Twisted Metal began life as a PSN game
Sony marketing sparked Blu-ray release.
Upcoming PlayStation 3 exclusive vehicle kill-em-up Twisted Metal was conceived as a multiplayer-only PlayStation Network download game.
It wasn't until Sony management, enthused by the series' fanbase, stepped in that the game was expanded into a Blu-ray release, outspoken maker David Jaffe told IGN.
"This Twisted Metal started as a PSN game," the Eat Sleep Play boss said. "Sony is the one that came to us and said they wanted more; they liked what they were seeing and wanted to make it into a full retail product.
"We actually went from PSN-only, and then we were going to be like Warhawk and SOCOM Confrontation in terms of it was going to be a $39 product that was multiplayer only, and then Sony's like, 'No no, they want the stories' and marketing's like, 'Yeah, you guys don't realise how many fans love the Twisted Metal universe, you gotta give us the stories.'"
According to Jaffe, Sony's own market research proved there were enough Twisted Metal fans to justify the extra expenditure.
"We weren't going back to Sony begging for more money to make this bigger," Jaffe added. "They wanted it bigger and of course we wanted to do that. Sony is a very smart company; they've done their market research to see if there are enough Twisted Metal fans to merit rolling the dice.
"It has a great legacy for Sony and SCEA, and I think everybody was on board."
Oli saw Twisted Metal in June last year. "With its squealing guitar metal soundtrack and scrappy Mad Max visuals, complex controls and fussy HUD," he wrote, "Twisted Metal is vehicular combat done not stylishly, but well."