Remarkably, it's been almost 15 years now since the last all-new entry in the Ape Escape series, PlayStation Move Ape Escape (which launched in Japan in 2010).
And ever since then, the series's mascot Pipo Saru has pretty much found themselves demoted to rereleases and cameo roles in other Sony-related titles (such as Astro Bot and Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater).
Recently, however, while speaking exclusively to Time Extension, the series composer Soichi Terada expressed a hope that the series may one day return, as well as an interest in coming on board to write new music for the series if the possibility ever arises.
Terada, in case you're unaware, was the composer of the original Ape Escape and was also involved with most of the other entries in the series, including Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed, EyeToy Monkey Mania, Ape Escape: On the Loose, and Ape Escape 3.
He notably didn't compose the music for Piposaru 2001 and Ape Escape 2, with Luna Umegaki & Koji Hayama taking over the musical responsibilities for those games. According to Terada, the reason for this was that the director of the project simply chose someone else, and he was already busy working on other games, such as the Sony-published PS2 title Space Fishermen.
Chatting with us over email, Terada seemed hopeful that an Ape Escape 4 could eventually happen but did state there were some challenges to overcome first, with the most notable being Sony's restructuring of Japan Studio back in 2021.
Nevertheless, he believes that a new team could eventually be assembled to carry on the spirit of the series, and would love to offer his talents if the opportunity ever came knocking.
"It will be difficult because of the dissolution of Japan Studio several years ago," Terada told us. "But I hope that a group can produce it someday. If possible, I would like to contribute one track, like the theme of "Ape Escape 4, if I could not be involved entirely. Though it would be perfect to make all of the soundtrack."