It is the year 2000. Comedian and actor Chris Rock is nearing the height of his powers. Sony's stable of video games, on the other hand, was not. Sure, the PlayStation had been a breakthrough, but the world-devouring juggernaut that was the PlayStation 2 was in its infancy.
So you can maybe understand why, when approached by Jak & Daxter developers Naughty Dog to appear in the very first game in the series to voice the character of Daxter, Rock turned them down.
The revelation was made on Twitter yesterday by Naughty Dog co-founder Jason Rubin, who added that veteran George Carlin had also been approached to play the role of Samos the Sage.
What a difference 12 years make. Rock would probably jump at the chance now.
Jason Rubin [Twitter, via Game Informer]
Total Recall is a look back at the history of video games through their characters, franchises, developers and trends. You'll find Total Recall stories every Mon-Fri between 11pm and Midnight ET.