Sony’s recent announcement of the Patapon remasters and new Hot Shots Golf game came as a surprise, especially since they were part of a Nintendo Direct. But as unexpected as they were, they were welcome acknowledgements of PlayStation’s past when it was a more daring publisher. Many of these series are now dead but absolutely should not be. CEO of PlayStation’s Studio Business Group Hermen Hulst previously stated that the company was looking to dig up some older IPs, so here are 10 other dormant PlayStation franchises that Sony should license out.
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Wipeout
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Wipeout defined the original PlayStation, but it has mostly been sidelined in recent years as racing games have fallen a little out of the mainstream. The last Wipeout game wasn’t even a true racing game, either, as it was a strange card collector only on mobile devices. There have been multiple games that have tried to scratch the grav racer itch — Velocity G, Gravity Chase, and, mostly blatantly, Redout — but none have quite hit the top speeds Wipeout was able to hit in its heyday. However, that doesn’t mean that Sony can’t track down some of these teams with a love of this genre and collaborate with them.
Ape Escape
Sony loves to flaunt Ape Escape — it’s all over PlayStation Plus Premium’s marketing materials and played a substantial role in Astro Bot — but that has not translated to any new Ape Escape games. This quirky platformer is still unique today and hasn’t even inspired a ton of indie classics, as is often the case with many neglected franchises of yesteryear. Without any competition, it’s time for Sony to bring its theoretical love of Ape Escape into reality by finding a talented small developer to bring this franchise into the current era (without killing what made it so unique).
Sunset Overdrive
Former PlayStation head Shuhei Yoshida confirmed that Sony owns the Sunset Overdrive license after purchasing Insomniac Games. But it seems like Sony couldn’t care less since there’s been no movement on that front (aside from a few cryptic posts and small nod in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart). This is a true shame since it was one of the Xbox One’s most acclaimed titles and is begging for at least a modern port. PlayStation owners never got a chance to play this bombastic, parkour-rich open-world third-person shooter, and even though there are a lot of open-world games now, Sunset Overdrive’s style and fluidity still give it an edge.
Insomniac is still likely the best team for the job for a sequel, especially since it has likely learned a ton about smooth open-world transversal in making the Marvel’s Spider-Man games. However, that leaves the door wide open for another team to touch up this underrated classic and bring it to many more people.
Syphon Filter
Syphon Filter was one of the premier mature franchises on the original PlayStation, but it never got to have its true console release after that. It’s a niche stealth franchise that deserves a complete overhaul or remake, especially since other publishers are already doing just that. Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell, the other two stealth giants from that era, are both getting remakes after being neglected for over a decade. It’s time for Syphon Filter to join that stealth game remake club.
SOCOM
SOCOM’s death has always been a tragedy since SOCOM 4’s proximity to the infamous 2011 PlayStation Network outage killed any potential movement it could have had. Even though the shooter genre is more cutthroat now, SOCOM still has some cultural cache left and an opening if Sony chooses to go the more tactical route. Watering it down to try to be like every other twitchy shooter would probably just kill this franchise again, but the right team with the right mindset and push from Sony could resuscitate this dead soldier (which is already rumored).
Siren
Sony could use a horror game to fill out its action-heavy lineup, and Siren is the perfect candidate. Indie horror games with relatively small budgets have thrived in recent years, meaning there are likely a ton of different developers to choose from. Konami followed similar guidelines by partnering with No Code, a team known for the indie hit Observation, for Silent Hill: Townfall. The indie horror renaissance is still ongoing, so Sony luckily doesn’t have to look too hard to give Siren a proper home.
Puppeteer
Puppeteer came out at a weird time for PlayStation since it was a PS3 game that hit only two months before the PS4’s launch. This timing naturally buried Puppeteer and it has hardly been seen outside of small cameos. A 2.5D platformer would be yet another genre that Sony has overlooked in recent years, but this genre has blossomed in the indie space and means there are plenty of developers Sony could turn to in order to give this franchise what it deserves. Perhaps this mystery team can tighten up its controls to bring Puppeteer‘s gameplay in line with its striking presentation.
Soul Sacrifice
Sony already recently licensed out one of its Monster Hunter-like PlayStation Vita games, so it makes sense to do another. Soul Sacrifice was one of the ill-fated handheld’s most beloved games and bringing it back now makes sense because of how much bigger Monster Hunter has made the genre in the last decade. While some would likely look forward to a new installment, a simple remaster, as seen with Freedom Wars, might be enough for now.
Sly Cooper
Sony previously licensed Sly Cooper out to Sanzaru Games for the PS3’s Sly Cooper 4: Thieves in Time, so there’s a precedent to letting other teams take a crack at this beloved series. But Sly 4 was widely regarded as disappointing and failed to differentiate itself from the Sucker Punch Productions trilogy. The franchise deserves better than that, and Sony should attempt to find a studio that can be a little more bold and excel past what Sucker Punch was able to do.
Wild Arms
There are many PS1-era RPGs that deserve to come back in some fashion, and Wild Arms is one of the top candidates to lead that charge. The Suikoden, Star Ocean, Dragon Quest, and Final Fantasy remasters and new retro-inspired titles like Octopath Traveler and Triangle Strategy have demonstrated that players still have a soft spot for re-releases of retro JRPGs.
While trying to reboot it or make sequels are possible options, an updated batch of ports or thoughtful remasters would probably suffice and go a long way in rounding out Sony’s output with franchises it already owns. Artdink, one of the teams that co-developed Triangle Strategy, also seems like a prime candidate for this mission. Wild Arms creator Akifumi Kaneko also seems to recognize the thirst for a new entry, given his Kickstarter for its spiritual successor, Armed Fantasia: To the End of the Wilderness.
