Sega may be working on Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio sequels

[Falksi]

Just seen this posted on Facebook in a SEGA group. The group were asked to vote which other SEGA owned franchises they'd like to see rebooted, and these were the top 15....

Now the Thunderforce is one of my favorite series of all time, so I'm well on board with that. But there are some absolute belters in there regardless which really shows how neglectful they've been in recent years.

One of the testers for Eternal Champions is a mate of mine, and he reckons Mike Latham already had a slew of ideas sat ready for a new entry, so that would be great to see as it was a fighter which really stood out with it's premise. He also had an alternate universe game called Dimension Raiders which didn't make the cut lined up, so I'm gonna prod to see if anything can get started on that via the indie scene in the likely event SEGA ignore Eternal champions, or just fuck it up.

And Afterburner 2 is still the most exciting game I've ever played, so more of that is always welcome.

The franchise I would have personally have liked to seen included though is Alisa Dragoon. What a superb game that is, and the foundation is there for a great action RPG for sure.

But as other people have pointed out, getting these games and getting these games good is another story. I've some faith in SEGA doing them justice simply because of how excellent some of their recent games have been (Streets of Rage 4, Yakuza Like A Dragon, Persona 5R), but it is SEGA lol.

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

I’d imagine a new Eternal Champions game never happens. Sega doesn’t give a shit about that series. In fact the Japanese side of Sega intentionally killed that series because they didn’t want it to complete with their own Virtua Fighter. It makes no sense at all given one was a console game and one was an arcade game which didn’t even get a home version until 1995, but apparently that happened, and is just part of the bizarre conflict Sega and Sega of America had throughout the ‘90s.

Virtua Fighter is definitely coming back. They basically all but officially confirmed they were making a new one. The remake of 5 by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio was a test to see how people would react. And it did better than they originally thought it would.

Skies of Arcadia 2 (or some new version of the original) probably happens. It sounds like the original team has been wanting to do that for years, and some of them are still at Sega.

House of the Dead seems like a no brainer to bring back. It’s almost surprising Sega never just made a House of the Dead game in the mold of Resident Evil 4, especially after the sales of 5 and 6. I mean, original RE4 is basically light gun game style controls when you’re aiming with how it locks you in place as you aim. If you did that, but in first person, it’d basically feel like a House of the Dead where you aren’t on-rails. They could do a new House of the Dead and a new Zombie Revenge. Zombie seems less like, and could probably just be folded into a non on-rails HotD anyways. But Rikiya Busujima did make it into Project X Zone...so at least when that game came out someone at Sega still remembered Zombie Revenge.

I’m almost surprised there haven’t been any new Dynamite Deka games. There was a time Sega really seemed to enjoy that series. And the first one that got rebrand as Die Hard Arcade is definitely one of Sega’s better known games given most people probably had at least one place with that cabinet in the mid to late ‘90s.

Phantasy Star it’s almost just bizarre they haven’t made a new single player one in all the years Phantasy Star online has been going. I could see them doing a new one since that’s still a name people know, and Online is one of their bigger series still. In fact, most of Sega’s Genesis era JRPGs probably come back. They were doing some iOS Shining Force game a few years ago called Shining Force: Hero of Light and Darkness that didn’t come out. The dungeon crawler blobber Shining games seems like something they could do on the cheap, and the Persona 5 games doing what they did probably had Sega looking at what other RPG series they could be doing.

Treasure developed games I’m not sure happen without Treasure. But if the idea is to make lower budget games that generate hype with a specific set of gamers, putting out new Treasure games would probably do that.

Wouldn’t be totally surprised if they did a new Oasis game. Although that might not fit the image they seem to be going with, with this new revival of past games.

 

[Viata]

Now the Thunderforce is one of my favorite series of all time, so I'm well on board with that

Thunder Force IV was the shit:

But I'm sure this is not a Sega game, but a Technosoft one. There is also a Treasure game there (Gunstar Heroes), for example. Good list, anyway.

 

[Falksi]

Now the Thunderforce is one of my favorite series of all time, so I'm well on board with that

Thunder Force IV was the shit:

But I'm sure this is not a Sega game, but a Technosoft one. There is also a Treasure game there (Gunstar Heroes), for example. Good list, anyway.

I believe both companies were absorbed by SEGA?

 

[Viata]

Looking up, while Technosoft itself was not absorbed by SEGA, their games did:

However, later in the decade, Technosoft began to largely diminish as profits began to slump, before ultimately being acquired and folded into Japanese pachinko manufacturer Twenty-One Company in late 2001. Twenty-One began to release products in 2008 under the Technosoft brand, and sold the entirety of its video game library to Sega in 2016. The Technosoft name continues to be in use in the present day as the name for Twenty-One's research and development division, and as a brand name for various products such as soundtrack albums.

As for Treasure, I couldn't find anything telling it now owned by SEGA or anything like that.

 

[Zlaja]

For the love of God, give us a new entry in the Phantasy Star series. And not that fucking online shit, either. And it has to be turn-based.

 

[AdamReith]

How about they work on releasing Crazy Taxi on PC with the actual sound track and not randomly placed beeps and whistles.

 

[Ezekiel]

How about they work on releasing Crazy Taxi on PC with the actual sound track and not randomly placed beeps and whistles.

Mod the old songs in.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=964260789

You will still be left with stretched character select art, missing distance indicator in the corner of the screen, old voices that need to be modded in, licensed stores replaced by generic ones (and the old customer dialogue for those stores gone), mediocre performance, and having to replace a file to bring back proper analog movement.

Anyone who recommends emulating the Dreamcast version, try it yourself first. The voices and car engine are far louder than the music and other SFX, and it's not something you can fix by adjusting the sliders. YouTube videos show the same problem I had. Gamecube and PS2 versions have altered voices (including drivers), so not worth emulating.

Edit: Oh, and the replays in the end credits have a sepia-like fog that is missing in the PC version.

 

[Ezekiel]

What the hell? The rickshaws are broken!

 

[911 Jumper]

TRIPLE-A ! ! !

 

[Viata]

Sorry, Sega, but now we are dealing with AAAA games.

 

[911 Jumper]

Sega hires Disney veteran to lead its transmedia strategy

Sega has hired former Disney and Scopely executive Justin Scarpone to lead its transmedia strategy.

Scarpone previously held a variety of leadership positions during a 17-year spell at Disney, including serving as its general manager of consumer products and interactive division.

He left the company in 2019 to join Scopely, the developer and publisher behind games including Monopoly Go! and Stumble Guys, as the general manager of its Asia Pacific division.

Scarpone will assume the role of Sega executive vice president and global head of transmedia on April 1, 2024.

“The establishment of a Global Transmedia Group will allow the company to advance its transmedia strategy across its wide portfolio of IP, such as Persona, Like a Dragon, Angry Birds, and more, in the coming years,” the company said.

“I look forward to working with our team and partners around the world, harnessing the strength of Sega’s rich IP to deliver new stories, innovative consumer products, and new entertainment services, all while putting our fans and communities first,” Scarpone wrote on LinkedIn.

Following the success of its Sonic movies, Sega president Shuji Utsumi recently said the company wants to expand the reach of its other biggest franchises, like Persona and Yakuza, beyond video games.

Source: VGC

 

[Ezekiel]

Corporate gobbledygook.

 

[911 Jumper]

Virtua Fighter Reboot Could Be in the Works – Rumor

 

[Ezekiel]

Yeah, it's gonna be bad.



https://www.videogameschronicle.com...boot-is-a-massively-multiplayer-driving-game/

The new Crazy Taxi is being developed by Sega’s Sapporo Studio, which was established in December 2021 and helps with the development of various Sega games.

In a new recruitment video published in Japanese, producer Kenji Kanno – who was the director of the original Crazy Taxi game – and other members of the development team share new details on the reboot.

According to the video, the development team is currently testing adapting the classic Crazy Taxi gameplay – which has players transporting passengers to destinations as fast as possible – into a game world with multiple players.

The rebooted Crazy Taxi will take place in a large, realistic city based on the United States’ west coast, with a ‘theme park-like’ map, according to the video.

Job listings offer further details, describing the new Crazy Taxi as “a new major online title” with an open world, and “massively multiplayer driving game” elements. According to the listings, Crazy Taxi is being built in Unreal Engine.

 

[Tehdagah]

Yeah, it's gonna be bad.



https://www.videogameschronicle.com...boot-is-a-massively-multiplayer-driving-game/

The new Crazy Taxi is being developed by Sega’s Sapporo Studio, which was established in December 2021 and helps with the development of various Sega games.

In a new recruitment video published in Japanese, producer Kenji Kanno – who was the director of the original Crazy Taxi game – and other members of the development team share new details on the reboot.

According to the video, the development team is currently testing adapting the classic Crazy Taxi gameplay – which has players transporting passengers to destinations as fast as possible – into a game world with multiple players.

The rebooted Crazy Taxi will take place in a large, realistic city based on the United States’ west coast, with a ‘theme park-like’ map, according to the video.

Job listings offer further details, describing the new Crazy Taxi as “a new major online title” with an open world, and “massively multiplayer driving game” elements. According to the listings, Crazy Taxi is being built in Unreal Engine.

Fortnite once had a "crazy taxi" mode and it was great.

 

[Taxnomore]

It will manage to be not as good as the bicycle game from Infinite Wealth.

 

[Ezekiel]

Yeah, it's gonna be bad.



https://www.videogameschronicle.com...boot-is-a-massively-multiplayer-driving-game/

The new Crazy Taxi is being developed by Sega’s Sapporo Studio, which was established in December 2021 and helps with the development of various Sega games.

In a new recruitment video published in Japanese, producer Kenji Kanno – who was the director of the original Crazy Taxi game – and other members of the development team share new details on the reboot.

According to the video, the development team is currently testing adapting the classic Crazy Taxi gameplay – which has players transporting passengers to destinations as fast as possible – into a game world with multiple players.

The rebooted Crazy Taxi will take place in a large, realistic city based on the United States’ west coast, with a ‘theme park-like’ map, according to the video.

Job listings offer further details, describing the new Crazy Taxi as “a new major online title” with an open world, and “massively multiplayer driving game” elements. According to the listings, Crazy Taxi is being built in Unreal Engine.

Fortnite once had a "crazy taxi" mode and it was great.

This game will fail, financially. Could have aimed for a smaller audience (me) by budgeting modestly, still could have done so much more with 25 years of tech development, but no, had to aim for massively MP experience in market already dominated by a few games that players won't leave for taxis. Original Crazy Taxi formula (not 2 and 3) has incredible potential, like original Tomb Raider formula that never had enough years to blossom under good leadership.

 

[Maxie]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...y-taxi-jet-set-radio-to-chase-fortnite-riches

Sega Sammy Holdings Inc. is developing big-budget reboots of its Dreamcast games Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio as it taps its back catalog in search of global hits like Epic Games Inc.’s Fortnite, according to people familiar with its plans.

The two titles would be the first entries in Sega’s Super Game initiative, which the company announced a year ago as an effort to develop recurring revenue sources and build online communities around its software portfolio. Fortnite has become the role model for such games: free to play, it’s available across platforms, hosts large multiplayer contests and includes extras like vehicles, construction and social events on top of the usual combat, spurring player purchases of in-game items.

The new Crazy Taxi has already been in development for over a year and the Tokyo-based entertainment group aims to release it within two to three years, the people said, asking not to be named as the information is not yet public. It was named alongside Jet Set Radio in Sega’s annual report a year ago on a list of intellectual property assets that Sega wanted to recapitalize by bringing them up to date. Both new games are in the early stages of creation and could still be canceled, the people said.

A Sega spokesman said the company has no comment to make at the present time.


The Super Game project is led by Sega’s video game unit chief Shuji Utsumi, a former PlayStation executive, and currently includes plans for about four such titles, according to the people. The company said last year that its European studio is working on a first-person shooter Super Game and the plan was to offer “contents and services that can create a large community” and as much as 100 billion yen ($780 million) in lifetime revenue.

Sega’s online role-playing game Phantasy Star Online 2 fits the criteria for a global multiplayer hit, but it has so far failed to stir up a thriving market with its in-game purchase offerings. The Japanese company plans to address this aspect of monetization more aggressively with its upcoming titles.


Crazy Taxi casts the player in the role of a speed-above-all-else taxi driver and Jet Set Radio is an award-winning street action game, both released for the Dreamcast console in 2000. Past installments never turned into major commercial hits but did develop a devoted fan base even as niche titles, according to Tokyo-based games consultant Serkan Toto.

“They are more like cult titles with very loud and vocal fan bases, totally different in scale when compared to Sega’s iconic Sonic series,” Toto said.

Sega is betting big on Super Games at a time when its traditional businesses of pachinko and arcade machines face dwindling audiences and waves of Covid-19 restrictions. Console and smartphone gaming represents the company’s best chance at securing long-term growth.

Sega partnered with Microsoft Corp. in November on its Super Game development, using the Azure cloud platform and potentially setting the stage for the addition of those titles to Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service. Sarah Bond, corporate vice president for gaming at Microsoft, at the time said that the duo will “reimagine how games get built, hosted, and operated, with a goal of adding more value to players and Sega alike.”

Sega may be working on sucking my dick and swallowing the cum. Its the single worst Japanese distributor and a massive decline engine, fuck them.

 

[Spike]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...y-taxi-jet-set-radio-to-chase-fortnite-riches

Sega Sammy Holdings Inc. is developing big-budget reboots of its Dreamcast games Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio as it taps its back catalog in search of global hits like Epic Games Inc.’s Fortnite, according to people familiar with its plans.

The two titles would be the first entries in Sega’s Super Game initiative, which the company announced a year ago as an effort to develop recurring revenue sources and build online communities around its software portfolio. Fortnite has become the role model for such games: free to play, it’s available across platforms, hosts large multiplayer contests and includes extras like vehicles, construction and social events on top of the usual combat, spurring player purchases of in-game items.

The new Crazy Taxi has already been in development for over a year and the Tokyo-based entertainment group aims to release it within two to three years, the people said, asking not to be named as the information is not yet public. It was named alongside Jet Set Radio in Sega’s annual report a year ago on a list of intellectual property assets that Sega wanted to recapitalize by bringing them up to date. Both new games are in the early stages of creation and could still be canceled, the people said.

A Sega spokesman said the company has no comment to make at the present time.


The Super Game project is led by Sega’s video game unit chief Shuji Utsumi, a former PlayStation executive, and currently includes plans for about four such titles, according to the people. The company said last year that its European studio is working on a first-person shooter Super Game and the plan was to offer “contents and services that can create a large community” and as much as 100 billion yen ($780 million) in lifetime revenue.

Sega’s online role-playing game Phantasy Star Online 2 fits the criteria for a global multiplayer hit, but it has so far failed to stir up a thriving market with its in-game purchase offerings. The Japanese company plans to address this aspect of monetization more aggressively with its upcoming titles.


Crazy Taxi casts the player in the role of a speed-above-all-else taxi driver and Jet Set Radio is an award-winning street action game, both released for the Dreamcast console in 2000. Past installments never turned into major commercial hits but did develop a devoted fan base even as niche titles, according to Tokyo-based games consultant Serkan Toto.

“They are more like cult titles with very loud and vocal fan bases, totally different in scale when compared to Sega’s iconic Sonic series,” Toto said.

Sega is betting big on Super Games at a time when its traditional businesses of pachinko and arcade machines face dwindling audiences and waves of Covid-19 restrictions. Console and smartphone gaming represents the company’s best chance at securing long-term growth.

Sega partnered with Microsoft Corp. in November on its Super Game development, using the Azure cloud platform and potentially setting the stage for the addition of those titles to Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service. Sarah Bond, corporate vice president for gaming at Microsoft, at the time said that the duo will “reimagine how games get built, hosted, and operated, with a goal of adding more value to players and Sega alike.”

Sega may be working on sucking my dick and swallowing the cum. Its the single worst Japanese distributor and a massive decline engine, fuck them.

Like a Dragon series begs to differ.

 

[Maxie]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...y-taxi-jet-set-radio-to-chase-fortnite-riches

Sega Sammy Holdings Inc. is developing big-budget reboots of its Dreamcast games Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio as it taps its back catalog in search of global hits like Epic Games Inc.’s Fortnite, according to people familiar with its plans.

The two titles would be the first entries in Sega’s Super Game initiative, which the company announced a year ago as an effort to develop recurring revenue sources and build online communities around its software portfolio. Fortnite has become the role model for such games: free to play, it’s available across platforms, hosts large multiplayer contests and includes extras like vehicles, construction and social events on top of the usual combat, spurring player purchases of in-game items.

The new Crazy Taxi has already been in development for over a year and the Tokyo-based entertainment group aims to release it within two to three years, the people said, asking not to be named as the information is not yet public. It was named alongside Jet Set Radio in Sega’s annual report a year ago on a list of intellectual property assets that Sega wanted to recapitalize by bringing them up to date. Both new games are in the early stages of creation and could still be canceled, the people said.

A Sega spokesman said the company has no comment to make at the present time.


The Super Game project is led by Sega’s video game unit chief Shuji Utsumi, a former PlayStation executive, and currently includes plans for about four such titles, according to the people. The company said last year that its European studio is working on a first-person shooter Super Game and the plan was to offer “contents and services that can create a large community” and as much as 100 billion yen ($780 million) in lifetime revenue.

Sega’s online role-playing game Phantasy Star Online 2 fits the criteria for a global multiplayer hit, but it has so far failed to stir up a thriving market with its in-game purchase offerings. The Japanese company plans to address this aspect of monetization more aggressively with its upcoming titles.


Crazy Taxi casts the player in the role of a speed-above-all-else taxi driver and Jet Set Radio is an award-winning street action game, both released for the Dreamcast console in 2000. Past installments never turned into major commercial hits but did develop a devoted fan base even as niche titles, according to Tokyo-based games consultant Serkan Toto.

“They are more like cult titles with very loud and vocal fan bases, totally different in scale when compared to Sega’s iconic Sonic series,” Toto said.

Sega is betting big on Super Games at a time when its traditional businesses of pachinko and arcade machines face dwindling audiences and waves of Covid-19 restrictions. Console and smartphone gaming represents the company’s best chance at securing long-term growth.

Sega partnered with Microsoft Corp. in November on its Super Game development, using the Azure cloud platform and potentially setting the stage for the addition of those titles to Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service. Sarah Bond, corporate vice president for gaming at Microsoft, at the time said that the duo will “reimagine how games get built, hosted, and operated, with a goal of adding more value to players and Sega alike.”

Sega may be working on sucking my dick and swallowing the cum. Its the single worst Japanese distributor and a massive decline engine, fuck them.

Like a Dragon series begs to differ.

Its literally declining as we speak

 

[911 Jumper]

Dev footage

 

[911 Jumper]

More leaked dev footage from Shinobi and Crazy Taxi reboots

 

[Falksi]

More leaked dev footage from Shinobi and Crazy Taxi reboots

Not gonna lie, that Shinobi footage looks fucking mint.

I'm buzzing at that.

 

[911 Jumper]

Not gonna lie, that Shinobi footage looks fucking mint.

I'm buzzing at that.

Shinobi's certainly the better looking of the two.
Crazy Taxi looks like a forgettable mobile game.