It is no secret that remakes are here to stay now that all forms of media feature remakes of past works front and center, and video games are no exception. Earlier this month,Naughty Dogwas among the major video game developers to hitch on the remake trend withthe release ofThe Last of Us Part 1.
Given the positive reception and notable sales performance ofThe Last of Us Part 1, fans can’t help but imagine if the remake of Joel and Ellie’s journey is only the beginning of Naughty Dog’s venture into remaking its back catalog. It is also no secret that for several years,Capcom has established itself as the king of remakes, particularly with theResident Evilfranchise, which continues to be a success. However, if Naughty Dog truly intends to revisit its back catalog, it will need to determine if it can compete with Capcom.
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Will The Last of Us Remake Emulate the Success of Resident Evil?
There are many reasons why theResident Evilremakes achieved so much success. However, dissecting Capcom’s approach to its remakes, it is not difficult to identify the three critical factors that practically ensured their success. First,theResident Evilgames Capcom selected to redoare some of the most popular entries in the franchise. Second, the games are old enough to be remade. And third, the nostalgia for these games is pretty high, making their success a given.
Now, applying these factors toThe Last of Usremake, it is evident that the game meets the first and third criteria, given that the original is one ofNaughty Dog’s most popular games, and the nostalgia for it is through the roof despite it releasing barely a decade ago. However, one ofThe Last of Us Part 1’s biggest criticisms upon its announcement was whether the game deserved a remake.
Although video game technology and graphics are far better now than in 2013,The Last of Usstill holds up pretty well, especially compared to the first threeResident Evilgames released in the late ’90s. However, following the successful launch of The Last of Us Part 1, it is safe to say the popularity and nostalgia fans have for the original game overpowered doubts about it being not old enough to be remade.
The Likelihood of Other Naughty Dog Games Getting the Remake Treatment
At the moment, Naughty Dog hasn’t announced plans to remake any of its past games, which is not a surprise given thatThe Last of Us Part 1is barely a month old. However, given the many iconic franchises under Naughty Dog’s belt, its library of games makes the studio a strong contender to follow in Capcom’s footsteps. Applying the same criteria as how Capcom selected whichResident Evilgames are worthy of the remake treatment, all three factors are present in Naughty Dog’s past IPs, such astheUnchartedandJak and Daxterfranchises.
Given thatUnchartedandJak and Daxtersatisfy all three factors, as opposed toThe Last of Us, that only managed two, one could argue that remaking these franchises is a no-brainer. However, it is also essential to point out that Capcom has proven its efficiency in developing multiple games simultaneously. On the other hand, whileNaughty Dog has confirmed that it is working on numerous game projects, the studio still lacks the track record of juggling several games in a short amount of time. Given this, if developing various games is a challenge for Naughty Dog, focusing on remakes could affect its ability to release new games.
Likely, anotherNaughty Dogremake is probably out of the question for the foreseeable future. However, ifThe Last of Us Part 1continues its upward performance in the market, and the studio wants to capitalize on that, they will probably have to choose between one of two options.Naughty Dogcould either alternate the development of new games and remakes or expand its manpower to allow the studio to do both simultaneously.
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