GDC 06: Ratchet and PS3

Sony offers a glimpse at its signature franchise jumping to the next generation.

March 22, 2006

By Marc Nix

Courtesy of

As part of its platform keynote at GDC this morning, Sony offered a new, non-interactive demo of PlayStation 3 gameplay for a brand new entry in the Ratchet and Clank franchise. While it may not be surprising to see Ratchet & Clank featured (though some may not have expected it -- like Naughty Dog's Jak and Daxter, Insomniac's Ratchet and Clank was expected to be retired on PS2 with the move to new franchises on PS3), it's still a delight. The demo featured a bright, lush, bustling city somewhat similar to Coruscant from Star Wars or designs from The Fifth Element. Gadgetron vehicles hustled here and there -- the whole environment was busy with activity. At the end, a blimp appeared bearing the Ratchet logo. Of course we would have loved to see the technology running in real-time, but even this glimpse left us impressed. This new Ratchet & Clank demo is part of an officially-announced new R&C game, the next project for Insomniac after Resistance, and will be out in 2007.