Microsoft's agreed acquisition of Activision Blizzard for nearly €70 billion is a monumental deal that raises all sorts of talking points about how we play video games and the balance of power between the world's biggest gaming brands.
But amid all the speculation about the future of the industry, the debates over Microsoft's business practices, and the ongoing controversy over Activision Blizzard's alleged exploitative workplace culture, the deal, if it goes through, has one particularly important implication, albeit more random. for PlayStation fans: Crash Bandicoot and Spyro will be owned by Microsoft.
Once PlayStation posters, Naughty Dog's spinning marsupial and Insomniac's purple dragon will likely soon belong to the Xbox creator. It's a clear sign of how far the gaming world has been turned upside down; things just weren't meant to be this way.
Microsoft owning the franchises isn't necessarily a bad thing, though, and could mean future entries in the series will be right up there with 4's wonderful Crash Bandicoot 2020: It's About Time.
However, this poses an urgent problem. With Crash and Spyro ready to fly to the PlayStation nest, he leaves a pet-shaped void in the heart of his empire. Which longtime character should become PlayStation's new animator? On which recognizable face should Sony build its gaming brand?
For my money, it should be none other than the forgotten platformer duo Jak and Daxter. And what better way to bring them back into the spotlight than with an entirely new game for the series.
What's in a pet?
Naughty Dog creations that first appeared in 2001, Jak and Daxter are PlayStation veterans from the PS2 era. They make an odd couple: Jak is a human boy who sports a tower of yellow hair and weirdly large toes, while Daxter is an ottsel, a chimera of an otter and a weasel. Although later games made them into battle-hardened warriors, when they were first released they were friendly and playful, the kind of cartoonish characters who could strike an air of sarcasm when it suited them.
While Sony has no shortage of exclusive characters to its credit, it's Jak and Daxter who I think deserve to take on the role of PlayStation's main mascots. Consider the alternatives: Aloy of the Horizon series, Ellie of The Last of Us, Ratchet and Clank, Nathan Drake from Uncharted, Sackboy from LittleBigPlanet, God of War's Kratos (it only came to PC, not Xbox, so it still counts ), and one more charge on top.
"While Ratchet and Clank excel at fun sci-fi shots, let Jak and Daxter bring the wide-eyed fantasy exploration."
It's an impressive list of beloved ancient and contemporary characters, but few of them could be true pets. To achieve that status, a character must have enough universal appeal that Sony can happily put their face on all PlayStation marketing material without alienating too many of the fans. A pet should enchant you the first time you see it and pique your interest. Even better, it needs to be malleable enough that it can be exploited to engage in questionable marketing tactics, like yelling profanity at Nintendo headquarters.
Nathan Drake's strong jaw has a certain appeal, but when I look at a muddy middle-aged man carrying a gun, my mind is not transported to the vast worlds of creativity and imagination that games offer. . I've seen a thousand men shoot guns on screen, a handful of demigods in games, and many heroes equipped with different types of weapons. But I've only seen one otsel, and when I see one otsel, I want to see more.
the right kind of character
Perhaps the strongest argument for it is that Jak and Daxter maintain an unspoken tradition of gaming mascots. Think of a random mascot, and chances are it's a character from a platformer. Nintendo's Mario and Kirby, Sega's Sonic, Capcom's Mega Man, PlayStation's Crash and Sonic, all platforms. Microsoft changed that tradition when Halo's Master Chief and Gears of War's Marcus Phoenix became the main faces of Xbox, but Sony doesn't need to reinvent the wheel. The company is trying to fill a void created by Microsoft's acquisition of its long-running franchises, not beat it at its own game, and should continue the tradition of platform mascots with Jak and Daxter.
Let's go back to some of the other aforementioned contenders for the PlayStation mascot crown. Why not Sackboy? While he certainly is a charming character and hails from a revered line of platformers, he's too young and doesn't bring the all-important nostalgia factor that mascots depend on. LittleBigPlanet came out in 2008, seven years after Jak and Daxter, and Sackboy should have no ideas above his position when his elders haven't spent their time in the sun yet.
Ratchet and Clank are a more complicated question. The pair have served PlayStation well over the past two decades and arguably tick many of the same boxes as Jak and Daxter. But the lombax and his robotic friend of his had a ride too easy for my liking, stealing the show from other more varied competitors. While Ratchet and Clank excel at wacky sci-fi takes, let Jak and Daxter bring wide-eyed fantasy exploration.
platforms are not dead
It's easy to look at contemporary triple-A play and conclude that Jak and Daxter have missed the mark. In a world where annualized first-person shooters are all the rage and live-action games increasingly dominate the industry, the space for a couple of cartoon mascots from a single-player title seems to have closed for a while. full.
It's too cynical in my opinion. Platforms aren't the big moneymakers they were 30 years ago, but they aren't small fry either. In a world where Metroid Dread can stir up a lot of excitement and Sackboy: A Big Adventure has become a PS5 launch title, don't tell me just running and jumping has had its day. Genres have always been on and off, and platforms are no exception.
One wonders if PlayStation really needs a pet. It's been doing just fine without an affable face to promote its content for several years, and Phil Spencer's talk of expanding cross-platform content could signal the end of console-specific characters. If nothing else, though, the Jak and Daxter re-release will provide another talking point for a decade to come, as Microsoft makes another buying spree and we find ourselves reacting with awe to the news that Jak and Daxter is now part of the Xbox team. . .