MarioWiki:BJAODN/April Fool's 2017/Crash Bandicoot (franchise)

The Crash Bandicoot franchise is a series of platforming video games originally developed by for 's  console. The first installment in the series, , was released worldwide in 1996. The series was created by then-Naughty Dog employees and  to compete with Nintendo's Mario franchise and Sega's  series, with the title character as Sony's mascot. The Crash Bandicoot franchise has sold over 50 million copies worldwide.

Throughout the series' life, the games have gone through multiple different gameplay and visual changes, due to the rights being held by numerous other companies and developers following Naughty Dog's departure from the series. In the original trilogy developed by Naughty Dog, Crash would run through multiple linear levels to reach the goal at the end, while breaking crates and collecting Wumpa Fruit which, when 100 of them are collected, grant Crash an extra life, and important items such as Crystals and Gems along the way. Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure and Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced would later share this gameplay style, albeit the latter two being in 2D rather than 3D. From Crash Twinsanity onwards, which was now published under 's brand (both of which are now part of ), the levels would be more free-roaming and action-adventure-based as opposed to pure platforming. The franchise also spawned several spin-off games, most of which are part of the racing genre.

In 2007, all three original Crash Bandicoot titles were re-released on the 's.

After the release of Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2 on, the Crash Bandicoot franchise entered a long hiatus. However, following rumors and speculation of a future installment in the series, Sony announced at E3 2016 a deal with Activision to develop full remakes of the original trilogy (later revealed to be titled the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy) for the.

Mobile games
In addition to consoles and handhelds, the Crash Bandicoot franchise has also appeared on mobile devices. On June 9, 2008, Activision published and released Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D for iOS, and almost a year later on May 27, 2010, its follow-up Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2. Both games are similar in gameplay to Crash Nitro Kart, except with touch controls, and use Crash of the Titan's character designs.