It’s been said many times, Ratchet & Clank was just going to be an HD remaster, of the PS2 Classic, just like any other. That is, until the project morphed into much more. It became a re-imagining of the original, a new game with plenty of familiarity.
If the gameplay footage that’s been shown so far is a good indicator then it has stayed very true to what endears the original games to its fans. The humour, platforming, the guns and the characters etc. It’s all there but with new additions so long-time fans and newcomers alike can enjoy it equally.
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So the new Ratchet & Clank game isn’t just about bringing back this franchise, it’s taking the idea of Remake and Remaster and slamming them together to create “Re-imagining” as a whole new market. What better way to bring back long dormant franchises than by appealing to the old fans sense of nostalgia and potential new comers with a new experience?
Taking the original game and adding some new stuff, tweaking the story a bit while recreating what made the original good to its fans is no easy task; It’s a difficult balancing act but one I think is achievable if you pick the franchises, that will receive this treatment, smartly.
Perhaps if Ratchet & Clank is a success we will finally see the return of Crash Bandicoot, Sypro, Croc and other beloved characters of the PlayStation generation I was a part of in the 90’s and early 2000’s.
The same applies to the film, if the Ratchet & Clank film does well the green light will be given to others. The success of Minions, Pixar and Disney shows there is a huge market for these “kids films” that adults can still enjoy. Kids who go see the film might want to get the games and vice versa. This could prove very lucrative indeed.
