Sucker Punch Productions
Encyclopedia
Sucker Punch Productions is an American
production company founded in 1997 and based in Bellevue, Washington
. It was an independent company until August 2011, but had worked exclusively with Sony Computer Entertainment
since 2000. Sony acquired Sucker Punch on August 2, 2011.
, for the Nintendo 64
. After signing a new deal with Sony in 2000, the company went on to create the Sly Cooper
series for the PlayStation 2
. One common characteristic of the Rocket and Sly Cooper games is that they featured a raccoon playing a major role.
The company most recently developed Infamous for the PlayStation 3
, heralding a move from level-based
games portraying cel-shaded, anthropomorphic animals to a fully streaming sandbox game depicting more realistic-looking humans and protagonists with acrobatic abilities.
The company was founded in 1997 and according to the company's website it "started at the roots of Microsoft, where the co-founders all worked in a variety of productivity and software development applications. All shared a love for video games, yet only one had game development experience." The group decided to leave Microsoft in 1997 and became the independent company it is today that has worked with Sony to make the Sly Cooper franchise. The company name came as one of several proposed by the company that they would not have been able to use at Microsoft due to that company's policies.
Co-founder Chris Zimmerman showed the list to his wife for her opinion, and she responded that she did not care "as long as it isn't 'Sucker Punch'". Considering the opinion of a middle-aged woman would be completely contrary to the demographics of their target audience, they selected that name for the company.
Sucker Punch is considered one of Sony's "platformer trio", which also includes Naughty Dog
, as well as Insomniac Games
. Although the three companies have started to venture into more mature outings, they have also recently started to continue their series, such as Naughty Dog handing over production of their latest Jak and Daxter title to High Impact Games and Insomniac games continuing their Ratchet and Clank series. In addition, Sucker Punch has recently stated that they wish to continue the Sly Cooper franchise at some point in the near future.
Another game company, Sanzaru Games
, released The Sly Collection
, a remastered port of the PlayStation 2 Sly games for the PlayStation 3, in November 2010. At E3 2011, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time was announced and Sanzaru games will be developing it, instead of Sucker Punch. In addition, Nihilistic Software
developed PlayStation Move Heroes, a cross-over PS3 title featuring Sly Cooper and two other popular characters, Ratchet
and Jak
. A sequel to Infamous was officially announced when the cover of Game Informer's July 2010 issue was a picture of Infamous 2, along with the magazine containing a ten page preview of the game.
Sucker Punch has recently teamed up with Capcom
to include their Infamous protagonist Cole MacGrath, as a special guest character for Street Fighter x Tekken
. He will be only a playable on PS3 and PS Vita versions.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
production company founded in 1997 and based in Bellevue, Washington
Bellevue, Washington
Bellevue is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, across Lake Washington from Seattle. Long known as a suburb or satellite city of Seattle, it is now categorized as an edge city or a boomburb. The population was 122,363 at the 2010 census.Downtown Bellevue is...
. It was an independent company until August 2011, but had worked exclusively with Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
since 2000. Sony acquired Sucker Punch on August 2, 2011.
History
In late 1999, Sucker Punch released its first game, Rocket: Robot on WheelsRocket: Robot on Wheels
Rocket: Robot on Wheels is a video game for Nintendo 64, developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Ubisoft, released in 1999. In the game the player takes control over Rocket, the title robot, who despite the title has only one wheel. This was the first game developed by Sucker Punch...
, for the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
. After signing a new deal with Sony in 2000, the company went on to create the Sly Cooper
Sly Cooper
Sly Cooper is a series of platform stealth video games for the Sony PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3. The series was developed by Sucker Punch Productions for the first three games, and then it was passed on to Sanzaru Games while Sucker Punch continued work on the Infamous series...
series for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
. One common characteristic of the Rocket and Sly Cooper games is that they featured a raccoon playing a major role.
The company most recently developed Infamous for the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, heralding a move from level-based
Level (computer and video games)
A level, map, area, or world in a video game is the total space available to the player during the course of completing a discrete objective...
games portraying cel-shaded, anthropomorphic animals to a fully streaming sandbox game depicting more realistic-looking humans and protagonists with acrobatic abilities.
The company was founded in 1997 and according to the company's website it "started at the roots of Microsoft, where the co-founders all worked in a variety of productivity and software development applications. All shared a love for video games, yet only one had game development experience." The group decided to leave Microsoft in 1997 and became the independent company it is today that has worked with Sony to make the Sly Cooper franchise. The company name came as one of several proposed by the company that they would not have been able to use at Microsoft due to that company's policies.
Co-founder Chris Zimmerman showed the list to his wife for her opinion, and she responded that she did not care "as long as it isn't 'Sucker Punch'". Considering the opinion of a middle-aged woman would be completely contrary to the demographics of their target audience, they selected that name for the company.
Sucker Punch is considered one of Sony's "platformer trio", which also includes Naughty Dog
Naughty Dog
Naughty Dog, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Santa Monica, California. Founded by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin in 1986 as an independent developer, the studio was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment in 2001...
, as well as Insomniac Games
Insomniac Games
Insomniac Games, Inc. is an American video game developer headquartered in Burbank, California. Founded in 1994, Insomniac has released titles for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 3 video game consoles. It created Disruptor, the first three Spyro the Dragon games, and the Ratchet &...
. Although the three companies have started to venture into more mature outings, they have also recently started to continue their series, such as Naughty Dog handing over production of their latest Jak and Daxter title to High Impact Games and Insomniac games continuing their Ratchet and Clank series. In addition, Sucker Punch has recently stated that they wish to continue the Sly Cooper franchise at some point in the near future.
Another game company, Sanzaru Games
Sanzaru Games
Sanzaru Games is a video game development company founded in 2007 in California. Their first game was Ninja Reflex, released on March 1, 2008 for PC, Nintendo DS and Wii. Their second game was a port of the High Impact Games developed PlayStation Portable game Secret Agent Clank, released on May...
, released The Sly Collection
The Sly Collection
The Sly Collection, titled as The Sly Trilogy in Europe and Australia and Sly Cooper Collection in Japan, Korea and Asia, is remastered port of the PlayStation 2 games, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, Sly 2: Band of Thieves and Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, for the PlayStation 3 on a single...
, a remastered port of the PlayStation 2 Sly games for the PlayStation 3, in November 2010. At E3 2011, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time was announced and Sanzaru games will be developing it, instead of Sucker Punch. In addition, Nihilistic Software
Nihilistic Software
-History:Nihilistic was founded in March 1998 by Ray Gresko, Robert Huebner, and Steve Tietze. Gresko and Huebner had formerly worked at LucasArts, and Tietze had worked at Rogue Entertainment...
developed PlayStation Move Heroes, a cross-over PS3 title featuring Sly Cooper and two other popular characters, Ratchet
Ratchet & Clank
Ratchet & Clank is a 3D platformer/shooter video game for the PlayStation 2, developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Released in 2002, it is the first game in the Ratchet & Clank series....
and Jak
Jak and Daxter
Jak and Daxter is a critically acclaimed video game franchise created by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation 2.The series consists of four main games and two spin-offs,though they are also considered to be part of the main series...
. A sequel to Infamous was officially announced when the cover of Game Informer's July 2010 issue was a picture of Infamous 2, along with the magazine containing a ten page preview of the game.
Sucker Punch has recently teamed up with Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
to include their Infamous protagonist Cole MacGrath, as a special guest character for Street Fighter x Tekken
Street Fighter X Tekken
is an upcoming crossover fighting game being developed by Capcom. The game was announced at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International by Capcom producer Yoshinori Ono. The game is set to release on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and PlayStation Vita sometime in March 2012. The game...
. He will be only a playable on PS3 and PS Vita versions.
Games
| Game Title | US Release Date | Platform |
|---|---|---|
| Rocket: Robot on Wheels Rocket: Robot on Wheels Rocket: Robot on Wheels is a video game for Nintendo 64, developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Ubisoft, released in 1999. In the game the player takes control over Rocket, the title robot, who despite the title has only one wheel. This was the first game developed by Sucker Punch... |
November 17, 1999 | Nintendo 64 Nintendo 64 The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil... |
| Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus is a platform stealth video game created by Sucker Punch Productions, and released on the Sony PlayStation 2 in 2002, subsequently republished as a "Greatest Hits" title. The game was followed by two sequels, Sly 2: Band of Thieves and Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves... |
September 23, 2002 | PlayStation 2 PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan... |
| Sly 2: Band of Thieves Sly 2: Band of Thieves Sly 2 Band of Thieves is a platform stealth video game develpoed by Sucker Punch and published by Sony Computer Entertainment released in 2004 for the PlayStation 2... |
September 14, 2004 | PlayStation 2 PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan... |
| Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves is a platform stealth video game developed by Sucker Punch Productions for the PlayStation 2 in 2005. It is the third game in the Sly Cooper franchise. Sly 3 has optional 3-D stages, and it comes with a pair of specially designed 3-D glasses inside the manual... |
September 26, 2005 | PlayStation 2 PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan... |
| Infamous | May 26, 2009 | PlayStation 3 PlayStation 3 The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles... |
| The Sly Collection The Sly Collection The Sly Collection, titled as The Sly Trilogy in Europe and Australia and Sly Cooper Collection in Japan, Korea and Asia, is remastered port of the PlayStation 2 games, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, Sly 2: Band of Thieves and Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, for the PlayStation 3 on a single... (with Sanzaru Games Sanzaru Games Sanzaru Games is a video game development company founded in 2007 in California. Their first game was Ninja Reflex, released on March 1, 2008 for PC, Nintendo DS and Wii. Their second game was a port of the High Impact Games developed PlayStation Portable game Secret Agent Clank, released on May... ) |
November 9, 2010 | PlayStation 3 PlayStation 3 The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles... |
| Infamous 2 Infamous 2 Infamous 2, stylized as inFAMOUS 2, is a 2011 open world video game for the PlayStation 3 video game console developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Computer Entertainment... |
June 7, 2011 | PlayStation 3 PlayStation 3 The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles... |
| Infamous 2: Festival of Blood Infamous 2: Festival of Blood Infamous: Festival of Blood is a DLC game on PlayStation Network. Festival of Blood is a standalone game in the Infamous series and does not require an Infamous 2 game disc in order to play.... |
October 25, 2011 | PlayStation Network |