By PlayStation co-CEO Hermen Hulst says Sony is open to reviving classic videogame franchises from its past history.
Classic PS1, PS2 and PS3 titles have seen a resurgence of interest lately thanks to Game of the Year winner “Astro Bot” which is filled with easter eggs celebrating the 30 year history of the franchise.
That includes some franchises that PlayStation has let lie for years including Ape Escape, Sly Cooper, Jak and Daxter, Infamous, Resistance and Killzone among others.
Speaking to Famitsu (via VGC), Hulst claims the studio aims to go broader with the kinds of experiences it offers from both its first-party studios and its external developers:
“The various IPs that we own are an important asset to PlayStation, and as part of our efforts to strengthen our portfolio, we are continually looking at opportunities to leverage past IP, as well as develop new franchises. Our goal is to publish games by the world’s best creators, both inside and outside of PlayStation, and we have achieved many successes so far by working closely with external development studios.”
Hulst also celebrated the performance of “Astro Bot,” the platformer reportedly selling 1.5 million copies in its first nine weeks. Nearly 40% of those sales came from players either purchasing a PlayStation game for the first time, or doing so for the first time in two years.
The game has been incredibly well received and has seemingly reached beyond the usual demographics for most PlayStation games to: “It has also contributed significantly to the expansion of the community, with a higher percentage of younger players and families purchasing the game compared to other titles.”
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