At the end of a deep, dark corridor lit only by a dusty, flickering lightbulb, hidden behind the glitz and glamour of Sony's headquarters, there lies a cupboard. Therein, amidst old gaming paraphernalia and assorted spiders, there lives a collection of completely forgotten characters, waiting for their chance to once again be dusted off and enter the gaming world once more. Sony, perhaps only beaten by Nintendo, has one of the largest collection of old mascots and assorted critters/characters who've faded into obscurity. These guys were popular once, but due to many reasons ranging from commercial failures to an inability to adapt to the changes of the gaming landscape has seen their star gradually fade. In modern gaming, many gamers constantly accuse developers of lacking innovation. We're somewhat lost at the moment amidst a sea of constant sequels but - as has been proven recently by Tomb Raider - the right team, and the right idea, can do wonders for revitalising a tired franchise. Why couldn't the same be done for a lot of Sony's older properties that lie forgotten to the march of time? These guys were all at one time somewhat successful, with the right team (and Sony has plenty of great first-party studios to choose from), the right marketing and a good dose of hype, there's no reason why most of these titles couldn't sell in the millions and create an old, yet brand new franchise. It's time to bring these gems back.
Dan Curtis is approximately one-half videogame knowledge, and the other half inexplicable Geordie accent. He's also one quarter of the Factory Sealed Retro Gaming podcast.
