Though Croc is commonly associated with PlayStation, a third Croc game could have ended up on the Xbox, according to lead designer Nic Cusworth.
During an interview last week, Cusworth explained that he pitched Croc 3 as an online multiplayer game. Following the events of Croc 2, Croc would have been reunited with his family in the homeland of the Croc species. There, Croc would become a mentor and trainer to the other crocs and prepare them for their own adventures.
The game would have featured a series of village hubs with a variety of adventures that branched off of each hub. Each adventure would be designed for either single-player, 2-player co-op, or 4-player co-op. The multiplayer adventures would have involved a mix of platforming and puzzle-solving. Each player would start the level from a different entry point and would need to work together to throw switches, open doors, and work together to progress through the adventure.
According to Cusworth, "The idea was liked." Unfortunately, the studio behind Croc, Argonaut Games, was struggling to make the transition to the next console generation. Though Argonaut had found success with the Harry Potter game on PS1, other projects had had troubles in development. What's more, next-gen games required bigger teams of developers. "We were kind of used to much smaller teams," Cusworth explained. "Oh God, we need like 30-40 people to do this? How are we ever going to afford that?"
Croc 3 never moved forward, and Cusworth left the company soon after. When Argonaut liquidated in 2004, studio founder Jez San acquired the rights to Croc. San has largely left the game industry, but he has suggested in the past that a Croc Remake is possible.
The full interview with Nic Cusworth covers the history of Croc from the very beginning, including the studio's first attempt at a Yoshi racing game that eventually led to the creation of Croc. Cusworth was the lead designer on both Croc and Croc 2, and has nothing but fond memories of the plucky platformer hero.
You can check out the full Croc interview here.