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Naughty Dog

History

Naughty Dog are a California-based developer that was founded back in 1984. Over a decade before the PS1!

They're also one of the earliest first-party developers as Sony acquired them in 2001. An easy decision considering the critical and commercial success of their Crash Bandicoot trilogy on the PS1.

Naughty Dog had a fine PS2 gen with the Jak & Daxter series. However, it was the PS3 gen, with the Uncharted trilogy and The Last of Us, where their prestige grew to the point that many consider them the premier PlayStation studio. This continued into the PS4 gen with sequels in both IP.

My Analysis & Predictions

Like Insomniac, Naughty Dog have released four games on PS5. A record for first-party. Unlike Insomniac though, all four games are remasters/remakes of PS4 Uncharted/TLOU games.

While remakes/remasters are nice, they were somewhat unnecessary due to the PS4 versions still playing great on PS5.

Furthermore, ND's only announced new game, TLOU Online, was cancelled four years into development. It's therefore hard to be confident despite the pedigree over the past two gens.

Unfortunately, it looks like ND have time for only one new game on PS5. A huge drop-off from previous output, although I'm sure it will retain their premier quality.

Regardless, first-party developers like Insomniac have already begun supplanting them this gen. Something unthinkable when TLOU released in 2013. Hopefully they're able to return to their former glory for the PS6.

The Last of Us Factions

PS5 Games

Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves

Genre: Action-Adventure

Release Date: Jan 28, 2022

Days Since Their Last Game: 741

Metacritic Score: 87

The Last of Us Part I

Genre: Action-Adventure

Release Date: September 2, 2022

Days Since Their Last Game: 218

Metacritic Score: 89

The Last of Us Part II Remastered

Genre: Action-Adventure

Release Date: January 19, 2024

Days Since Their Last Game: 505

Metacritic Score: 90