Naughty Dog co-president Evan Wells told the GameStop-owned Game Informer magazine (via VG247) that the developer seriously explored creating a new Jak & Daxter game.
"We'd all talked about it in interviews with fans asking, 'Where's the next Jak & Daxter?' I don't know if this is going to make them happy or sad, but we did explore the idea fairly extensively," Wells said.
Naughty Dog ultimately decided to not pursue a new Jak & Daxter title because the studio felt creating such a game would be a "disservice" to fans.
"Even if we felt like we're going to give the fans another Jak & Daxter, we felt we weren't going to give them the game that they wanted," he said. "We just realized we were going to just do everybody a disservice. So at that point, the conversations started to move in a new direction."
As for whether or not Naughty Dog might ever return to the Jak & Daxter series, Wells left that possibility open, albeit very narrowly.
"Naughty Dog's got a long history, and I think it's got a long future, so to say we'll never go back is kind of crazy," he said. "It's still up in the air, but I wouldn't think that's going to happen because I think we'd run into all of the same problems with that team that we did with this team."
Naughty Dog's current project is survival action game The Last of Us, which is due at the end of 2012 or the beginning of 2013. The title--which has been in development for over two years--is set in a postapocalyptic United States and follows the efforts of main characters Joel and Ellie.
Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.
They should consider putting Gol and Maia back in the next J&D game, since it was never really sure whether or not they were really dead after the final battle in TPL. For example they can start with Jak getting a sign or a message of some kind from the younger Samos (met in Jak 2) where he says he needs Jak to come back to the past to stop Gol and Maia once more with the kid (now a little older, lets say, that he looks like Jak from TPL but not entirely the same). That Jak was supposed to stop Gol and Maia once and for all. But that's how i would've designed the new game, with a (short) storyline in Haven City and the rest in Sandover Village, Rock village etc. And for the player the ability to teleport to Haven City from Sandover, and from Haven City to Sandover village for example.
Seems like it would have been really awesome to see Naughty Dog make another Jak & Daxter game but maybe it's for the best. I would love to see Naughty Dog to make another series similar to Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter, in terms of a platformer with similar animation style.
I'm glad they aren't making another one. I thought High Impact really ruined The Lost Frontier. It would be awesome if Naughty Dog did another one kinda as a "game redemption", but if they feel that they wouldn't give the fans what they want, I don't want them to do it. Good call Naughty Dog!
Hey, it seems Naughty Dog is one of the few old time companies that still think about it's fans! I'll wait for The Last of Us, for sure, and i already know it'll be better than I Am Alive... ND, the only thing you'd ever did to upset gamers was give Crash Bandicoot to a company that screwed it up...
As much as I want Jak 4, I would want it to be as good a game as possible, and if Naughty Dog can't do it at the moment I am willing to wait a little longer.
I was kind of sad when they announced their new game and it wasn't Jak (and Daxter) 4, because i honestly felt the time was perfect for it, especially considering how much of a boost the neo action/platforming genre needs now that insomniac's Ratchet and Clank has worn itself out and there arent any other 3d action platformers around anymore. With the new technology, great things could be done with that concept. But I guess Naughty Dog knows more, their decisions haven't failed yet. I can only hope though that they didn't picked a zombie apocalypse game over a new Jak game just to be 'safe'.
I'm glad to see this kind of insight from a studio. Although another Jak game would be awesome, there would be a lot of weight on their shoulders to perfect it, and to outright say they don't want to fail it in the eyes of the fans really shows Naughty Dog cares about them. Thanks guys! ...but on a much more serious note, they have the talent for sure, if they really put some ideas together i'm sure they can come up with a fantastic sequel.
I understand I am glad Naughty Dog are not just giving us a new Jak and Daxter game because we want one. They don't know what could be added to the series at this present time. Maybe one day we might see it return but for now I shall make do with the HD remakes.
@ALLoY1717 They're great games if you like that genre, but I've grown out of it. (By the same token, someone can 'grow out of' anything). Platforming games are a massive favourite amongst children because of their simplicity and addictive qualities. The fact is, I no longer find them addictive, and no longer enjoy the simplicity. I enjoyed the Jak and Daxter games when I actually enjoyed that genre, therefore there are still good games. The only difference is, I wouldn't enjoy them anymore simply because I no longer like that genre anymore. Maybe you still enjoy platforming, and thats perfectly fine, but I don't anymore.
I have enough faith in Naughty Dog that I believe a new Jak & Daxter would've turned out great. I also understand their side of the coin, the series ended on a high note (excluding the Lost Frontier, done by a different developer) and its risky to gamble that away.
@protokyoto I wasn't commenting purely to insult someone, and in the comment he said that they were great games therefore his tastes obviously haven't changed. The reason I commented on it was because he was willing to pass on a franchise that he himself deemed to be great because "it is for kids". I'm basing this conclusion on the "it was ok when I was 12" part. A statement that is not really accurate and a bit childish in itself. Honestly I wouldn't see any difference between a person of 20 (assumed age) playing a Jak game vs playing The Last of Us. Flipping it around I could apply the same statement to Mario games, colourful well made platformers. Actually I made a blog post about that very subject 3 years ago (one of the only ones I have ever bothered with) click my name it's the first one. Problem is now I have replied to your reply of my reply to his reply to this article, it is like talking behind someone?s back and for that I do apologise.
@ProMethUse I think they are more worried that all the fans of the franchise will have gotten their expectations too high to fully appreciate anything they make for another sequel. From a business perspective it would be too risky to pursue this until the next console generation. Last thing Naughty Dog needs is what happened to Duke Nukem Forever where people got their expectations up so high that when they got a game that (I believe deserved a 7.0-7.5) got reviewed so poorly (GS gave 3.0) a lot of fans lost faith in the developer (despite the fact that Gearbox didn't develop it, only polished it briefly).
@ALLoY1717 I don't understand how you think that if a person's tastes have changed over the years that it makes that person immature. Sounds like you just wanted to make a comment to insult someone. On topic: Definitely sad that we won't be getting another official Jak & Daxter game but I've trusted Naughty Dog since the days of Crash Bandicoot and I know that whatever they decide to make in the future will always be pure gold.
@irishdude199210 Really :roll: ? I'm guessing you're 20 from your username. If you are still playing videogames but have that sort of attitude to a franchise like Jak and Daxter then you are not as mature as you seem to think you are.
"dis-service"? to everybody? i think there are still a lot of people waiting for a sequel... count me as one of them... if Naughty Dog's thinking it might be too, well, childish for most, they can definitely find a way to make it appealing to everybody :D
Jak & Daxter was my favorite game on PS2, it was amazing game with a big openworld and hell lot of gadgets. If that's was a PS2 title then what can we expect on the PS3...Can't wait to get the new game
In a way, this might be good. Others have a point about bad games coming after the 3rd or 4th game or so. They might be playing it safe by holding off on more sequels. Mario, Sonic and few other games still manage to stand strong today, but that is not so easy to accomplish with all games. I say take your time with things and do not rush under pressure.
Loosing the Crash license sucks for Sony and I hope Sony buys it back from Activision at some point. However, Jak and Daxter should continue on the Vita. First port the collections of Sly, Ratchet and Jak there too to create a fanbase for those who are not familiar. You get a new audience for those games and the graphics should look fantastic because of the art design on the OLED and not so much dated. The games are still playable because like ALL ND games the production values are through the roof. When I play Crash and CTR etc... I cannot believe all the voice acting and everything that they threw in. ND= top notch. Also if Crash was still a Sony IP things would be different for Sony right now in the casual market. I love the 3 games and CTR is kart racing brilliance and sadly is still untouchable in some ways to this day. Too fun!
@WolfGrey True, and I know that. I guess I just spaced it off the comment. This comment also applies to the new Sly Cooper game, which is currently being made by a different company. I'm a hardcore Sly fan and have been very judgmental of it since I first heard about it, but after SEEING IT, it looks fine and is actually making me excited. So it's not ONLY the company that first made it who can make it great, but if the hands who hold the title are capable of creating a work of art, than it's perfectly fine. I've seen many titles destroyed by their own creators like the Frankenstein monster. From such cult classic and legendary series like Ultima, or Master's of Orion, to more modern titles like Fable and Dragon Age.
But you're Naughty Dog, of coarse you can make another jak and daxter game and still do it as perfectly as you did it before! Theres a whole backstory to the series that has yet to be revealed?- (is jak really mar?) These games, and dont laugh at me when i say this, are quite possibly some of my favourite games ever and i would hate to say goodbye to them after only three titles.
I never thought Naughty Dog, the developers of childhood favorites Crash Bandicoot and Jak, would sink this low. Dumping Jak for a zombie game? That's just lame.
@ZeroX91 I'm pretty sure "Jak X" almost killed the series because of what a colossal waste of time and effort that racing game was, but if anything "Daxter", and "Jak and Daxter: The Last Frontier" prove that the company is still capable of doing the series justice... than again, it MUST not be gimmicked to death like Crash which STARTED going downhill after the Crash Racing game (Which was good). Lets hope it's the opposite with a s****y racing game lead to good games, instead of a good racing game lead to s****y sequel after sequel.
@dxBIGBOSSxb are you crazy? jak x was a great game, even if it didn't follow with the main story. You cant talk about it like it was a waste of time when many fans enjoyed it
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