Over two decades after swinging onto shelves, a developer behind the original Spider-Man game says he’d “love” to remaster the PlayStation 1 classic.
Spider-Man for PlayStation 1 may be over 20-years-old at this point, but that hasn't stopped one of its developers from thinking about introducing Spidey's first 3D video game to modern audiences.
Chad Findley, who worked as the Lead Designer on Spider-Man at former developer Neversoft, recently shared his thoughts on a potential remaster of the game during an interview with GamingBible. "While I would initially be reticent because of the nightmarish licensing and approval processes that are around these days," Findley said, "I absolutely would do it."
Although the chances of a Spider-Man remaster remain up in the air, Findley could very well be the man for the job, as the developer went on to not only express passion for the character but why Old Webhead still holds up today. "I love Spider-Man," Findley said. "It was such a great, nerdy character with stories that always have positive messages and themes while also still being exciting and fun. Stuff we need these days."
Released in 2000 on the PlayStation 1, Nintendo 64 and Sega Dreamcast consoles, Spider-Man marked the first superhero game to successfully bring comic book action to a 3D space. Though the game's web-swinging and combat show their age compared to 2018's Marvel's Spider-Man, the game still managed to feature fan-favorite foes such as Venom, Carnage and Doctor Octopus while also capturing the Wall-Crawler's sense of humor.
Two Spider-Man titles made under Activision were reportedly set to be remastered prior to the publisher losing its license to develop Marvel video games. Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions and Spider-Man: Edge of Time from 2010 and 2011, respectively, were set to be remastered on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Switch, with the games supposedly beginning "early prototyping" before Activision's deal with Marvel fell through in 2014. The remasters reportedly featured only "minor graphical enhancement/bug fixes," with an unnamed source even describing the projects as a "quick money-maker."
While it's clear to see how a remaster of the original Spider-Man could be a licensing headache, considering that game was also developed under Activision, fans will at least be happy to see its influence on the Spider-Man games today. In addition to pioneering the open-world city and traversal mechanics that will likely be further built upon in next year's Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Spidey's latest game could also see the return of costume options with unique effects on gameplay. Each costume in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is rumored to have a Symbiote version, which in most other games changed gameplay in some way — such as providing the player with unlimited webbing during one of the first playable appearances of the Symbiote suit in Neversoft's original Spider-Man.
Source: GamingBible
Whether it’s Wolverine popping his claws, Spidey swinging through the streets of New York, or Batman brooding, Adam has enjoyed reading and watching superheroes for as long as he dreamed about being on himself! Adam is an avid consumer of fiction across a variety of media, with his favorites including novels, movies, TV, anime, manga, and, of course, comic books. When Adam isn’t writing news, he enjoys spending time playing video games, longboarding, and working on his debut sci-fi novel. He has yet to try all three at once.
