Evolution Of Crash Bandicoot Series (1996.–2021.)
3In this episode of "Evolution Of..." which will also be the final episode of this segment produced and published in 2021, i'll showcase the evolution of another popular video game series. The series in question is Crash Bandicoot, a platformer series starring the titular marsupial who is engaged in nearly constant struggle with his creator and arch-nemesis doctor Neo Cortex due to Cortex's desire to rule the world. The series' roots date back to the mid-1990s when Naughty Dog, then unknown American video game development studio struck a deal with Universal Interactive and Sony to develop a new mascot for Sony's PlayStation, the process ultimately giving birth to Crash's first game in 1996, its success being great enough to allow its titular character to become one of PlayStation's earliest mascots, develop a reputation for Naughty Dog who will continue to grow, ultimately becoming Sony-affiliated AAA game developer and ensure additional two games released during the late 1990s, both of which attracted more players to PlayStation and marked the apex of series' popularity. However, as 1990s drew to a close and new generation of consoles being led by PlayStation 2 approached, Naughty Dog decided to abandon the series in favor of new intellectual property, namely, Jak & Daxter which ultimately spawned its own successful video game series following the release of their first game in 2001, the abandonment having been expedited by Naughty Dog's worsening relationship with Universal at the time. Crash Bandicoot ended up officially abandoned by Naughty Dog after the release of Crash Team Racing in 1999, its license being held by Universal Interactive which handed the series over to multiple developers during 2000s including Eurocom, Vicarious Visions and Traveller's Tales in an attempt to keep Crash Bandicoot relevant in sixth console generation, their attempts being in vain as the series started to rapidly lose its quality and reputation with each new game due to increasingly experimental and dettached path the series was taking, that approach ultimately leading up to what was assumed to be the end of the series after the release of Radical Entertainment's platformer/beat-em-up hybrid Crash: Mind Over Mutant in 2008. However, in 2017, after being dormant for nearly a decade, it was announced that Activision, who acquired the series' license shortly after the release of Mind Over Mutant, will publish N-Sane Trilogy, a collection of the original three games from 1990s remade from ground-up for modern audiences, the games ultimately being greeted with great response upon release and resurrecting the series as Crash Team Racing also received a ground-up remake for eight-generation consoles in 2019, that being followed up with the release of Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time in 2020, retconned fourth installment of the main series carrying on the story of the original PS1 trilogy.