Insomniac Games’ Responds to Growing Criticism
Beginning with the first title in 2002, the series has spanned the PS3, PS2 and PSP, with nine titles in seven years. However, since the latest title released last month, A Crack in Time, there has been growing criticism and concern over developer, Insomniac Games, of milking the franchise. Insomniac Games, who is known to be very open and interactive with their fanbase and community, have been quiet…until now.
Speaking on the latest Full Moon Podcast (the official podcast for Insomniac Games), Community Director, Ryan Schneider, talked about the growing amount of criticisms.
Maybe we’re living in a bubble but people still enjoy the franchise. We have a very hardcore fan base that is very supportive of the title. The fact is we’ve had seven games that we’ve made, not including the two others that High Impact did, that’s nine titles overall. Of the seven that we’ve done, we’re still at a close to an 87 Metacritic right now.
It’s a well regarded franchise. It’s a gamer’s game also I think where, if you are into video games, you’ve been into video games, you appreciate a well-crafted video game, than you know and appreciate what Ratchet’s all about.
Hopefully Schneider’s comments will quell much of the criticism. As the Ratchet and Clank series is still growing strong, and is a staple for the Sony portfolio of games.
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20 Responses to “Insomniac Games’ Responds to Growing Criticism”
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November 23rd, 2009 at 7:30 AM
meh, i only played the latest, and didnt find it hard in any way, or fun… *im far from the demographic but still…* I felt that if you just upgraded the right weapons, and jumped around you couldnt die… and thats basically how i plated the game in around a day =\
November 23rd, 2009 at 7:51 AM
I am part of the fan base and I’ll say that R&C:F seemed easier than the others. Hell, all of them have been easier than the first.
That said, R&C is by far my favorite series and one of the few games i desperately look forward to new releases.
Insomniac, keep making them until you grind the genre into the ground.
November 23rd, 2009 at 8:55 AM
@AoA – I fear developers doing that. Continuing with an IP until its crashed and burned is a waste of time and money, it ends a great series in disappointment. I’m pretty sure there was an article on this site recently regarding exactly that, and I agreed whole heartedly. Tony Hawk is a prime example of this. Continuing to rehash something until its so stale it sucks is a bad move for any company. The good move is knowing when to admit its time to move on, and doing something new with the talented people and resources they have.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:22 AM
next up, Ratchey & Clank Zombie Surprise
seriously, make something new already.
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:19 AM
What??? Everyone was excited and anxious for this game, but now they’re upset that they made another one? Good lord, I hate the video game community. The bitching never ends…
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:46 AM
You’re not milking the franchise until you’re making 1 game EVERY YEAR and it’s the same thing time and time again.
Stuff like what Activision is doing with the Hero series.., and what most sports games do, and games like Modern Warfare and other yearly shooters. Or if you’re branching off into other genres and selling titles on name alone like Halo.
Games like Rock Band are excluded because last year they only made Rock Band last year, the track packs are for people who DO NOT HAVE INTERNET, (very valid for many people to buy the DLC that way especiallyf or Wii owners who got shafted for a while) but on top of that you have Lego Rock band and Beatles released this year, which are not successors for Rock Band but, a more kids friendly game, and a proper tribute for Beatles fans.
There is a HUGE difference between giving customers what they want, what they’re asking for, and what making new games to expand who can play the game (Lego Rock Band is better for really religious or controlling parents that are 1 step away from buying Praise Hero or some crap like that) and Beatles Rock Band was done by all accounts I’ve heard, as a fair and wonderful tribute to the band.
So honestly at the end of the day people need to STFU with the milking complaints. Because if these companies weren’t providing games fast enough, then these same people might be complaining “Oh we’re not getting the games we want”
You shouldn’t have to wait 2-5 years for EVERY FREAKING SEQUEL!
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:39 AM
I am with MakaiOokami on this one … 9 sequels is NOTHING compared to what Activision is doing with the GH series. Activision covered 9 sequels in the past 2 years.
Also, I liked the demos enough to rent the new R&C game and I enjoyed it. A bit easy, sure, but worth the price of admission. and definitely worth the trophies
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:45 PM
this is a milked franchise. Why do Ratchet games continue and Jak & Daxter games dwindle to a few spin offs instead of a true sequel. Jak games are better and l wish there more it then Ratchet
November 23rd, 2009 at 2:02 PM
I like Ratchet
November 23rd, 2009 at 2:51 PM
Ratchet and Clank get milked? How? Let’s look at another platformer that gets milked every single month almost and has MANY spin-offs…
Ratchet and Clank games are fine. If you don’t like them, move on then.
November 23rd, 2009 at 3:09 PM
Ratchet and clank is getting milked?? I think your confused with Mario and his spinoffs.
November 23rd, 2009 at 3:41 PM
@MakaiOokami
yeah your right that is overmilking a franchise, i persernally can’t think of anyone who makes a game every year, i don’t know any companies that do that COUGHactivisionCOUGH. How can you honestly defend these companies? EA Games, Traverlers tales, Activision, their all guilty of this, for one EA Games make me sick how they can get off bringing a FIFA game out EVERY year on the year, wow Fifa 2011 i wonder what makes this brand new and original? NOTHING!
Activision with the hero games? NOBODY CARES! My brother can easily carry on downloading from the XBL Marketplace for new songs and that leaves TT, quite clever their deal with lego wouldn’t you say? Lego star wars, Lego star wars: the original trilogy, Lego star wars the complete sega. WTF? If you didn’t know any better you’ld bought all three.
So why should any of these companies be defended? Did they ever ask us if we wanted these games? No yet somehow they decide we do want them and you know what they want from you, that’s right your money that’s all you want, there’s not some nice C.E.O saying to a boardroom of people “you know what those gamers might want, a videogame that actually warrents paying out 40 quid”
November 23rd, 2009 at 5:33 PM
” We only have like 9 games about R&C” Is nine considered milking aren;t there like 20 PRince of Persia’s , Not considering the fact that AC is just PoP with a differet objective and outfit on.
November 23rd, 2009 at 5:46 PM
@wtGp
Ratchet & Clank and Jak & Daxter are two different games made by two different companies so there isn’t an argument there.
I really enjoy the R&C games. I just started getting into ACiT last night and i’m enjoying it. I wish I could have earned trophies in Tools of Destruction though. The collecting in the games just gets me hooked. You get bolts for doing everything!
November 23rd, 2009 at 6:46 PM
Final Fantasy: 14 games, DOZENS of spinoffs. Still good. Is this milking?
Mario: A lot. Still good. Is this milking?
Zelda: A dozen or so. Still good. Is this milking?
R&C are released like bi-yearly and they’re fantastic. Yet they get criticized for not changing the formula. Well remember what happened when a game changed its formula? It’s called every Sonic game in recent memory. You can’t really milk something that’s still fresh. And there’s only nine games people, relax. If you hate it then don’t buy it.
November 23rd, 2009 at 7:26 PM
I love it when people bitch about EA putting out sports games yearly. So you can either have them patch the shit out of your game for everything that changes in real life or you can take what they add and what they improve on and realize 60$ a year is no big deal and you don’t HAVE to spend it.
November 23rd, 2009 at 7:30 PM
@Insomniac
If your offering up new weapons and items, a mildly new storyline, and new maps with at least a small attempt at improving graphics and sound then you’re not milking the franchise. You’re simply pumping out pulp fiction.
And, really, what’s wrong with that? Roger Corman puts out lots of good pulp fiction movies, Terry Pratchett has, like, 30 books to the Discworld name, and there’s only five Star Trek series and how many movies out there?
Pulp fiction allows those of us who are rabidly fanatic to keep our attention on at least one thing that brings us joy and love. Keep up the good work.
November 23rd, 2009 at 7:32 PM
Mario is milked. Zelda is milked. Street Fighter is milked. Mortal Kombat is milked. All sports games are milked. Guitar Hero is milked. Rock Band is milked. Need for Speed is milked. Halo is in the process of being milked. CoD is in the process of being milked. Final Fantasy is milked. Resident Evil is milked. Megaman is milked. We’ve seen many iterations of them; some across multiplatforms AND generations. Its a part of gaming.
I’ve gotten every Ratchet game, including these new iterations on PS3. They’re still good games…and if they made another one 2 years from now I’d get it too. That being said, I’d be thrilled if they made another title in its place. That’s based off my belief in their talent and skill. The likelihood is that we’ll see another title from their 3rd studio, so they’ll be able to make everyone happy (in theory lol).
I think alot of this arose from the “failure” of R2 in some people’s eyes. Alot of people saw them as a great studio and had their “faith” shaken after R2. I imagine some folks figured, if they made something else (something more mature), then consumers would have a secondary title (a fall back title), since Ratchet is still considered a “kid’s” game. That or some folks want a more maturer title to talk up the PS3 lineup. LBP and Ratchet are viewed as “kids” games and largely ignored when it comes to talking up the system’s lineup…at least against “competitors”. In the end, Insomniac is a business and there is pretty much a
November 24th, 2009 at 12:45 AM
Way to go Makai…I would’ve said the same.
November 24th, 2009 at 4:29 AM
I personally adore the series and love the improvements they make in each one.
If they make another, I’ll definitely buy it at launch.