Sony confirms Jak 3 to be the series' swan song

It's curtains for Jak, the Naughty Dog-created action hero responsible for selling millions of units--and depositing substantially more millions into Sony Computer Entertainment America's coffers. SCEA confirmed today what many industry-watchers suspected--that Jak 3 would be the final incarnation in the popular platform franchise.

Jak sprang from the minds inside Naughty Dog, the studio founded by Jason Rubin. Not so coincidently, Rubin will leave the developer's kennel concurrent with the completion of the game later this year. That news surfaced after Rubin announced his intentions following the DICE summit in early March. He broke the news with GameSpot then, telling readers he had "made a conscious decision to leave Naughty Dog" when Jak 3 was completed.

Jak 3 for the PlayStation 2 is due to hit retailers in late 2004.