Naughty Dog, Inc.

Moby ID: 1190

AKA +
  • JAM software (from 1986 to 1989)

Overview edit · view history

Naughty Dog was founded in 1984 by the then-sixteen-year-old Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin. In their own words, they "needed money to buy video games and stuff", so they "worked hard, and that's the whole story".

The company started as JAM software The first game it sold was Ski Crazed for Apple II. Jam Software also created Dream Zone (1988), a graphic adventure that was one of the first ones to support the PC's VGA graphics standard. Both of these early games were published by Baudville.

Things really got going when Jam Software signed on with Electronic Arts and began producing Keef the Thief for the Apple IIGS, Amiga, Atari ST, and PC. Contemporaneously, the team changed its name to Naughty Dog (as the founders state, "nobody remembers exactly why we chose the name").

In 1992 Naughty Dog published Rings of Power, one of EA's first three Genesis projects. Gavin went on to Boston's MIT to pursue a degree in Artificial Intelligence, and Rubin went to Newport Beach, California, to learn surfing and 3D computer graphics. Rubin wishes now that he had done more surfing -- within a year Naughty Dog reformed in Boston and created Way of the Warrior for the 3DO. The project was self-financed. Searching for a publisher, Naughty Dog met Universal Interactive Studios. UIS published the game in 1994. Naughty Dog signed a three project deal with UIS, moved to LA, and began work on a new project.

With a proper budget for further game development, the company hired new employees, starting with Dave Baggett, one of Gavin’s fellow AI students from MIT, and others. They also acquired Silicon Graphics workstations.

It took two years, 16-18 hours a day, to create the first Crash Bandicoot. Due to a “quirk” in the PlayStation developers contract, Naughty Dog managed to keep the game secret until just before E3, 1996. At that point, Sony insisted that they see the game.

The public first saw Crash Bandicoot at E3 in May of 1996, favorably comparing it to Mario games.

In January 2001 Naughty Dog, Inc. was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment America. It is now part of the SCE Worldwide Studios group.

Credited on 27 Games from 1987 to 2022

Displaying most recent · View all

The Last of Us: Part I (2022 on Windows, PlayStation 5)
Uncharted: Digital Bundle (2021 on Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5)
The Last of Us: Part II (2020 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation Now)
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (2017 on PlayStation 4)
Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy (2017 on Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One...)
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (2016 on PlayStation 4)
Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection (2015 on PlayStation 4)
The Last of Us: Remastered (2014 on PlayStation 4)
The Last of Us (2013 on PlayStation 3, PlayStation Now)
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (2011 on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009 on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4)
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (2007 on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4)
Jak X: Combat Racing (2005 on PlayStation 2, PlayStation 4)
Jak 3 (2004 on PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PS Vita...)
Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (2004 on PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3)
Crash Nitro Kart (2003 on PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube)
Jak II (2003 on PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4...)
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (2001 on PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PS Vita...)
CTR: Crash Team Racing (1999 on PlayStation, PSP, PlayStation 3...)
Crash Bandicoot: Warped (1998 on PlayStation, PSP, PlayStation 3...)

[ view all ]

History +

January 2004

Senior programmer Didier Malenfant leaves the company to form Ready for Dawn Studios with Ru Weerasuriya and Andrea Pessino.

January 2001

The company is acquired by SCEA and becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary.

1999

The company name is changed to Naughty Dog, Inc.

1986

Company founded as JAM software by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin.

Trivia +

The German online magazine 4Players named Naughty Dog as Best Developer of 2009.

Their first name, JAM, stood for Jason and Andy's Magic.

Related Web Sites +

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