Ape Escape - Sony is Bananas For Ditching The Iconic Monkeys
![Left at the Station [INACTIVE]](http://yt3.ggpht.com/raMdIi2gTsKrwcs8m2xq-B-MSORA_Rr6nOquVO4njcpKH9CnC81S__kb9-AennoXmoVga6PROA=s48-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj)
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 พ.ย. 2023
- Ape Escape is an important franchise for PlayStation. It was Sony's first big hit that they owned 100% of. It was one of Japan Studio's first games. It served as one of PlayStation's mascots for over a decade. And there were great games in this series.
But the last Ape Escape game was in 2011, and by then, the franchise was a shadow of its former self. After years of party games, Japan-exclusives, a JRPG, and a motion-controlled PS Move game, the franchise lost its luster.
What happened to Ape Escape? Why did Sony stop making Ape Escape games? And why did a series that started as 3D platformer devolve into such a mish-mash of random genres?
#apeescape #gaming #playstation - เกม
I didn’t mention this in the video, because its just my opinion, but I think another big reason the series died out is because of the marketing around the game. Very early on in the series it was always about the apes moreso than the actual characters or even the gameplay. As time went on, it got worse, and the apes sort of became the Minions or the Rabbids of their time.
The series went away from introducing new gameplay mechanics and good characters to focus more on just the apes being goofy. That hurt it in the long run, because “monkeys doing silly things” isn’t enough to build a whole franchise out of.
Another problem is that after 3, the West only got the crappy party games while the more traditional Ape Escape games like Million Monkeys and Big Mission stayed in Japan, and were made for the PSP instead of PS2 or PS3.
Yeah, this clearly explains how the series popularity died out eventually, Sony didn't know how to market it properly.
I would love to see the series getting a revival via an N Sane Trilogy remake of the main trilogy developed by Team Asobi, but, considering how little Sony care about their Japanese game division, I don't think that's gonna happen anytime soon.
@@SerialK1986
Your right. The video below sheds light about playstation's decline in Japan.
th-cam.com/video/_FSJbBDDMAI/w-d-xo.htmlsi=VXBuGKvKzkMsHGQk
Even if this franchises is dead, I will always campaign for it's return, no matter what, and I will always cherish the childhood memories I got from playing ape escape 3 and ape escape Pumped & Primed.
I'm right there with you. I'm still holding out hope we might see something from the franchise again one day. It'd be awesome if a new Ape Escape was what Team Asobi are working on right now.
Sony has such disrespect for their old IPs, that it's genuinely heartbreaking. I feel like we wouldn't have all these Crash and Spyro games had they not gone third party, and the only reason IPs like Ratchet & Clank and Gran Turismo are still around is because they continue to sell well, despite their highs and lows. But the fact they were able to feature Spike in Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale and not do anything with the IP since, is just sad.
Sony does not care about their own internally made games, they only want to make movies disguised as games like the last of us.
Why do you think they made such a big temper tantrum over Microsoft buying some other devs They dont want to make games themselves they rely on third parties to make them for them. It really sucks.
@@Exlayer-pk8hy This is why the Playstation and Xbox have been suffering as a result. There is not enough exclusives they have on offer than you can't get on PC. Everything else is either going to be on PC, was already available on last generation or isn't a must have title for one reason or another. Nintendo are the only ones that actually have must have exclusives, but the quality of them have already been outdone by emulation on a Steam Deck, or will be in time. Unless Nintendo steps it up and releases a much more competent system that does well, they will likely end up releasing games on PC sooner than anticipated. The only reason it hasn't happened as of now, was because the Switch was already a huge success, but those figures have been wanning down in recent years, so hopefully they have something planned within the next couple of years.
R&C are on their way out sadly. Rift apart wasnt very good and Insomniac is being butchered under sonys leadership
Those monkeys were everywhere during the first PlayStation generations and now I really miss having them around.
Mesal Gear Solid was brilliant
Yeah, it really did feel like they were a big part of PlayStation during the PS1 and PS2 generation.
Ape Escape was to my knowledge early on marketed as a game that hyped up the Sony Dual Shock controller. That was strictly its main focus.
However the game is fun and could have been invested in a lot more.
Ape Escape was included in a lot of magazine and Pizza Hut demo discs as the premiere game for Dualshock. Because it sold so well and was sought after, yet required the DualSchock to even play, its pretty safe to say Ape Escape was the primary marketing tactic for DualShock more so than its own IP.
I'm not mad about it though. Crazy to think how second-nature DualShock controllers are, and how every other major controller format now uses the same general button and stick layouts.
@@sodathejunker That is fully correct. I remeber that as well and played it on a demo disc 1st time around,
Having played Ape Escape as a kid in one of the demo kiosks that no longer are common in Walmarts and other stores, yes, Ape Escape _was_ being marketed as one to hype up the Dual Shock Controller. It was so unquestionably connected, being the first game on the system designed to utilize the DualShock. With that in mind, you might think this game would have been more remembered because of that? But for some strange reason, it isn't.
@@101Volts Fully agree with you! Same here friend.
Ape Escape 2 was published by Ubisoft in North America, but Sony Europe published the EU version. That's why they used different voice actors and localization. No one ever mentions this in videos about it. Don't know why
Shining Gundam in the background. We got a man of culture here.
I had pt 1 & 3 and brooo its disrespectful that they completely ditched this franchise especially with how creative and unique it was. I will always stand ready for new Ape Escape games
To this day I still enjoy playing through the original Ape Escape, and the soundtrack still holds up really well. Ape Escape 3 was a joy to play through, too. If Sony would remaster part 1 and then follow it up with Ape Escape 4, that would be amazing.
soundtrack is awful
I was thinking about how much I missed playing Ape Escape. Then YT read my mind and recommended this!
Ape Escape, Gravity Rush, PaRappa, Bloodborne and frankly Japan Studio as a whole were way too good for Sony to treat them like this.
SCE simply didn't deserve these IPs. The ones that sold well were completely ignored and forgotten, and the ones that sold poorly only did because the marketing was horrendous or non-existent. It's really, really disheartening.
Sony Interactive Entertainment are the reason their IPs even exist in the first place, no idea why they do not deserve them
God I need ape escape to come back 😭😭 really good work here tho man very underrated channel, you got my sub
Thank you, I appreciate it!
I think now would be a decent time to revive the series with a remake of the first three games like they did for Crash and Spyro. Tbh i'd much rather have that than Croc getting a remake, im surprised that of all ps1 platformers is getting a remake.
only because the fan HD remake of Croc got their attention
I'm annoyed that they haven't even added Ape Escape 3 to PSN.
I also want them to make an official release of Saru Getchu: On Air. All that's available is low quality and incomplete pirated versions.
thank you for reminding me that this game series exists
Great video dude! Very well done. There was nothing like that first Ape Escape! When I was a kid I couldn't get enough of playing that demo. It was one of PlayStations major showcases and the game to introduce players to the analog stick controller. Who would of thought we would never see a remaster and we should at least if ever the series is to be revamped. I'm so glad that I own the original and the PS2 copies of 2 and 3 as well. I'm glad that I at least have them and all I can say is we have to treasure them for those of us who own them. What was so cool is the mini games in addition that make them fun to always go back and play still to this day!
Interestingly I grew up playing the PSP version of Ape Escape. Even though it only had one analog stick I still really enjoyed it. It’s too bad that Sony has completely abandoned so many of their old IPs. They could probably make a decent amount of money by doing MCC (Master Chief Collection) style collections of their older games with remastered graphics you can switch between. That way newer and older fans would be able to enjoy them. They should also start porting them ver a bunch of their older games to Steam so they can be preserved and more people can experience them. It would also be awesome if we got some Resident Evil/Dead Space style remakes of their older ips. Stuff like Killzone and Resistance would benefit greatly from this. Unfortunately, all of these things would actually make sense, and modern Sony has been doing the opposite of that. With the Activision Blizzard purchase by Microsoft you’d think they’d be looking back into their catalog of games for stuff they can resurrect to stay competitive.
I want them to go ahead and add Ape Escape 3 to PSN already.
Yeah, it's weird that they won't add 3 at least sine 1 and 2 are on there.
@@LeftattheStation it's probably because of Mesal Gear Solid
What do you mean this dude just made his channel 2 weeks ago?
This is top level stuff you got here. Instant sub here, and hoping this channel continues to grow!
Hey, man, I just discovered your channel, as someone who grew up with PlayStation during the mid/late 90, these videos are meant for me, lol.
Glad to know I'm not the only one who misses Ape Escape, RIP Japan Studio. 💀
Anyway, keep it up, man. 👍
Sadly there isn't a lot of Japanese influence at PlayStation. People like Herman Hulst are actively against it and are likely the reason Japan Studio shut down.
Hope your channel blows up in popularity, dude. Your video essays are a treat!
Funny I was just trying to piece together what became of all the key developers behind these wonderful charming games, and came across a strange dead end with Naoto Ohta, his credited work seems to just end with Ape Quest, but his LinkedIn and twitter profile indicate he moved back to Capcom to act as a producer on Monster Hunter since the 3DS games around 2012, however I cannot find any trace of him in the credits of any games since then, perhaps he's under a special NDA or uses a pseudonym? Also, I suspect there may be something along the lines of a union or royalties-related reason for the different British and American dubs, because the NA PS4 PSN release of Ape Escape 2 only offered the British version, and they only more recently offered Ape Escape 1 at all during the roll out of the current multi-tiered version of PS+.
I found the same thing regarding Ohta. I've noticed lot of Japanese devs from this Era of gaming tend to go MIA eventually. I've heard it's not uncommon for them to not get credited on games so maybe he's just not being listed on any credits and isn't active on social media.
insane that you pulled up folklore of all games
Wait til I start talking about Blasto.
It's so painful being an Ape Escape fan, especially in the US. It was my first 100% owned game too and I was so proud and happy. Somehow I have three copies now and it's by far my favorite Sony franchise. I would kill to have it come back. Sigh...Sony really sucks today...
I really hope they at least do a reignited trilogy one day. That's probably very unlikely, though.
On one hand, it's been so long sine the last Ape Esape game, and Japan Studios are gone I can't see it happening. On the other MedEvil got a remake recently and that series is way more obscure and was abandoned for much longer. So I guess you never know.
@@LeftattheStation Yeah, that was really surprising. It's been pretty quiet since. If they are building the sequel the same way, it's been long enough to be concerning, so...like you said, you never know.
@@bahamutaxiomx8706Not happening Andrew House was the PlayStation CEO that pushed / helped to revive Crash Bandicoot / Spyro The Dragon by marketing on top of partial development funding not to mention was a fan of the PlayStation classics hence Medievil getting resurrected once more
Sadly Andrew House is no longer running the show, Jim Ryan is the business man that has made PlayStation 5 the most profitable division it has ever been, Hiroki Totoki chairman only behind Sony Corp president Kenichiro Yoshida will be acting PlayStation president also a business man after that no idea who will take the reins
Essentially I doubt it will ever be revived based on the people running the show
@@bamban_garcia5562Yeah, that's pretty much what I expect, unfortunately.
Good video, I'll be watching more. Good luck with the channel.
They’ve gotta be cooking something up for this franchise, they’ve re-released most of the (translated) games on PS4/5. They’ve also used the monkeys as digital figurines on the PS App, and they were the first
We gotta acknowledge how hard the sountrack goes tho
its such a shame how sony treats this series ape escape 2 was one of my go to ps2 games as a kid
Man pumped and primed was so awsome id love for them to add that to Playstation
Let's make a petition for 4 of the ape escape games remastered into a collection "include the Saru Saru? One "
Nice work! These were great games. I bought the original PS1 game at the time it was released and I knew nothing about it, but it looked intriguing and I remember thinking, "finally! A game that uses that right analog stick for something". lol
The entries on PS2 were brilliant as well. They really expanded on the individual unique personalities of each ape.
I don't mind if Ape Escape returns with a physical (and digital) HD collection of the first three mainline platformer games, and (maybe) add online play to the hidden mini-games. If it happened, many more modern gamers would open their minds and try these classics in updated form.
If the compilations sell well, I could see expansions of the series' established mini games come out as brand new standalone games that would help the series go forward. One of my favorite mini-games, Ski Kidz Racing, is dying to get its own standalone game.
maybe also throw in a few new bonus levels too
like a new Time Period for AE1 and some more Movie/TV parody levels in AE3
um... the protagonists are aged 9-12 actually.... yeah THE PROFESSOR AND GANG SENT LITTLE CHILDREN TO DO THEIR DIRTY WORK 💀💀💀💀
A new ape escape platformer, remake or original, is my half life 3 tbh.
Anyone remember PaRappa the Rapper
I miss PaRappa because it represents such a better, simpler time in gaming. Games like that never get made anymore, not in AAA anyway.
0:51 Spike's 10 years old as of Ape Escape 1, and the apes wear pants, with the color determining their style of combat and evasion. Naked apes don't appear until you reach the Hot Springs level of the Ice Age time period.
The most shocking thing for me is that Ubisoft actually did something good. And useful. However, this is me speaking as a 34 year old who knows what they become. Time is weird on corporations like that.
I actually think Ape Escape will be dusted off eventually. Nothing nowadays stays dead forever. And Sony has a big backlog of IP's to draw from should they need to rotate their stock. If this happens, I'll be excited, but terrified if they don't assign someone to it that understands why AE 1-3 worked.
Regardless, even if I'm wrong. Emulators exist for a reason. So I can play the games to my heart's content.
So ape escape was basically a new hardware testing games series I can live with that.
Lore of Ape Escape - Sony is Bananas For Ditching The Iconic Monkeys momentum 100
Ape Escape Academy was awesome though. Also my first Ape Escape was On The Loose on the PSP. Controlling it was kind of annoying but not terrible.
Ape Escape 2 is one of my favorite childhood PS2 games. I played the North American version.
10:09 Ape Academy 2 got a North American PS4 port, but as a digital-only game.
I remember when I saw Ape Escape when it first came out and was like ugh I cannot play it as I need this weird controller called an Analog Stick controller.
And it was required.
When I finally did get an analog controller and finally did play it, it was my favorite game for the system.
And yeah I stopped looking or playing with Ape Escape Academy I did like Ape Escape On the Loose though.
But yeah after the Academy games it was not the monkey catching like I liked in the first or other main games.
Some of the games I would not mind trying out though some of em did look interesting to me.
Come on, Playstation, make a new ape escape game, tell asobi Studios to make a new one people will love it
Ummm... Nice job of using my footage there.
We NEED a new ape escape.
Ape Escape 1 is masterpiece at the time compare to other 3D platformer, Ape Escape 2 is good game but in my opinion its have to many gadget that I barely use, Ape Escape 3 is the best.
if Sony can't make a new Monkey escape, at least hope to some one make a "spiritual sucessor" of this game
I was thinking of one idea of an Ape Escape prequel where the player controls Natalie fighting some enemies affected by the demon bugs and catching these bugs to purify them from evil. This would give her the incentive to modify her grandfather's gadgets in the games where Spike and the other "ape hunters" get to use these gadgets. This prequel would focus more on the humans of the Ape Escape franchise, as well as the threat that happened before the Pipo Helmets were even built. I kinda like the idea of Natalie being an "ape hunter", but I'd rather take a different approach to the story so it wouldn't recycle or rely on existing plotlines.
Sony should just sell this IP to Nintendo to put to good use.
I wish they did something with it. Having a series like this just laying dormant doesn't do anyone any favors.
They will never sell it. And i doubt Nintendo would do it justice. I think Team ASOBI is the main team equipped to handle Ape Escape.
@@KatanaRikku Tell that to the people who always think Nintendo would've been better as a "3rd Party publisher" just annoy Nintendo fans and get under their skin for their own sick kicks. You need to get your PS fanbase under control and tell them to stop making this whole "Nintendo should go 3rd party" gimmick a trend!
Monke
Man i was really excited to listen to this video until you got an easy fact wrong.
Ubisoft published Ape Escspe 2 in America while Sony published it in Europe. Ubisoft redubbed the entire game with American accents before they released it here.
Good video and editing style but please do a little more research before finishing the video.
15:15 you're actually wrong on this one because in this mini-game we play as Solid Snake instead of Naked Snake because in the Codec call of Snake vs Monkey. Colonel Campbell called Solid Snake for this mission and Solid believed he was going to destroy another Metal Gear which those weren't even a thing in the main story of MGS3. The developers didn't gave him his iconic suit for it including Ape Escape 3 because a few people were misunderstanding Solid Snake with Naked Snake because of his camouflage pants in that one
I thought Ape Escape seemed really cool! Although I only got the opportunity to play the game maybe an hour or less - to this day I would love to go back and play it again when I get the time/money!!!
I miss this franchise to death