Key events
8th December 2016
Watch: See how the Crash Bandicoot remaster holds up to the originals
14th June 2016
29th June 2007
Crash Bandicoot's previously unreleased Stormy Ascent stage added to N.Sane Trilogy
Naughty Dog called it "too damn difficult" to include.
The original 1996 Crash Bandicoot had a level in it so hard that developer Naughty Dog deemed it too difficult for human consumption. That level, Stormy Ascent, has finally been unearthed and released as free DLC to Vicarious Visions' recent remake Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy.
Uncharted 4's Crash Bandicoot cameo made me nostalgic for a game I'd never played
That belongs in a museum!
Like many, I'd heard about the Crash Bandicoot's cameo in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End before I witnessed it myself. I knew the basic premise: Nathan Drake plays the PS1 classic. And I'll be honest: I thought this seemed like a terrible idea.
VideoWatch: See how the Crash Bandicoot remaster holds up to the originals
Crash bang wallop what a video.
The fans asked for it, and now they have it. After what felt like years of teases and cameos, Crash Bandicoot is back. Kind of.
Vicarious Visions, developers of countless Skylanders games, is remastering the first three games in Naughty Dog's series in The Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, and it's doing a pretty good job of it judging by our first look at the game.
It's a remarkably faithful remake, and as this video demonstrates Vicarious Visions has gone to great lengths to replicate the originals, with (almost) everything in place and given an attractive makeover.
Crash Bandicoot 1, 2 and Warped are getting PS4 remasters
He's also coming to Skylanders Imaginators.
Crash Bandicoot 1, 2 and Warped will receive PS4-exclusive remasters, Sony announced at its E3 press conference moments ago.
Additionally, Crash Bandicoot will be coming to Skylanders Imaginators in October.
Here's a trailer:
Activision is "exploring ways" to resurrect Crash Bandicoot
"Now is not the right time," it said in October.
Rumours have been popping up that Activision may have sold off its PlayStation One platforming star Crash Bandicoot to Sony, given that the publisher has disavowed all connections to Naughty Dog's missing marsupial on its official site.
HTC smartphones and tablets to be PlayStation certified - report
Sony's Android spread begins.
Smartphone and tablet maker HTC will be the first non-Sony company to be PlayStation certified, according to Pocket-lint.
Retrospective: Crash Bandicoot
In a spin with the unofficial PlayStation mascot.
They say every cloud has a silver lining, and the rather pointless controversy swirling around Uncharted 3 and the question of linearity in games has had at least one beneficial after effect: it's prompted me to return to Naughty Dog's first big gaming franchise, Crash Bandicoot.
Crash Bandicoot, Jumping Flash and Wipeout.
With the addition of the first PS one titles to the European PlayStation Store all the pieces are finally in place for the secondary battlefront of the Next Gen war - online downloads. These impulse purchases have been the Holy Grail for the games industry for many years, enabling publishers to make use of their back catalogue and drive new formats at the same time. The Wii Virtual Console leads the pack as far as choice goes - with over 100 emulated console classics to choose from - but has disappointed many with its seemingly random choices and unhelpful interface. Xbox Live Arcade, on the other hand, has set a high benchmark for original content as well as offering updated versions of gaming classics.
So where does the PlayStation Store fit into this digital wonderland? The original content has been tentative at best and the choice is still rather sparse. However, it could be that the PS3 makes its stand on pricing. Not only do you get to see exactly how much your download costs in actual currency, but the prices for the first batch of original PlayStation classics are more than reasonable. Just GBP 3.49 (or around EUR 5) is a small price to pay for beloved 32bit titles, especially when compared to the cost of N64 games on the Wii. Even though the fact that the original PlayStation is now officially "retro" makes me feel very, very old, there's a huge list of titles I'm aching to revisit.
Of course, if you own a PS3 and PSP there's an added bonus. Update to the latest firmware, register the PSP with the PS3 and you can transfer your PS one downloads across to your handheld simply by connecting them with a USB cable and selecting "Copy". It's a remarkably simple process, and the transfer speeds are impressively fast - over 400Mb of Crash Bandicoot rattled down the wire in just a few minutes.
