Almost immediately after this was spotted, fans grew ecstatic, because we all wondered "Now why would they have him in the PS4 trailer, which is filled with references to PS4 games?" (we weren't aware at the moment that this also contained past title references) We believed Sony Computer Entertainment had bought the Crash Bandicoot IP from Activision (Mouth watering, I know) The reason a lot of people didn't see this as a simple reference to a classic title is because of the symbolism it appears to have;
(1) Recycling-bin (symbolism of his inactivity for so long) (2) Crash (His iconic Twinsanity render to be exact) (3) An arrow pointing to...(4)... Sony Computer Entertainment's logo. So you can see why we took this as we did.
Now I shall spread some light on this, as to what it actually could be; first off, it's common for waist bins to be attached to poles, and there is also nothing that can connect it to being Activision. This trailer was shot in some where in Europe, which could explain the street sign which strongly resembles the SCE logo, which is actually a sign warning you of a main road coming up, so it being right on top of the Crash sign appears to be a pure coincidence.
And also to fuel this strong speculation the main Crash Bandicoot website had been taken down a couple months ago, and Crash wouldn't come up if you search for him on Activision's website.
Now something you guys do have to remember is the website was pretty much broken. You'd have to wait forever for ever for it to actually show the homepage, and even then it'd make your internet slow down. So it's understandable why they took it down. And as for the thing regarding Activision website, you can read this quick post I wrote up, which might be why he's not on there; "Why Crash doesn't appear on Activision's website"
On the 22nd of November, Dave Scammell of 1UP.com tweeted this;
"Wait a minute... Can this be?? Are they trying to COVER SOMETHING UP!?!" This is about the moment the cat (or bandicoot) was in the bag. But, then...
...this is where it all started to fall apart.
Adam Boyes, being a higher up as Sony, led us to believe he'd know what he was talking about. But we were still gonna wait to see what else happens..... cue the article every body hates...
“Activision owns Crash Bandicoot and we continue to explore ways in which we could bring the beloved series back to life,” - Activision Rep to Gameinformer
So, that pretty much killed the hype. End of article, see you all later.
....................................................................................................................................................................... FINE!! I'll continue. *sigh
This is the part I was really hoping not to write about, because it really brought out the immaturity of this fan-base. Rather than it just going away and people just going with what was reported, people just went into denial, I guess you could say. People immediately began arguments with people going with what Gameinformer reported, they began pestering the author of the article through Twitter (also acting rude towards him.)
Now, I understand why people acted the way they did. This was the best news we had had in a long time, the idea of having a next-gen Crash Bandicoot game made me excited too. But, the way some them reacted to the news that he wasn't with the company that could make this happen sooner than later, was just childish.
Even to this day, nearly three months after it, people are still hoping Gameinformer's article isn't true (NOTE: IGN had also contacted Activision, to only get the same response.)
Final Word
This last paragraph I decided should be in defense of this page for our stance on the situation, and my honest opinion on this all.
I really wanted this to be true guys, I really do. But, if there is something that does contradict it, I will bring it to light. I won't just ignore it and just rely on the little evidence saying he is with Sony, because if there is false hype, I wanna make sure there isn't, but I'm afraid that's what the cards keep saying. Now, I'm not saying it isn't likely he is with Sony, but I am saying there is more evidence supporting he isn't. Though I do have some things to announce on here that could support he is with Sony (well kind of...) On Charles Zembillas' blog he wrote;
"Hello folks! I've been creating on a daily basis on a dedicated project I've been telling you about for some time now. The art I'm doing is going towards the completion of the project getting it to a point where I can publicly disclose it and share the content online. There's a lot of work that's going into this. It's been a monumental personal effort to develop the project over a very long time but the end of this phase is coming into sight I'm happy to say. It's getting closer to publication with each passing day.
This is a character based property that I'm sure you'll enjoy. If you like the concepts I've developed before, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, and Jak and Daxter, or anything else I've done in animation, I'm confident you'll love this one. I enjoy working on it and I'm excited about how it's turning out. The project is very different in a way that you'll find engaging and entertaining. It has a long and profound behind the scenes history and I'm glad it's at the point where it can be disclosed soon.
So hang in there with me if you would please. I'm still around and will post as much art as I can in the meantime. Thanks for checking in! I'll be following up soon.
-Charles Zembillas"
Now he is in no way he is hinting that he is working on a Crash related project (so don't make a video titled "Charlie Confirms New Crash Game") but still IF Sony were gonna make a Crash game it's possible they could recruit him for concept design.
As I close, I want to remind everyone the chances that Crash is with Sony are not that high, but just cause he's not with Sony doesn't he wont return, Activision realize they have a valuable IP on their hands, and they may intend to use it.
