Twisted Metal father David Jaffe has said that Sony has yet to approach studio Eat Sleep Play on the prospect of bringing the car combat franchise to PlayStation Vita.
Speaking to Eurogamer, Jaffe conceded that while Twisted Metal still maintains a meaty following, the series’ patchy performance outside of the U.S. may hamper any chance of the franchise making the jump to Sony’s new handheld.
“I don’t know how this is going to do,” said Jaffe. “I don’t know whether in 2011 there’ll still be a big enough home for us to say ‘make another one’ or ‘make one for the Vita’.”
“We’re just stepping back and asking ‘we’ve had a lot of love from the fans, but is that going to translate well beyond break even?’ Or are we barely going to cross the threshold of making our money back?”
Jaffe further added that while a Vita version is still a possibility if the latest game performs well enough, Sony has yet to broach the subject of bringing the franchise to the portable.
“As to where it is on the Vita, probably if it’s a big hit we’re going to do it,” he commented. “… Nobody has talked to us, so it’s not like ‘I can’t talk about that’ – that’s usually what you say when it’s in development. Nobody has talked to us.”
Furthermore, the Eat Sleep Play boss admitted that he’s unsure as to whether the folks at Sony actually consider Twisted Metal to be a major IP.
“I don’t know – there are probably people within Sony who look at Twisted Metal and say ‘that’s a big franchise’”, said Jaffe.
“… There are guys who get it, but there are just as many other people who go ‘I don’t really get it – is this something we really want to be promoting at the same level as say, Uncharted 3?’”
Twisted Metal PS3 will be released in October 2011.