Former Sony executive Shuhei Yoshida recently discussed redesigning Crash Bandicoot for Japanese marketing because the character looked ‘scary’.
How Was Crash Bandicoot Redesigned for Japan?
In an interview with Kyle Bosman (via Games Radar), Yoshida discussed Crash Bandicoot’s marketing plans for Japan and the hurdles they had to overcome, such as the redesign. Yoshida explained that Crash Bandicoot initially had green eyes and very thick eyebrows, which was “a bit scary”, so the devs were asked to make his eyes brown “like Japanese people” and thin the eyebrows.
Yoshida elaborated that Crash Bandicoot’s body had to be redesigned, too, as the character was “hairy on the surface,” which was “a bit scary” as it “looked like an animal.” Hence, they asked the Naughty Fog to create a plastic skin for Crash’s Japanese marketing materials, where the character would be “shiny”.
The marketing plans for Crash Bandicoot in Japan included a 15-second advertisement where the game’s characters dance to a tune. Yoshida revealed that “Naughty Dog liked” their idea, adding that Crash starts dancing during the opening of Crash Bandicoot 3, and the idea for that came from Japanese marketers.
In other news, Shuhei Yoshida thought The Last of Us Online was great when he played it. Also, his choice was to either lead the Indies or leave PlayStation. What are your thoughts on Crash Bandicoot being redesigned for the Japanese audience? Let us know in the comments or on our community forum!
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