Crash Bandicoot (video game)

Crash Bandicoot
North American box art
Developer(s)	Naughty Dog
Publisher(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment
Director(s)	Jason Rubin
Producer(s)	David Siller
Designer(s)	Jason Rubin Bob Rafei Taylor Kurosaki
Programmer(s)	Andy Gavin Dave Baggett
Artist(s)	Charles Zembillas Joe Pearson Bob Rafei
Writer(s)	Joe Pearson
Composer(s)	Josh Mancell
Series	Crash Bandicoot
Platform(s)	PlayStation
Release	NA: September 9, 1996 EU: November 8, 1996
Genre(s)	Platform
Mode(s)	Single-player

Crash Bandicoot is a 1996 platform game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. The player controls Crash, a genetically enhanced bandicoot created by the mad scientist Doctor Neo Cortex. The story follows Crash as he aims to foil Cortex's plans for world domination and rescue his girlfriend Tawna, a female bandicoot also created by Cortex. The game is played from a third-person perspective in which the camera trails behind Crash, though some levels feature forward-scrolling and side-scrolling perspectives.

After accepting a publishing deal from Universal Interactive Studios, Naughty Dog co-founders Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin set out on a cross-country road trip from Boston to Los Angeles. During this time, they decided to create a character-based action-platform game from a three-dimensional perspective, having observed the graphical trend in arcade games. Upon meeting, Naughty Dog and Universal Interactive chose to develop the game for the PlayStation due to Sony's lack of a mascot character. The game's main character was tentatively named "Willy the Wombat", and cartoonists Joe Pearson and Charles Zembillas were hired to help create the game's characters and story. Crash Bandicoot was named for his habitual destruction of crates, which were inserted into the game to alleviate emptiness in the levels. Sony agreed to publish the game following a demonstration from Naughty Dog, and the game was unveiled at E3 1996.

Crash Bandicoot was released to generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the game's graphics, presentation, audio, difficulty level and title character, but criticized its linearity and lack of innovation as a platform game. The game went on to sell over 6 million units, making it one of the best-selling PlayStation games and the highest selling ranked on sales in the United States. For the game's Japanese release, the gameplay and aesthetics underwent extensive retooling to make the game more palatable for Japanese audiences, and as a result it achieved commercial success in Japan. Crash Bandicoot became the first installment in an eponymous series of games that would achieve critical and commercial success and establish Naughty Dog's reputation in the video game industry. A remastered version was released as a part of the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy in 2017.