Summary
In an interview celebrating the 30th anniversary ofPlayStation, CEO Herman Hulst confirmed that the studio is looking for more opportunities to leverage its “legacy IP”.
From the moment PlayStation first began 30 years ago, the studio made a name for itself with its killer lineup of first-party titles, fromCrash BandicootandApe EscapetoMetal Gear SolidandGran Turismo. That legacy has only gotten stronger with each generation, with heavy-hitters likeRatchet & Clank,Jak and Daxter,Sly Cooper,Uncharted, and a whole lot more.
While some of those franchises have managed to stick around in recent years, it’s fair to say thatPlayStation hasn’t paid much attention at all to its older gamesand instead focused on newer and more adult series likeThe Last of Us,Horizon,Ghost of Tsushima, and the rebootedGod of War. It seems that might finally be about to change, though.
PlayStation Is Aiming To Leverage Its “Legacy IP” Alongside Starting New Franchises
In celebration of the 30th anniversary of PlayStation, studio CEO Herman Hulst took part in an interview with Famitsu, where he shared his thoughts on the company’s past, present, and future.As pointed out by Twitter user Genki_JPN, the most interesting part of the interview is whenHulst is asked about the appearance of “dormant IP” in Astro Botand how many people want to see older franchises return.
In response, Hulst says that PlayStation’s “extensive IP portfolio” is an important asset for the studio and that, alongside making new franchises, PlayStation aims to “leverage our legacy IP”. This essentially confirms that,perhaps in part due to Astro Bot’s massive success, PlayStation is finally paying more attention to the games that got it to where it is now.
Our extensive IP portfolio is an important asset for PlayStation, and as part of our efforts to strengthen our portfolio, we continually explore opportunities to leverage our legacy IP as well as develop new franchises. - Herman Hulst
PlayStation has so many underutilized series that it’s tough to know where to begin, but it does seem like Hulst and the company knows how much players want older series to return.Whether that’s in the form of ports like the recent Sly Trilogyor brand-new games is yet to be seen, but it sounds like a step in the right direction.
