early user feedback is one of the key things that turns a game into a classic. And we want this baby to be classic!

Ok, so that’s that. Twisted Metal is coming on Playstation 3! And we could not be more pleased! Now we’re off, into the bowels of the Los Angeles Convention Center to see the sites, play the games, and hey, who knows, perhaps discover a few surprises along the way! Stranger things have happened!

Great to be back ya’ll! We missed you!

David Jaffe & Scott Campbell
Co-Founders Eat Sleep Play, Inc.

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