Previous we covered a petition that sought to bring back Crash Bandicoot to the Sony PlayStation platform, and now here is a small interview with the person who started the petition. Bradley O’Rourke has been a long time fan of Crash Bandicoot and he was available for this interview to see what his motivations were and what he would like to see in a Crash Bandicoot game.
PlayStation Gang: What inspired you to create this petition?
Bradley O’Rourke: There are plenty of reasons as to what led me to start the petition, but for me I think the main thing was that I just wanted to try & make a change. You know, it’s easy to just sit there & be another person in the crowd , but I wanted to do something much bigger than that, I wanted a way for our voices to be heard & I think this petition is great way of doing that. Crash Bandicoot means a lot of thing’s to a lot of different people. For myself & many others, it’s a cherished childhood memory, it’s what got many of us into video games in the first place, personally I think if I had never played a Crash game back in the PlayStation one era, I wouldn’t be the kind of gamer I am today.
PSG: Do you believe this petition will work?
O’Rourke: Our overall goal with this petition is to get heads raised at Sony, make them see that there is a demand for this series & then at least get them to consider purchasing the IP from Activision or even working alongside them to make a new Crash game. Sony has really proven this generation that they are “For the players” & that they are listening to our requests, & with the passionate fans out there who have already signed or are yet to sign, there is really no reason why this could not be a success. Will the petition definitely work? Of course not, nothing is guaranteed, But do I believe the petition will work? I certainly do.
PSG: Are you satisfied with the amount of signatures you currently have?
O’Rourke: I am more than satisfied so far! As of writing this, the petition is nearly just 2 weeks old & we already have 1,600 signatures down, which on average is just over 100 a day & to me that is just incredible. I appreciate every single person who has signed, & scrolling through the comment section, you can see what kind of impact the Crash Bandicoot series has had on them. Whether it’s a childhood memory, a fun experience or that they just want a new game, everyone has there own story to tell. Of course, we are aiming to get as many people as we can alongside this petition. As of right now the target is set at 10,000, but these are just personal milestones. As it grows we will move it up to 20, 30, 40, 50, maybe even a 100,000 one day! If you really think about it, there are over 150 Million users on the PlayStation Network, so really, why couldn’t this thing go viral?
PSG: What would you like to see in a Crash Bandicoot game?
O’Rourke: Everyone reading this is going to have their own vision of what they want in a new Crash Bandicoot game, but for me I would like to see the old character design come back, the whole makeover that happened with mind over mutant just really killed it for me, I think it just took away that nostalgia & it broke that connection that long time players had, had with the characters. But alongside old character design, I would either like to see them bring back the linear hard challenging levels like with what you got in Crash 1 – 3, with warp rooms & stuff like that, or failing that, I wouldn’t mind seeing something along the lines of Crash Twinsanity. At the time, that kind of open-ish world was different for Crash Fans & I think it worked pretty well, as there was a mix of linear & free roam (In a sense), so either of those 2 kind of play styles, I would certainly welcome back, but that is just me.
PSG: Any other franchises you would like to see come back?
O’Rourke: Well If you had asked me that a few years ago, I would have said Abe’s Oddysee, but recently they just remastered New n Tasty for the PlayStation 4 & it’s amazing. Even with the new art style, level design & I think a few new obstacles in places, it still feels like that classic game we owned on the PlayStation One. Speaking of remasters, look at how well New N Tasty was received by members of the PlayStation Nation. If not a brand new game i’m sure people would love a fully remastered collection of the Crash Bandicoot games that were developed by Naughty Dog. I know I would!