It's no secret that Naughty Dog started work on a new Jak & Daxter game for the PlayStation 3. The developer has spoken openly about this over the years, explaining that it spent a lot of time prototyping new ideas, before eventually opting to create The Last of Us instead. "We were questioning ourselves: were we doing this for marketing reasons and naming something Jak & Daxter when it really isn't Jak & Daxter, or were we really passionate about it?" said Neil Druckmann during a Toronto conference in 2014.
While the game never came to light, though, it's fascinating to see what could have been. And while we've seen some sketches before, concept art outlet Scribble Pad Studios has uploaded some much higher-res drawings showing what Naughty Dog had in mind. We see a much more human-like protagonist, who presumably would have paired with the otter-esque Daxter. The environments still have an element of fantasy to them, of course.
The Californian developer's said that it's not opposed to making a new Jak & Daxter in the future, but it would need to find the right story. "Whenever we tried to make a Jak & Daxter story, constrained to what had already been created, those stories were falling flat for us – and the world didn't give us a lot of flexibility," Bruce Straley wrote on Reddit last year. "Which meant that when we finally got to a story that we actually liked, we weren't actually making Jak & Daxter anymore."
With the developer known for its more mature titles these days, we reckon that a return to its more cartoony roots would be considered a bit of a step back. It would be interesting to see how it approached something a little more light-hearted, however, but we reckon that the boat has probably sailed on a Jak & Daxter sequel at this point. Would you like a fourth entry in the platforming property, though? Channel your inner-eco in the comments section below.
[source artstation.com]
Comments 20
Personally, I always thought Jak & Daxter was the worst of Sony's PS2 platforming properties. Much bigger fan of Sly and Ratchet myself.
I miss Jak and Daxter
I wanna see some more light-hearted exclusives come to PS4, so hopefully a Jak sequel happens in the near future.
I think Naughty Dog as it currently is would not be a good fit for the Jak series, particularly when Jason Rubin and a lot of "old" Naughty Dog have left the company. On the other hand, in reference to what @get2sammyb said, I still think Sucker Punch could make a good new Sly Cooper game, and while 4 was decent enough, I'd like to see the original developers return to the series, particularly with their experience in making open-world games with platforming elements from the Infamous series.
When I was younger I was really into 2 and 3 (Never played the first). Now I don't really bother with platformers at all. I hope they just carry on with The Last of us and uncharted, however it will be interesting to see what they come up with next..
Jak & Daxter is probably the hardest among the trio that are on PS2 (with Sly and Ratchet). Huge fan though, I love all equally and I want them all to continue exist and be relevant,
@get2sammyb agree with you on that, only jak and daxter game I liked was the first one, other then that Ratchet and clank and Sly where way better.
If they made the game more like the first game, which felt like a more advanced crash bandicoot game, then I would play a fourth game, but seeing as they wanna go so grown up and realistic, then no. Just keep making the kind of games they do now.
@get2sammyb I kinda agree. I do like the series a lot, but I prefer Sly and R&C.
I haven't played the 3rd game though, so I'd rather see how the story ends before I get an opinion on if they should make a 4th entry. ND never went back to a series after finishing it, so it would be kinda surprising to see them return to Jak. Right now they're probably better off focusing on Uncharted 4 and Last of Us.
@get2sammyb are you fricking serious, J&D is the best
@get2sammyb - Boo, hiss.
Those Jak graphics are the worst. Like Aquaman N64 gameplay bad.
But that top photo... well that makes me wonder where the frak Rainbow Skies is, I think it was due out in 2014.
For real this looks like it would've been awesome. I'll never understand why they don't reinvent this series, not that it needs it.
Thank god this never happened!
I'd personally love a reboot tho of the franchise but made more like 1 without weapons and cars etc.
@get2sammyb I was actually a bigger Jak and Daxter fan than Ratchet for example.
@get2sammyb i was more of a jak fan i loved ratchet and clank but i loved jak and daxter more and as for sly i only played 1 game
@get2sammyb i was more of a jak fan i loved ratchet and clank but i loved jak and daxter more and as for sly i only played 1 game
@get2sammyb i was more of a jak fan i loved ratchet and clank but i loved jak and daxter more and as for sly i only played 1 game
@get2sammyb i was more of a jak fan i loved ratchet and clank but i loved jak and daxter more and as for sly i only played 1 game
@get2sammyb Ratchet > Jak > Sly
Mr. Zurkon > Everyone else
jack and daxter was amazing even jak 2 went too gta was still good and jak3 was a mix of jak 1 and 2, i loved it, but this looks amazing, we need to get a petition good like seriously
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