After rumors earlier this week that Sony might have bought back the rights to Crash Bandicoot from Activision, the Call of Duty publisher has reported that they still own the license to what was once Sony’s original PlayStation mascot.
Speaking with Game Informer over the weekend, an Activision spokesperson said they’re still in charge of Naughty Dog’s former platformer series.
“Activision owns Crash Bandicoot and we continue to explore ways in which we could bring the beloved series back to life,” they told GI. (Crash has been in absentia since his last console appearance in 2008.)
That’s all well and good, but it doesn’t explain why Crash is suddenly gone from Activision’s online presence entirely, why they wouldn’t just have told Videogamer the license was still theirs or that easter egg in the PS4 launch, the appearance of which seems hardly an accident.
While this is total speculation, it doesn’t seem entirely out of the question that Activision’s previous “no comment” – which quite often turns out to be just a dodge when someone doesn’t want to confirm an on-the-nose question – was a little too much of a tell.
If that’s the case, what they told Game Informer today was a technicality – as in they still own the property until the time an acquisition deal actually goes through with Sony, if one exists, or that maybe Sony is working with Activision on a series comeback.
At the same time, Sony could have just as easily given the “we don’t comment on rumors or speculation” line that’s so common in the industry instead of re-directing the questioning to Activision themselves. Then again, it could just be a weird case of coincidences. But usually those are pretty rare in this business.
Either way, it doesn’t seem like anyone is giving the full story – at least not yet. Nothing is confirmed for now, but consider taking Activision’s comments with a grain of salt until more solid information comes to light.
Via Game Informer
