Cancelled Crash Bandicoot and Spyro Games Surface

Junkie Monkeys: We’ve recently stumbled across something interesting for all of you Crash and Spyro fans out there. If what we found is true, it spells more disappointment for both the Crash and Spyro franchise.

[DarkOcelet]

Damn you activision for destroying my two beloved franchises , i hope sony take them back soon . That art style looks amazing and crash looks awesome , we need crash bandicoot 4.

[Relientk77]

I hope Sony get's them back, and we see them on PS4

[KendrickLamar]

^ This.
Scumbag Activision needs to let go of these franchises.

Why did Sony even sell them again?

[XiMasterChief]

Sony never owned the franchises first of all.

[TenkoTAiLS]

@ DarkOcelet, Relientk77 and KendrickLamar

If by back you mean on Sony platforms (or any platform at this rate) then I totally agree.

But for the sake of accuracy, Sony NEVER owned Crash or Spyro. They never "sold" them to anyone as they didn't own them in the first place. Pop in your Spyro or Crash original PS1 discs, first name that pops up after the Sony boot sceen is Universal Interactive Productions, the games were only used under licence by Sony. Universal became Vivendi Interactive and then were purchased by Activision-Blizzard a while back. Crash and Spyro have always been owned by Universal, and now Activision via buyout, so they can't "give back" something as they are the rightful owners of both franchises and always have been.

Man I would love to see Sony make an offer and buy them tho. Too many old console mascots dissapearing in the last few years for my liking :(

[Daniel_Potter]

That won't happen until we stop buying COD every year.

[BISHOP-BRASIL]

Oh don't worry, you see Crash in time... Activision gotta keep using that IP in order to never loose rights over it, they renewed the rights in 2011, but they gotta USE the IP 'till 2021... Only thing is, god knows in what distorted way Crash will come back, being this Activision, I fully expect some lame phone quiz game with Crash that they can put together in 2 weeks, only to secure the ownership.

[sonic989]

my theory is to answer this new revelation , is that after sony bought crash ( yeah i still believe that sony bought crash ) they saw what they had in development for it then after sometime they decided to cancel it because it didnt live up to their expectations now if you noticed he didnt day activision and he said an indie company which makes me think that crash was handed to an external studio but suddenly a change in plan was due to happen , who is really responsible here we dont know

[AngelicIceDiamond]

Its a shame to see two icons get treated this way after years of great entertainment. Aww the golden era of gaming. Mainly because it was so, SO much simpler.

Thanks allot Acti. COD is the only thing these guys care about they're not what you consider a creative publishing company.

If they were creative they would do a proper Spyro (no shade to the newer generation Spyro) and a brand new AAA Crash. A remastered collection I mean come on something.

I said it once before all Acti does is cancel projects all for COD.

They even absorbed Neversoft a legendary company behind Tony Hawk. Here's hoping they make another Tony Hawk game. Awww that's right they're COD guys now...

Long rant but RIP to Crash. And Spyro, keep doing your thing for the newer gen kids I guess but they'll never how you truly were.

[guitarded77]

Crash and Spyro: Modern Warfare 18. I called it first.

[breakpad]

basically this is good news..maybe the franchises were bought by someone else (sony) and start a new developement in other studio .....If Sony announce an exclusive first-party made Crash bandicoot which seems very likely it will be in development for sure for over 2 years (like other first pary projects ...the dates matching ...also the artwork isnt so fitting for the games so its good they stopped this specific artist from the project

[donthate]

This is good news for fans of these games, because at least they tried to revive it, and now with the renewed interrests, they might try again!

[bouzebbal]

Sony never owned these franchises, they were exclusive to PSone but published by Universal Studios at that time which was working closely with Sony.
Naughty Dog and Insomniac were parts of these Universal Studios and they decided to get bags of cash by selling them to Activision scum bags.

it is a pity to see these franchises disappear. Sony has been promising and asking us about the franchises we want to see return and nothing happened since.

[gfk342]

I feel that Crash and Spyro could have been extremely suitable for PS VITA.

I feel very bad for these two franchises dying slowly.

Ironically, I played the entire Crash series (including CTR) and Spyro 2: Rypto's Rage about 2 moths ago (paid $0.99 for each game). It was bless and a good change from the current IPs.

[AndrewLB]

"Oh don't worry, you see Crash in time... Activision gotta keep using that IP in order to never loose rights over it, they renewed the rights in 2011, but they gotta USE the IP 'till 2021.."

BishopBrazil- Did you just make this up or are you repeating a completely uninformed post from someone else?

An IP owned by Activision or any other developer, does not have to be renewed nor does it expire. It's their intellectual property and is protected under copyright law by the simple act of creating it. The only way someone else can make a game based on a franchise they don't own is by licensing the rights from the owner directly. Even when companies go bankrupt, these franchises go up for auction or are sold to a prospective buyer through chapter 11 reorganization where a judge sells off assets in order to make creditors as whole as possible.

Perhaps you were confusing ownership with trademark registration? Trademarks require renewal but when they expire, the game is still completely owned by the developer.

[MuhammadJA]

Sorry to disappoint you, but games like Crash or Spyro won't sell well in this gen. The gen of shooters and realistic resolutions.

[I_am_Batman]

I think Activision might consider selling Crash back to Sony. I highly doubt that Sony has a chance of getting Spyro back though. Activision is making tons of money with Skylanders.

[Treezy504]

Remember Sony never owned Crash, so it would be the first time the company would own the rights to the IP if a deal were to occur. Universal owned rights to both Crash and Spyro and that's why they were sold to Activision. I'm pretty sure if Sony had the rights they would never have even dreamed of parting with both Crash and Spyro.

[JackOfAllBlades]

Make a deal with Activision and let them use Spyro in Skylanders. Make new Spyro games for PS4, Skylander kids want, get PS4, win win win $$$. No?

[ScorpiusX]

They can generate tons of cash on all platforms and They know that, so put them dreams away.

[WeAreLegion]

Spyro is no longer part of Skylanders. They don't need him to sell the franchise.

[-Foxtrot]

However Activison isn't making money from Skylanders because of Spyro, he was just a gimmick, an old school gaming figure to get the franchise started. Using an old successful brand to market another.

Skylanders has become so big (god knows why) without Spyro so they could sell him to Sony. They don't need him anymore

[ScorpiusX]

They'll see them when Activision stops liking money and seeing how they love money . That's a big no , but fear not everyone will see those games cause their a Multi platform publishers.

[Thefreeman012]

The art direction got me right in the childhood ... I need a good ol fashion crash and spyro platformer to breakup the monotonous fps of these days

[wsoutlaw87]

there have been plenty good platformers and games other than fpss. They are just smaller titles and people right them off as indies.

[700p]

I loved playing these games during the ps1/ps2 era.

[HonestDragon]

It's not right I tell ya. I loved those franchises and Activision pulverized them into the ground. Crash is practically nonexistent and Spyro is just an accessory in Skylanders. I will always remember them in their golden days back when they first debuted.

:'(

[hiredhelp]

Well i took one thing from this if found to be true Activision knows nothing. and the devs know more what the fans want but when pitched activision doesnt want to know. instead they wish keep liscense under wraps money talks everybody... Just need sony to hear us louder Come on buy the bloody IP.

[Relientk77]

RIP my childhood

:-(

[ironfist92]

Activision is literally holding my childhood gaming heroes hostages.

I dont know why the hell they dont A) make a new game or B) sell the rights.

Activision continues to piss me off.

[Relientk77]

I choose option B

and agree

[equal_youth]

we need these platformers back :( i need to go play spyro right now.

[CamBulls12]

Sony please take them back. Activision is wasting everyone's time. I want my childhood back in the hands of Naughty Dog. Well, Crash was, but wouldn't it be cool if ND own Spyro too? Sony find a way to get these titles back where they belong.

[gangsta_red]

Spyro is making a ton of cash right now with Skylanders. Even though he's not a super huge character in the game he is still a main part of the cast. No way is Activision giving him up.

Crash...hmmmm...he kinda went down hill ever since he left the sony platform. And to be honest his games weren't all that to begin with.

[DOMination-]

They were decent but could never compete with Mario 64. Crash was by far always the better of the two.

[qwerty676]

why is this under xbox news?

[Qrphe]

Multiplat franchises

[PaleMoonDeath]

... Activillains >:(

[LightDiego]

Activision is incompetent, Crash and Spyro should belong to Sony, also Banjo-Kazooie and Conker should go to Nintendo. I want all these awesomes franchises back :(.

[bu3ouf91]

Activision please resell the IP to ND again they're better making the franchies than your lazy ass.

[Qrphe]

They've always belonged to activision

[DOMination-]

ND were owned by Universal at the time

[Sheed]

i really don't see activision giving away he spyro IP anytime soon.

[DJ]

I miss Spyro. If only Insomniac made another Sypro game, I could die happy.

[Rhezin]

I really hate nutsActivision. They're destroying Crash and nickel n diming with every game they get their greasy hands on.

[breakpad]

this is good news...Craptivision should stop making crash b games

[tigertron]

Activision are holding Crash and Spyro hostage.

Sony needs to buy them right now.

[scark92]

Anyone that I know that owned a PS1 owned a Crash game, it would be a good move!

[TWB]

Quite honestly, I dont care if they are ever gonna make new gales for these two or not because they can never recover the downhill IMO (well maybe crash could have a quick "throwback digital game" but spyro would require more thought) but I would love to see complete remakes of the original trilogies with true-to-the-originals gameplay.

If you are a fan I still suggest playing some of the crash/spyro games that actually were decent like Wrath of Cortex and Twinsanity from the Crash series and A Heroes Tail from Spyro (its different but I heard its pretty decent)

[Agent_hitman]

I hope that Sony will see this article and decide to buy Crash and Spyro IPs to Activision.

[hkgamer]

screw crash and spyro.

ape escape made all other ps platformers look pathetic.

[Skankinruby]

At the risk of being judged I am 31, got an nes brand new and pretty much seen it all, but I've never played either one of these games.

[WishMeWell259]

Created and Developed by....NAUGHTY DOG (Crash busts out of the logo and every body else follows...god damn I miss that.
Naughty dogs need to remake Crash

[Thomaticus]

I understand why Sony wants the rights to the is that their party teams make. Two beloved franchises that can't be made due to another company holding them back. Sony can't even use these characters in the Sony all stars game.
I think at this point it would be best to make a spiritual successors to these games and call it a day. None of us need to be begging Activision to do what's right.

[Emanno]

Activision if you want me to buy Destiny and COD, then stop cancelling Crash games and start releasing.

[LouisianaShark]

nice artwork

[NerdStar7]

Sony need to buy the Crash IP, then they can give it to Naughty Dog for them to make another amazing Crash Bandicoot masterpiece!

[rapidturtle]

I miss the good of days of platformers. They would look amazing on today's consoles

[buffhalo]

I honestly do not understand Activision's reasoning in doing this other than to be spiteful towards the gaming community. Activision has already been making enough money off of milking series like COD and Skylanders, why do they still need Crash and Spyro's IPs? When you think about it crash hasn't had a legitimate game in about 5-6 years, and Spyro isn't even a main character in Skylanders anymore, he is seen more as a playable character. Hell, Activision just threw the IP in the Skylanders series and published a game based off his name to boost their sales. Well, the truth is their sales are doing fine without Spyro, so I honestly don't understand why they need him anymore. The least they could do is make a deal with Sony where Sony could choose a publisher to develop a game featured off their model of the IP (not the Skylanders one), as long as Activision gets a certain % of the profits.

As for crash, there really is nothing much to say. There has been so many Crash games pitched to Activision over these 5 years, but they all seem to keep getting canceled. You would think how much controversy has been sparked over the series in the past 5 years Activision would take initiative in giving us what we want. NOPE. Instead they rather just keep the IP hostage, and keep milking their main series (COD and Activision). At this point it is honestly a waste of money for them to keep the Crash IP. If their not doing anything with him, what's the point of continuously renewing their contract just so he can rot in storage?

Conclusion: Activision are greedy assholes who do not give a shit about the gaming community.

[Jiiiiiiin]

agreed