The acquisition of Naughty Dog by Sony in 2001 was an important step in the life of the studio. In a post on his LinkedIn account, Andrew Gavin, one of the founders, looks back on this turning point for the company.
Before having the success that we know, Naughty Dog went through several phases before its acquisition in 2001. Initially, the company was called JAM Software. It was created on September 27, 1984 by Andrew “Andy” Gavin and Jason Rubin. It was only in 1989 that it changed its name to the one we know today.
For nearly 15 years, the two friends produced almost all of their games on their own, apart from two titles which benefited from the support of Electronic Arts. Then, they attracted the attention of one of the giants of the video game sector: PlayStation. This is where everything changed for the Dogs.
Increasing costs for Gavin and Rubin
From the start, the two friends always wanted to finance themselves their productions. But, Andrew Gavin reports in a post on LinkedIn that budgets for developing games were becoming larger and larger over time:
Our games from the early 80s each cost less than $50,000 to produce. Rings of Power (1988-1991) saw budgets climb to around $100,000, but brought in slightly more than that in after-tax profits in 1992. In 1993, we used the $100,000 from Rings to self-finance Way of the Warrior.
At that time, most independent studios were not strong enough to self-finance their projects. It was a considerable stress as the ex-boss of Naughty Dog explains. It was systematically necessary for a game to be more than profitable to ensure the development of the next one. “ This problem is (and still is) systemic in the AAA ecosystem », concludes Gavin.
Crash Bandicootthe path to salvation on PS1
This is why the editors have taken a major place in the game creation process. The arrival on the first PlayStation therefore appeared as an opportunity to change the situation for the two friends.
Thanks to their partner Mark Cerny, they were able to obtain a development kit. When leaving Crash bandicootsuccess is there. It was thus able to largely offset the development costs estimated at $1.6 million.
However, this position of strength posed a risk of interference on the artistic choices of the developers. Jason Rubin and Andrew Gavin have always defended a vision ofindependencewhich still seems to be paying off today, twenty years after their departure.
Selling to Sony wasn’t just about securing a financial future for Naughty Dog. It was about giving the studio the resources to continue making the best games possible without being crushed by the weight of skyrocketing costs and the paralyzing fear that one misstep would ruin everything.
A prolific takeover for Naughty Dog
This takeover happened very naturally. When the PS1 arrived, Naughty Dog and Sony trusted each other to launch the saga Crash Bandicoot. The publisher being delighted with the studio’s work, the proposal of redemption was placed on the table.
« In hindsight, it was the right decision » to take for Andy Gavin. On the one hand, the amounts required to create a game today can reach several hundred million dollars. On the other hand, this financial contribution guaranteed the Dogs security to be able to create AAA licenses more easily.
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