Sega is reportedly working on “big-budget” reboots of Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio focused on creating online communities with recurring revenue.
Bloomberg says that these reboots are part of Sega’s ‘Super Game Initiative‘ that aims to create titles that operate as a living service and feature ample microtransactions, similar to popular games-as-a-service titles like Fortnite and Destiny 2.
Sega’s Crazy Taxi reboot has been in the works for a year and will release within the next two to three years, says the report, while Jet Set Radio is still very early in development.
Two other titles are also reportedly in the works, with the first being a first-person shooter Sega wants to earn $780 million USD (about $984 million CAD) in revenue. Bloomberg says that all of these titles are still early in development and could still be cancelled.
Though Crazy Taxi/Crazy Taxi 2 and Jet Set Radio are Dreamcast cult classics I personally spent a significant amount of time playing in the early 2000s, it’s unclear if either series will find an audience in 2022.
For example, the arcade nature of the Crazy Taxi series could make it challenging to expand into a more full-fledged experience (this is the issue Crazy Taxi 3 ran into). That said, I’ve been playing a lot of Crazy Taxi on the Steam Deck through a Dreamcast emulator, and I’m surprised at how well the game has aged. Also, it’s not a Crazy Taxi game without a very The Offspring-focused soundtrack, of course.
Jet Set Radio and its Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater-like goal-oriented gameplay and cel-shaded graphics, on the other hand, seem more primed for a modern reimagining.
Image credit: New Game Network
