Former Argonaut Software CEO Jez San says he'd like to bring back the Croc IP one day. The IP managed to spawn six games, with two main series instalments alongside a Game Boy Color game and three mobile-only releases. It's lain dormant since the year 2001.
This news comes to us via San's official Twitter account. Twitter user @JoshGamnChannel tweeted about Croc and San still holding the rights to it, including the hashtag #BringBackCroc. Jez San responded by saying that one day, he'd like to remake Croc. According to San, he gets "inbound all the time from folks that want to do it". He ends his tweet by saying "one day...".
one day I'd like to remake it. I get inbound all the time from folks that want to do it. one day..
— Jez (@aerobatic) June 29, 2020
What are the chances of Croc getting a remake?
While Croc is perhaps not as favorably remembered as some of the leading lights of 3D platforming, it clearly has a following. There's also some precedent for slightly more obscure 3D platformers getting a new lease on life. Last year, Tate Interactive announced it would bring its cult PS2 platformer Kao the Kangaroo: Round 2 to Steam. In addition, Krome Studios recently ran a very successful Kickstarter campaign to bring Ty the Tasmanian Tiger to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. If the interest is there, the framework exists to bring a Croc remake or remaster to modern platforms.
Croc: Legend of the Gobbos originally began life as a 3D platformer prototype starring Nintendo's cuddly dinosaur mascot Yoshi. Nintendo was reluctant to let developer Argonaut Software use its character for this unproven concept, so the deal between Argonaut and Nintendo fell through. Eventually, Argonaut turned the unnamed Yoshi prototype into Croc, which became the studio's biggest-selling game.
According to Jez San (thanks, Eurogamer), Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto approached him at a show after the release of Super Mario 64 and apologized for what happened between the two studios, and how Super Mario 64 was similar to the concepts they had shown for the Yoshi prototype. San also says Nintendo used "much of [Argonaut's] code in Star Fox 64 without paying us a penny". Despite the acrimonious way in which the two studios split, San says he's happy he was able to prove to Nintendo that Argonaut was "as clever and innovative as they thought we were".
Quick Take
Some of my fondest memories are of playing Croc: Legend of the Gobbosas a child. If Jez San can find a way to bring the IP to modern platforms, I'd be overjoyed, but I hope he and his team do exercise caution if this ever happens. Nostalgia is blinding, and there's a good chance Croc and his cuddly Gobbo friends simply don't have a place in the modern gaming landscape. I sincerely hope they do, though. Yahoo!
Would you play a Croc remake? Let us know in the comments below!
