Ratchet & Clank's primary audience isn't kids, but 20-somethings
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Nov 5th 2009 at 3:22AM } 
Fixman notes that males under 18 could be the "interchangeable primary-secondary market," but that the PS3 user base skews older. He compares the Ratchet style to the Shrek series, explaining that Insomniac tries to find the right blend of humor that'll appeal to a large audience. Now the question remains: When will we see Ratchet & Clank again?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Ulquiorra Cifer @ Nov 5th 2009 3:24AM
I find that quite hard to believe, then shouldn't the rating be M. Fail
2nd Lieutenant Gunther (PSN: helghast102) @ Nov 5th 2009 3:32AM
Are you fucking stupid or something? wait.. dont answer that, the Joystiq community know the answer.
carmaction @ Nov 5th 2009 3:34AM
Please tell me this is one of those 'hard to detect sarcasm on the internet' issues.
You DO KNOW what the ESRB is, right?
Blank-Mage @ Nov 5th 2009 3:35AM
You gave me an eye twitch.
JACK @ Nov 5th 2009 3:44AM
dammit sprinkles, why don't you just leave?
BTW guess which one is Sprinkles just now.
http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/62/blendingin.jpg
Anti-Villian @ Nov 5th 2009 4:18AM
I lol'd, people like you who make me feel slightly smarter.
DeepFriedSushi @ Nov 5th 2009 4:49AM
this game has the most confusing demographic.
to me i think its the audience who played the original ones on the ps2. Then simply kept playing the same game.
Tony Montana @ Nov 5th 2009 3:29AM
Wow I thought the first comments were at their worst when some moron typed "FIRST!!!".. guess I was wrong...
If you've ever played Rachet and Clank a lot of the humour in it is adult humour a lot of children wouldn't understand anyway. The game can be picked up and played by anybody when it comes to platforming elements but when it comes to the often racy dialogue it's really aimed at I'd say those in their early 20's.
It's hardly Banjo Kazooie no matter how you look at it.
JACK @ Nov 5th 2009 3:54AM
its not "first", anymore, they use " fail" now.
Anyway on topic, I agree on what you posted because I heard plenty of cuss words etc and I turned out to be fine, but seriously all this is to keep two different demographics happy, I like that. Irrelevant, but I put fat princess on and I had a friend over and she said, " wow I cant believe all that gore from such cute looking game", there's no point to that story lol but fuck all the censorship!
INTERNET SUPERHERO @ Nov 5th 2009 10:35AM
I think another large part of it is PS3 and PSP's are owned by more people that are older because it's a larger investment. A kid will settle with Xbox360 or Wii's/DS before that because the costs are lower from the parents perspective...
dgknight500 @ Nov 5th 2009 3:34AM
I have to say that ACiT is terrific. I always thought that TOD was a 7.5-8.0/10 game and ACiT easily breaks into the 9's. They fixed every little problem I had with the previous titles and they did it in style!
Also, I'm 20 and I don't feel ashamed of playing it... The opposite, actually.
CtrlBurn @ Nov 5th 2009 10:32AM
I'm just getting started on ACiT, but there are definitely some things I'm seeing that I like a lot. They're hitting some of those things that worked so well in Going Commando that they've gotten away from since.
Also, I'm not ashamed to be playing R&C games at 26. They're fun, and that's all there is to it.
MrAlex @ Nov 5th 2009 1:17PM
ToD completely killed the spirit of R&C games because aside from the Arena and Lombax planets you didn't have to revisit anywhere to progress.
Also it left a big plot hole.
I don't have ACiT as it comes out tomorrow here, but the demo left me with a good feeling, the aiming is the way it was before and the planet was less linear than the ones in ToD.
lukedraynor @ Nov 5th 2009 2:24PM
Dude, don't be embarassed. I am 36 and I love this game as much as my son. This is truly a AAA title.
Blank-Mage @ Nov 5th 2009 3:44AM
I'm glad they kept their core fans in mind over the years, too many series just pump up sequels that get progressively less mature and more gimmicky in a desperate bid for a wider audience. That never works, because your old fans hate you, and the new kids have never heard of you. You just wind up with a stupid-easy on the rails platformer with new characters every 3rd step.
...You heard me, Sonic.
Mr Khan @ Nov 5th 2009 8:30AM
That's different, though. That's just called pandering to the base. A good idea, if you don't want your franchise to grow at all.
2nd Lieutenant Gunther (PSN: helghast102) (Getting a DS :D) @ Nov 5th 2009 3:53AM
I love me some Ratchet & Clank, and i have NEVER felt that it was a kiddy series, its just too awesome.
SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread - XBL: SoCoolCurt) @ Nov 5th 2009 4:13AM
yea i definately agree with that sentiment. this is one of my favorite series and i'm going on 22 pretty soon. it's a rare game because i often play it with my little cousin and he is 13. he can play it fine but he doesn't understand alot of the humor (i can tell cause he doesn't laugh at the same stuff i do). and the blurb about the first game shows they really know their demographic well cause i fit it perfectly lol.
i can't wait til thanksgiving break so i can pick up the new one, haven't had a chance to yet with college and work.
Ben @ Nov 5th 2009 5:17AM
See, you hear people saying "ha ha, you're playing a kids' game!" when you mention that you're playing Ratchet & Clank: [Whatever]. Yet, I'm guessing that nine out of ten times it WILL be an adult playing the game and it'll be a twelve year old that is jeering at you. Ironic, really. And Insomniac Games knows that. Now I just with the game play would lean more towards the game's actual demographic...
Annoyingly, Australia (and New Zealand) STILL doesn't have ACiT. It's truly horrible.
2nd Lieutenant Gunther (PSN: helghast102) (Getting a DS :D) @ Nov 5th 2009 5:51AM
Exactly, when was the last time a (mentally) mature adult laughed and shit on what you play/watch? it's always the little "IM SO MATOOR LOLS" kids and the flat-out idiots.
Blank-Mage @ Nov 5th 2009 12:01PM
God, I hate Xbox Live.
ybfelix @ Nov 5th 2009 6:28AM
Maybe it's because I missed the wave of sort-like-an-animal mascots in the 90's(a PC only gamer when younger), now all these characters look similiar to me :( yeah I know it's not true but still
Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ Nov 5th 2009 6:39AM
I'm 26(soon to be 27) and I play the HELL out of R&C Games.....hell I Need 10k point in that "My Blaster Runs Hot" game and I will have the platinum....
Level 5 @ Nov 5th 2009 8:09AM
Same, I'm 28 and a huge R&C fan since the first one, have em all, and have played through all of them but Size Matters and Secret Agent Clank multiple times. Well.. just finished Crack in Time so I haven't finished it twice but I did start my 2nd play through.
Space @ Nov 5th 2009 10:38AM
damn a platinum already?!
I'm losing interest with this one, I just saved that other lombax from being locked up and now I'm back as clank and it's boring. I think I'm going to stop and sell it. Feels like I stop caring about the story and now I'm just running through the motions.
Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ Nov 5th 2009 10:47AM
yea I like the game....its a lot of fun to me....enough so to go to EVERY moon to do all the space missions and everything...
Xist27 @ Nov 5th 2009 11:44AM
I hear you - I am 32 and I own every R & C game for PS2 and PS3... I think the series is great!!
The Baron @ Nov 5th 2009 7:12AM
I really love R&C and find the characters and writing pretty charming, but I always felt there was a slight shortage of actual laugh out loud moments. The jokes are always a bit corny.
P.S. Haven't played ACiT yet, it could prove me wrong!
spyker @ Nov 5th 2009 7:40AM
I love R&C games, and I play them, and play them, and play them, to complete everything. I've been playing since R&C1 :D
Wiseman_2 @ Nov 5th 2009 8:01AM
I always thought it was some well-laid out plan of Insomniac's to keep thier audience. They started out with a kid-friendly platformer back on PS1 (ignoring that one-off shooter) in Spyro and then moved upto a general audience game in R&C on PS2. Then PS3 rolls around and they've got an adult-oriented shooter in Resistance. Or maybe I'm just over analysing it... all I know is I've played every Insomniac game released (except that shooter and ACiT as yet) and they are all outstanding.
And yes I do still bring out the PS1 now and then to play Spyro.
ScottG13 @ Nov 5th 2009 8:27AM
Hand firmly raised. :)
What a great series.
Mr Khan @ Nov 5th 2009 8:32AM
This could lend credence to a theory i've been cultivating, that the industry has been firmly focused on one specific generation of people, and has been tracking them as they age, slowly losing their ability to appeal to anyone younger, and rarely trying to appeal to anyone older.
Cody @ Nov 5th 2009 8:53AM
Amen Kahn. Amen.
Then again, that's why they are all in 2nd and 3rd place now. It always works itself out.
tmacairjordan87 @ Nov 5th 2009 9:00AM
That's fine with me, I like playing ungodly amounts of great games made for me, and not my mother or my friend's 3 year old kid.
Blank-Mage @ Nov 5th 2009 12:03PM
Until the Wii came along, and we all know how that went.
DrunkRaba @ Nov 5th 2009 6:13PM
I am more than happy, just like tmac, to have these great games cater to my age group, as they should. Because that demographic is the general time when people have money to burn on games.
breaklaw @ Nov 5th 2009 8:33AM
It's true though. I never played until this gen because I always thought it was a kids game and would be too easy. Now I wish they's bring the old ones back on PSN.
Viewtiful Jason2 @ Nov 5th 2009 8:38AM
Before they retire the series indefinelty, please put the PS2 games on a Blu-Ray collection. I figured I'd give Ratchet & Clank 1 a try on my MGS4 PS3 and it lags all the frakking time to the point where it's nearly unplayable. I'd pay the full $60 for at least the first three games.
FonFahbre @ Nov 5th 2009 9:53AM
It doesn't need to be rated "M" to be appealing for older audiences. The ratchet and clank series is one of the most humorous and fun franchises for the Playstation regardless of age.
I'm and adult and I'm having a great time playing it. I thought that this game was fantastic!, best ratchet and clank game to date that's for sure.
Oh and I doubt that this will be the end of the ratchet and clank series. Those who've played the game will feel the same.
@Chris D, if you play with another person, you can easily gather the 10k points. I used my little brother as second player and we got the necessary points easily(He got 7k points.. while I got the rest.. -__-)
under13warrior @ Nov 5th 2009 10:01AM
I like the new Ratchet and Clank and I'm a kid so screw you insomniac with your focus testing!
Jason Statham (Has a ps3 now) @ Nov 5th 2009 10:23AM
I might be in the minority when I say this (I'm already expecting the downvotes), but I don't feel the Ratchet and Clank is as humourus as people say. I've always been a bit indifferent to the series so I figured that maybe this iteration would be the one that would woo me like it has with everyone else.
Sadly that's not the case. Often the humor in the game made me groan or roll my eyes at how corny it was, and many of the side characters (especially Qwark and the Robot sidekick from the Clank portions of the game pissed me off to no end) I found very irritating.
I do agree that more games should find a humor that appeals to a majority of gamers. I just don't feel that this game is a good example of that.
onesidezero1985 @ Nov 5th 2009 10:47AM
Although I disagree with you that R&C had groan-worthy humor I can kind of sympathize. I thought Brutal Legend had some of the lamest humor I had ever heard and then started reading reviews to see if I was alone and come to find out... I most definitely was. I literally never lauged one time during that game while everyone else thought it was hilarious. I don't know, I guess we are just proof of "different strokes for different folks". But Qwark's line, "you win again technology..." had me cracking up. Some of it falls flat but I thought overall it was well written.
Bagels (@AlsoBagels) @ Nov 5th 2009 10:56AM
I too found Qwark to be a low point of CiT, but overall the humor is unique and sometimes intentionally corny. Remember most of it is intending to parody the Sci-fi genre.
DrunkRaba @ Nov 5th 2009 6:16PM
Generally throughout the R&C series the humor is intended to be very corny and a general satire. Some people just don't "do" satire.
Jason Statham (Has a ps3 now) @ Nov 5th 2009 11:29PM
A little late but:
It's not that I don't get satire, it's that I don't think it's very well written. Which is why I find the jokes so groan-inducing.
Ashitaka @ Nov 5th 2009 10:59AM
I'm 19 and I've played all the previous games, so I guess this theory applies to me. Thanks Insomniac! ^_^
Solace @ Nov 5th 2009 11:45AM
same here but I started play R&C at 13 now 19. I grew up on this amazing series and love it.
Ashitaka @ Nov 5th 2009 2:29PM
I bought the PS2 JUST for R&C (I've always loved platformers). Damn, I can't believe the fun I had with the demo of the first game. The Metropolis and the Blackwater areas were/are absolutely awesome!
I remember one time when I had to leave my PS2 on because it was lunch time and I didn't want the lose the progress I'd made in the demo (you could even get the Devastator if you farmed enough bolts) and when I came back, I discovered that the demo had a time limit and that it would quit if you stopped playing it for a while. I was really bummed at the time but hey, I just had gotten an excuse for playing the demo again!
Good times :')
Ninjalawyer @ Nov 5th 2009 11:12AM
This isn't too surprising. R&C occupy, in my mind the same space as the movie Up! Just because a game or movie uses a cartoony aesthetic doesn't mean it's automatically a stupid babby game.
I hope the next R&C games recasts Ratchet as an old and embittered widower who learns to love again through his friendship with a loveable yet incompetent fat kid named Clank.
Dreaded Fear @ Nov 5th 2009 11:15AM
I love Ratchet and Clank and it is definitely not a kids game.
That is all.