Activision have plenty of skeletons in their closet when it comes to franchises that have either gone under, or faded away into obscurity after being milked relentlessly. Gamers typically like to point their fingers at EA when talking about such behavior in the industry, but they are far from the only ones. Sometimes though, publishers get a last chance to make things right and erase the negativity of the past – and right now, Activision arguably have a pretty strong opportunity for that with their upcoming “Crash Bandicoot” reboot.
It’s no secret that the franchise has gone through some very troubling times in its existence, and it failed to realize the huge potential that it had. The momentum that the initial release generated didn’t last long, and Activision made various mistakes in the way they handled the franchise, eventually practically killing it.
According to some critics, the studio’s decision to remaster the franchise’s origins could be exactly what Crash needs to survive, and they have a very good chance of seeing a successful release with this game. After all, they don’t have to follow through with some of the more questionable decisions that were introduced throughout the series, but they can rather focus on the elements that made the games good in the very beginning.
On the other hand, Activision also have a lot of freedom for experimentation with this release, but it’s questionable how much they should utilize that. After all, most fans of the franchise are hoping to see a return to its roots, so going for a more experimental gameplay could actually have some negative repercussions for the studio if the changes aren’t received well.
So far we’ve gotten the impression that the studio actually has no plans to touch any of the original gameplay mechanics, art style or anything like that – they are just going to upgrade it all to modern standards. But we never know what might happen by the time the game is ready to come out, especially with a company like Activision.
The studio is most likely actively following market trends and they will have a very good idea of the potential effects of some changes. Hopefully they aren’t going to risk alienating old fans of the series just to make some quick dollars from popular selling points.
Of course, as some publications have pointed out, there’s always the possibility that the studio might decide to at least expand the set of levels or something along those lines. A few new challenges for players to run through shouldn’t affect the overall perception of the game negatively, provided of course they’re adequately tied in with the rest of the gameplay. On the other hand, Activision could probably introduce some extra customization options without raising any eyebrows. In fact, looking at the way the market has been moving in recent times, this might even work in their favor and draw some more attention.
In any case, there is a lot of attention on this title right now. Players have been asking for a proper new entry into the franchise for a long time, and Activision have a ripe opportunity to make things right and restore their community’s trust in the series. And who knows, if the remaster of “Crash Bandicoot” ends up successful, it might inspire more additions to the series in a similar spirit. That is to say, ignoring some of the more recent changes that the franchise has received.