Top Five Desired PlayStation IP Revivals for E3 2016

E3 is next week, and the carnival of fun, excitement, and occasionally utter stupidity will consume the industry. Last night, I posted the five Xbox IP that I would like to see revived come this E3. Tonight it's the PlayStation's turn, having me name the five long, lost franchises of yesteryear that the PlayStation fan inside me would absolutely love to see get the revival treatment next week.

5) Wipeout

Fans of high speed futuristic racing haven't had much to satiate their hunger and thirst for a new racer in the direction of Wipeout. The last entry of the series arrived with the PlayStation Vita's launch, and brought its fast-paced weapon-based combat with it. Just imagine the series in glorious high definition on the technological beast that is the PlayStation 4. You can go ahead and skip Wipeout being on PlayStation VR, Sony, unless you provide a complementary barf bag with every purchase. Regardless, though the traditional developer of the series is no more, that doesn't mean a new developer can't take its place for a new Wipeout.

4) Ape Escape

We haven't seen the Ape Escape franchise in a while. The last run-in with the PlayStation brand's mischievous monkeys was a throwaway tech demo for the PlayStation Move peripheral for the PlayStation 3. I yearn for another traditional Ape Escape game, venturing around colorful platforming playgrounds, discovering locations of the titular apes, and figuring out efficient ways to capture them. Sony's Japan Studio has some good stuff coming with The Last Guardian and the new Hot Shots Golf, but I'd love to see them deliver a satisfying new entry in the Ape Escape franchise.

3) Syphon Filter

Gabe Logan is growing restless on his extended vacation away from doing secret missions and starring in video games in general. Not only did the last Syphon Filter, Logan's Shadow on the PSP, end with an unresolved cliffhanger, but the third-person shooting, mission-based gameplay that the series executed so brilliantly is greatly missed by many fans. Once a strong PlayStation IP in the PS1 and PS2 days, Sony has left the series to rot. Now's as good a time as any to bring Gabe Logan, the Agency, and everything else that made the Syphon Filter series so engaging back.

2) Jak and Daxter

Jak and Daxter is a bittersweet series for me. The first was a wonderful collect-a-thon 3D platformer, and then Naughty Dog lost the plot horribly, making a try-hard, cringey, edgy, Grand Theft Auto-inspired turn for the series, a total turn-off for me personally. Jak 3 brought a more worthwhile game, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss the cartoon innocence of the original, or the collect-a-thon formula. We already have one PlayStation platformer with guns in it, and that's the wonderful Ratchet & Clank, so why not have a more skill-based, precision-platforming Jak and Daxter instead? Just keep Naughty Dog away. Please.

1) Crash Bandicoot

What else could it be? Another franchise once under helm by Naughty Dog, Crash Bandicoot has been with Activision for more than a decade now. With the next Skylanders game supposedly having the PlayStation brand's former mascot in it, that certainly can't be all the Crash news for this E3... right? While I don't think Naughty Dog is the right fit for either Jak and Daxter or Crash Bandicoot since its focus is more on AAA blockbusters in present times, that doesn't mean another worthy developer couldn't revive the bandicoot currently on hiatus. We'll definitely know for sure come next week. Fingers crossed!