Sony is bringing back Crash Bandicoot, says NECA director of product development [Update]

Update: A representative for NECA told GameSpot that the comment was made in error.

“It’s not the case,” the rep said. “Someone has misunderstood a comment he made. Randy saw a faked fan-made image right before he came to the show and said that if the game were coming back, we’d love to do figures.”

The image in question is likely this, which has been making the rounds online.

Original: Randy Falk, director of product development at National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA)—a company that works with Sony on collectible figures—said that Sony is bringing back Crash Bandicoot during an interview at Toy Fair 2016, which began yesterday in New York City.

Speaking to Pixel Dan, Falk said, “On the modern gaming front, we’re going strong. We’ve got a lot of cool stuff going on with Sony. So we have Ultimate Kratos from God of War III that’s about to hit retail. We have Uncharted 4 Nathan Drake, which comes out in May. And then LittleBigPlanet is doing really well, so we have some more of those here on display, too.”

After Dan compliments the Kratos figure, Falk continues: “Yeah, that’s one we wanted to do way back when, and finally, we’ve been able to get back in with Sony and get some of that stuff out. And looking at some of their other titles, I see they’re bringing Crash Bandicoot back, which is really cool. There’s some great stuff there.”

Far too many signs have pointed to Sony somehow resurrecting the Crash Bandicoot series. In brief:

• Before PlayStation 4 launched, Sony released a trailer featuring subtle imagery that suggested Crash Bandicoot had returned to the company. The same trailer featured a Street Fighter Haduoken cab service, and both Ultra Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter V were announced for PlayStation 4 a year later.
• Robomodo had asked Activision if it could include Crash Bandicoot in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5, but was denied. On Twitter, the company said it was not Activision’s fault and it was a combination of timing and rights, so it “wasn’t much of a discussion.”
• At PlayStation Experience 2015 in December, Sony Computer Entertainment America president and CEO Shawn Layden wore a Crash Bandicoot t-shirt with a PlayStation logo on the sleeve (pictured). He similarly wore a Vib Ribbon button-down for Sony Computer Entertainment America’s ice bucket challenge video, and Vib Ribbon was released on PlayStation Network a few months later.
• The official PlayStation Middle East Twitter account has on and off teased Crash Bandicoot.
• If you’re a fan of NeoGAF insiders, it’s apparently happening, according to at least one well-trusted forum member.

Watch Pixel Dan’s interview below. The Crash Bandicoot comment happens around the four-minute mark.

Thanks, NeoGAF.