Following a brief hiatus, This Day in PlayStation History, our recurring feature designed to act as your window into the treasured PlayStation archives, slinks out of the shadows today ? and not a moment too soon.
Because on this day 14 years ago, Sony and Sucker Punch Productions introduced the gaming industry to Sly Cooper, a cunning, yet gentlemanly raccoon who, while late to the party, would go on to become a bona fide mascot for the Japanese platform-holder. Of course, we say late to the party because by the time Sly and the Cooper gang scurried onto PlayStation 2, heralding a slick combination of stealth and platforming action, the PlayStation community were already acquainted with the likes of Crash Bandicoot and Jak and Daxter ? not to mention the launch of Ratchet & Clank two months later. Strong competition, then, but 2002 played host to the launch of Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus ? known simply as Sly Raccoon in Europe ? Sucker Punch?s franchise starter that garnered solid reviews, yes, but also lacklustre sales. However that may be, a mixture of cel-shading and hand-drawn animation imbued the platform title with a film noir aesthetic that was fairly unique for the time, as master thief Sly Raccoon ? flanked by Bentley (The Brains) and Murray (The Muscle) ? locked horns with the Fiendish Five.
Thievius Raccoonus
One trip to the Welsh Triangle later and Sucker Punch?s Band of Thieves returned for a sequel two years later. Broadly speaking, it fared be...