While there’s no doubt that its upcoming Spider-Man game for PlayStation 4 will be a best seller, we can’t help but wonder what other releases have done well for the team at Insomniac Games over the years.
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Fortunately, the L.A. Times had a chance to break that down, glancing over its releases from the past and noting how the company managed to protect its development freedom with a little help from Sony.
The developer originally got its start in 1994 and released the first person shooter Disruptor shortly following that, which sold just over 200,000 copies. Not a sales record, but not bad for a start.
After that, it was a matter of creating memorable franchises, including Spyro the Dragon (which will see a Reignited Trilogy this fall from Activision) and Ratchet & Clank.
Here’s how the sale of some of their games break down based on the report. It’s not a complete list since there are certain games that didn’t have sales gauged like Microsoft’s Sunset Overdrive and Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. But it tells an interesting story about the company’s success.
Spyro the Dragon series
- “Spyro the Dragon” (1998): 4,832,145
- “Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage” (1999): 3,451,064
- “Spyro: Year of the Dragon” (2000): 3,283,077
Ratchet & Clank series
- “Ratchet & Clank” (2002): 3,714,266
- “Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando” (2003): 2,966,758
- “Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal” (2004): 3,218,932
- “Ratchet Deadlocked” (2005): 2,169,858
- “Resistance: Fall of Man” (Sales through Sept. 30) 2,121,772
So as you can see, Spyro the Dragon is the defining leader when it comes to the company’s best seller list, although Ratchet & Clank certainly isn’t a slouch, with two or more million copies of games sold apiece.
But you shouldn’t rule out Ratchet & Clank on the PS4. Even though exact sales numbers weren’t given, community manager James Stevenson said, “The budget-priced movie-tie-in Ratchet & Clank game we made which got an 85 metacritic and is the most successful Ratchet/Insomniac game of all time.” So…sequel then?
Now the real question is how successful Spider-Man will be. There’s no doubt it’s going to be a big hit for Sony with a huge marketing campaign behind it. And its showcase at E3 was a phenomenal success, especially with those that went hands-on with the game. So it’ll be interesting to see if it breaks Insomniac’s sales records.
We’ll find out when Spider-Man releases on September 7 for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro. If you’re curious to delve into the past, Spyro the Dragon: Reignited Trilogy will arrive on September 21 for those platforms as well.
