Over the years, we’ve seen fantastic first party titles released for the PlayStation line of systems. It’s one of the primary reasons to own the system over its competitors. However, no matter the quality of those titles, sometimes, franchises fall by the wayside. Maybe it’s because sales didn’t necessarily reach expectations, or there’s just far too much firetruck red hair to animate on screen at once (looking at you, Nariko).
Whatever the reason is, today we’re taking a look at 10 dead franchises that Sony needs to revive on the PS5. Will any of these happen? A solid 30% or so, maybe. Can we dream for more? Absolutely we can.
10 PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale
Yeah, this one. The “Smash clone.” While PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale certainly lifted… well, a lot from Smash Bros., it also did quite a few things to separate itself from the beloved series, with the fighting mechanics being completely different.
The first title was a solid 7 in the eyes of many, and it sold well, showing that it had a lot of potential to become a strong franchise starter for Sony. While we never received a sequel, maybe the PS5 will finally be when the time is right.
9 Jak And Daxter
While receiving ports every once in a while, the Jak and Daxter franchise is largely considered a dead one. The story-focused platformers were one of the highlights of the first party line-up in the PlayStation 2 days, with many considering the titles to be some of the best on the system.
However, soon after that, everything stopped. No new titles were ever developed in the series outside of the PS2. It’s probably not going to be Naughty Dog if we ever do get a new entry, but eh, compromises.
8 PaRappa The Rapper
PaRappa the Rapper is a dog and he is more lyrical than any and all rappers in the industry today. This rhythm series requires you to rap and dance your way through each and every stage, proving that you’re not like the other kids on the block.
If you manage to prove yourself, you can start freestyling all by yourself. Does your teacher sometimes happen to be a humanoid shaped onion? Yes. And what about it?
7 Twisted Metal
Twisted Metal is a game series that pits a group of crazy drivers against each other in the battle of their lives in order to have any wish they dream up granted. The original game was released on the original PlayStation, with every single PlayStation console receiving an entry besides the PS Vita.
Since the PS4 entry was released, no new news about a new game has been revealed. However, PlayStation Productions looks to be developing a TV series based off the IP.
6 Heavenly Sword
Yeah, this is the one with too much hair. Heavenly Sword is a weird franchise. It was a stunning hack-and-slash game released in the launch window for PS3. Then they canceled a sequel. Then they put Nariko, the main character in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.
Then they made a movie seven years later that featured a not-so-good new version of the original story. There was a lot going on there. However, the game was real good and the hair was real intense, so bring it back, please.
5 InFAMOUS
Sucker Punch’s InFAMOUS series was a fantastic one. In this series, you played as a super powered-up conduit that had the power to control electricity and other elements.
The game was fantastic to play, with combat and flying around the city with your powers being an absolute blast. With Sucker Punch currently busy with Ghost of Tsushima, it will likely be a while until we hear anything about a sequel to this game.
4 Ape Escape
An original PlayStation franchise that has since graced every Sony machine with its presence: Ape Escape. The series features apes rewriting history. Yes, you read that right.
The main character, Spike, tries to stop them. Let them do it, they’ve earned it! This series has been pretty dormant since 2012, so seeing a brand new entry on the PS5 would be a great surprise for fans.
3 Ratchet And Clank
One of the more likely of these entries to come back soon, Ratchet and Clank last received a remake of the original game in 2016. The sales were fantastic, making it a surprise that we haven’t heard anything of a sequel since.
If Sony was holding it in anticipation of a PS5 release, it wouldn’t be all that surprising. While certainly not as dead as some of the others on the list, we really haven’t heard anything on the franchise in some time.
2 Sly Cooper
To put it in perspective, the last Sly Cooper game was a dual PS3 and PS Vita release. Yikes. However, Thieves in Time is still a fun, well-received game.
While the franchise completely skipped the PS4 generation, an animated movie and TV are both still in production, hopefully. This bodes well for the franchise, and hopefully, a fifth game to coincide with the fifth generation of PlayStation systems is somewhere in the production pipeline.
1 Gravity Rush
This series is possibly the most and least dead entry on the list at the same time. While Gravity Rush 2 was only released in 2017, the blazing fast speed of which the servers went down and the low sales mean that a third entry in the series is completely unlikely. It’s unfortunate because the game’s fantastic mechanics to bend gravity to your will make the game incredibly fun.
However, with the series originally launching on the PS Vita, it was basically doomed from the start. If given the proper marketing and attention it deserves, a third entry would be a great tech demo to show what the PS5 is capable of.