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[SkylineRKR]

Crash 2 is also the best game in the franchise imo.

 

[a multicultural team of v]

Then you get done with Mario 64 and realise you have about 11 other games worth playing on the system.

Swings and roundabouts.

11 is probably being generous.

 

[Banjo64]

Knack outselling every Horizon, God of War, Uncharted, The Last of Us and Gran Turismo game is absolutely hilarious.

 

[Fake]

If you mean It's About Time/Team Rumble Crash then I don't see what's wrong with it, In fact I think It's the best Crash has ever looked.

About time looks terrible, and Coco is even worse.

The sales don't quite align with the remaster of the old one, with in fact are still selling.

 

[Celine]

When you step back and look at Sony published western developed IP in Japan, it puts things into perspective that the best selling of those is a game from 1997 back when SIE was still SCE.

By the metric proposed, that is western developed games (regardless if Sony owned the franchise like with Crash which was owned by Unversal and today Activision Blizzard) published by SCE/SIE in Japan, the best selling one is Minecraft for PSV (SCE/SIE published also the PS4 version which sold well):

For anyone wondering how much good will the Crash Bandicoot legacy has in Japan nowadays:

(the above are all physical sell-through figures from Famitsu, with Media Create more granual data the LTDs are a bit higher but not by much)

 

[Celine]

Knack outselling every Horizon, God of War, Uncharted, The Last of Us and Gran Turismo game is absolutely hilarious.

It's a typical case of a bundling strategy gone wrong.
Typically you bundle a desirable game with the hardware to push the platform penetration in a market, in the case of Knack SIE bundled a mediocre game with the hardware so that the mediocre game could sell something.

The sequel sold less than 10K at retail (source: Media Create)
809./408. [PS4] Knack II <ACT> (Sony Interactive Entertainment) {2017.09.28} (¥4.900) - 1.512 / 8.492 (-78%) (2.842 <17,08%>)

IMO it's more hilarious that during the PS4 days a big chunk of SCE/SIE first-party software sales at retail in Japan came from IPs owned by Microsoft/Mojang and Activision Blizzard:

 

[yurinka]

Sony has been pushing their western first-party/2nd-party exclusives in Japan for awhile with ups and downs, and while it seems that some games have in the past done well, it does seem like there's something preventing Sony from getting these games become bigger in the region. When you step back and look at Sony published western developed IP in Japan, it puts things into perspective that the best selling of those is a game from 1997 back when SIE was still SCE.

Take a look at the top 10 best-selling Sony published first/2nd party console western developed exclusives in japan, From GDL.

1. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back - 1,099,708 (1997)
2. Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped - 917,105 (1998)
3. Crash Bandicoot - 694,104 (1996)
4. Ratchet and Clank - 562,658 (2002)
5. Ghost of Tsushima - 457,094 PS4 (Current PS5 - 19,309 ) (2020 & 2021)
6. Knack - 400,888 (2014)
7. Formula 1 - 379,402 (1996)
8. Marvels Spider Man - 323,023 (2018)
9. Crash Team Racing - 301,334 (1999)
10. Horizon Zero Dawn - 290,487 (2017)

While there has been improvements the last 5 years due to heavy marketing strategies in some areas, with others nothing much has changed. I'm not entirely sure what Sony could do to make their first-party/2nd party western exclusives bigger in Japan like they are in the west, but when the best selling of them is a game from 1997, and the others in the top 3 are from 1996 and 1998, that does bring to question what exactly is going wrong. Because they have more marketing and presence these days, or rather, pretty much every console after the PSX has had more, so the fact they can't seem to get a western exclusive to break the glass ceiling here is very curious.

I mean if Ghost of Tsushima didn't work, and doesn't look like to have the legs required, than I'm at a loss for what Sony could try to be honest. I mean there are some games like Uncharted, or Horizon where you can spot the obvious reason why growth is limited, but with games like Knack, or Spider Man as Marvel is very popular in Japan, or Ghost, which basically catered to the culture, not really pushing through, it's really odd.

I do think Ghost will pass Ratchet and Clank on the list in the end at the very least. But outside certain obvious games, I'm not sure what they are doing wrong here, given how popular GTA, COD, and several other third-party western games are in Japan in comparison.

So if we remove the IPs not owned by Sony, Knack is their top 3 seller in Japan.

P.S.: Not, it doesn't this list only cover physical copies, and on more recent PS4 years the hit PS games sold more but their percent of digital sales were way higher but aren't counted in this list.

 

[SomeGit]

So if we remove the IPs not owned by Sony, Knack is their top 3 seller in Japan.

P.S.: Not, it doesn't this list only cover physical copies, and on more recent PS4 years the hit PS games sold more but their percent of digital sales were way higher but aren't counted in this list.

Knack chads win again.

 

[Henry Panic]

By the metric proposed, that is western developed games (regardless if Sony owned the franchise like with Crash which was owned by Unversal and today Activision Blizzard) published by SCE/SIE in Japan, the best selling one is Minecraft for PSV (SCE/SIE published also the PS4 version which sold well):

For anyone wondering how much good will the Crash Bandicoot legacy has in Japan nowadays:

(the above are all physical sell-through figures from Famitsu, with Media Create more granual data the LTDs are a bit higher but not by much)

Mine craft wouldn't be 1st or second party however.

About time looks terrible, and Coco is even worse.

The sales don't quite align with the remaster of the old one, with in fact are still selling.

Yeah, Activision has been really quiet with sales numbers after the remake.

Microsoft probably won't be happy with the numbers either after the buyout and use the team for something else. Look at how long they slept on Banjo after failure, and that was a much smaller series.

 

[Celine]

Mine craft wouldn't be 1st or second party however.

Neither Crash then.
Back then Sony just bought the distribution rights from Universal Interactive.
It's the reason why Sony never owned Crash Bandicoot despite being positionate as a PlayStation mascot.

 

[Henry Panic]

Neither Crash then.
Back then Sony just bought the distribution rights from Universal Interactive.
It's the reason why Sony never owned Crash Bandicoot despite being positionate as a PlayStation mascot.

Crash was still 2nd party like Gears was.

 

[Celine]

Crash was still 2nd party like Gears was.

The deal wasn't between Sony and Naughty Dog (the developer) but between Sony and another third-party publisher (Universal Interactive which owned the IP).
Does a time exclusive deal in which the platform holder don't have any ownership on a game make a game "2nd party" in your eyes?
If yes then Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy is a "2nd party" to you despite the game appearing on every platform during the same generation.
Is Final Fantasy VII a "2nd party" in your eyes? Because Sony had a distribution deal with Square (the third-party publisher which owned the game) to distribute the game in western markets...

EDIT: I'd add for the sake of clarity that I wouldn't entertain the same stance if we were talking about Ratchet and Clank for which Sony entered a deal with a then indepedent third-party developer like Insomniac to publish the game and retain the IP ownership, at least partially (Spyro instead has the same caveats as Crash).

 

[OmegaSpirit32X]

About time looks terrible, and Coco is even worse.

The sales don't quite align with the remaster of the old one, with in fact are still selling.

How? I agree that the females look weird but Crash is more expressive than ever, and the game looks a lot like an animated movie.

 

[Fake]

How? I agree that the females look weird but Crash is more expressive than ever, and the game looks a lot like an animated movie.

Dude, the design is really a step back from the remake. Coco is unrecognizable.

Taste vary, but again, sales tell a story. The remake still on the charts.

 

[Evil Calvin]

Japan needs to get it's head out of it's anime-loving ass and embrace some Western developed games. I know they don't have underage looking anime girls as the cringey protagonist but damn!! expand your horizons a bit Japan!

 

[Woopah]

Japan needs to get it's head out of it's anime-loving ass and embrace some Western developed games. I know they don't have underage looking anime girls as the cringey protagonist but damn!! expand your horizons a bit Japan!

Several Western-developed games like Minecraft, Ghost of Tsushima Fortnite, Apex Legends and Human: Fall Flat are doing well in Japan. But yes it would be good if there were more!

 

[Holammer]

How? I agree that the females look weird but Crash is more expressive than ever, and the game looks a lot like an animated movie.

Just started playing Crash 4 and the character design/animation blew me away. Difficulty too, but I don't intend to 100% it.
The scene where they meet Pirate Tawna for the first time, absolutely sublime. Conveying such emotion in just seconds, blink and you'll miss it.

Toys for Bob are masters of their craft and I would love to see more games in this style.

 

[RAIDEN1]

Just started playing Crash 4 and the character design/animation blew me away. Difficulty too, but I don't intend to 100% it.
The scene where they meet Pirate Tawna for the first time, absolutely sublime. Conveying such emotion in just seconds, blink and you'll miss it.

Toys for Bob are masters of their craft and I would love to see more games in this style.

I was nearly going to get the game in the recent Xbox sale....but opted against getting it because platform games aren't exactly my strongest genre, but this game has caught my interest....outside of getting a PS5 just for Ratchet this is the next best thing to it...

 

[Holammer]

I was nearly going to get the game in the recent Xbox sale....but opted against getting it because platform games aren't exactly my strongest genre, but this game has caught my interest....outside of getting a PS5 just for Ratchet this is the next best thing to it...

The game is cruel and uncomfortably difficult. Even Caddicarus, a certified Crash nut raged about it in his 1h review of the game. Get it when it's cheap.
If you want a good platformer that inspires joy-joy feelings, go with Spyro Trilogy instead.

 

[RAIDEN1]

The game is cruel and uncomfortably difficult. Even Caddicarus, a certified Crash nut raged about it in his 1h review of the game. Get it when it's cheap.
If you want a good platformer that inspires joy-joy feelings, go with Spyro Trilogy instead.

Never been a fan of Spyro from day one....besides I've got plenty in the back-log to get through before I want to get onto this....

 

[OmegaSpirit32X]

The game is cruel and uncomfortably difficult. Even Caddicarus, a certified Crash nut raged about it in his 1h review of the game. Get it when it's cheap.
If you want a good platformer that inspires joy-joy feelings, go with Spyro Trilogy instead.

I definitely can testify, I'm at the Space levels and I got every grey gem so far.

 

[Eddie-Griffin]

By the metric proposed, that is western developed games (regardless if Sony owned the franchise like with Crash which was owned by Unversal and today Activision Blizzard)

It was a 2nd party game, it's in the title. Yes, I'm using the actual definition that used to be used for 2nd party, which was an exclusive partnership to a console manufacture from a third-party developer.

Your right I missed the edit date. But it kind of shows the reasoning behind the ban. He does that with other threads that he made.

No I didn't, the mods edited that threads title when ibzo or what's his name posted an update in the thread..

Also, no response to my email for the last mod reason given (which has now vanished) which was fabricated. Apparently, copying text from articles for the title doesn't work either, so I'll just have to navigate the glass being thrown until some points wear off.

Dude, the design is really a step back from the remake. Coco is unrecognizable.

Taste vary, but again, sales tell a story. The remake still on the charts.

Yep, they have been making Crash and other characters look worse and worse every game.

In fact, they also keep making the characters across the board dumber and less appealing each game as well. The trailer for Crash Team Rumble was ridiculous. That's not even close to Crash. Crash is basically Bubsy now, but instead of speaking in English you have the Croc/Banjo gibberish, and he isn't as clever.

People brought NST because the game was based heavily on the originals even with the change in art and design, but they didn't go as far as they did with other games like Titans, or 4, or rumble, that's why it's still selling. People don't want to play. Going from Crash NST to Crash 4 is whiplash.

 

[nial]

1. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back - 1,099,708 (1997)
2. Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped - 917,105 (1998)
3. Crash Bandicoot - 694,104 (1996)
4. Ratchet and Clank - 562,658 (2002)
5. Ghost of Tsushima - 457,094 PS4 (Current PS5 - 19,309 ) (2020 & 2021)
6. Knack - 400,888 (2014)
7. Formula 1 - 379,402 (1996)
8. Marvels Spider Man - 323,023 (2018)
9. Crash Team Racing - 301,334 (1999)
10. Horizon Zero Dawn - 290,487 (2017)

necrobump, but didn't anyone ask the OP why knack, a japanese game, is on the list?

 

[64bitmodels]

necrobump, but didn't anyone ask the OP why knack, a japanese game, is on the list?

nobody questions Knack. Knack is everything.

 

[Krathoon]

This seemed to turn out well. I was thinking about getting this remake.