Naughty Dog is now considered a key studio within Sony's gaming division. But how did the Japanese corporation manage to acquire such a talented team? Co-founder Andrew Gavin recently shed some light on this.
Gavin explained in a LinkedIn post that the creators of Jak & Daxter joined Sony largely due to financial reasons, specifically the increasing costs of game development. Here's a summary of the rising costs:
- Early games (1980s): ~$50,000
- Rings of Power (1991): $100,000
- Crash Bandicoot (1996): $1.5 million
- Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (2001): $15 million
- Later games (~2004): $45-50 million
Given the ever-changing market conditions, Gavin and his colleagues sought financial stability. Partnering with Sony allowed the studio to avoid financial worries and potential bankruptcy.
Naughty Dog is currently working on the action game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, which does not yet have a release date.
