Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio Reportedly Getting 'Big Budget' Reboots

ign.com:

Sega is reportedly working on "big-budget" reboots for Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio, with the intention of creating new installments that generate recurring revenue and online communities.

According to a report from Bloomberg, the reboots are part of Sega's Super Game inititiative, which aims to create games with large communities and the ability to generate a long tail of revenue. Basically the Fortnite model of microstransaction-fuelled content drops.

Bloomberg's sources claim that the Crazy Taxi reboot has been in development for over a year, and that Sega aims to release it within the next two or three years. It and Jet Set Radio are allegedly two of four planned 'Super Games', with a third apparently being a first-person shooter that aims to generate $780 million overe its lifetime.

Both Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio date back to the Dreamcast, and so it seems as if nostalgia may be part of Sega's plan here, should the games be a reality. And even if both are in active development, Bloomberg's sources state that they are both in the early stages and could still be cancelled.

Back in the day, we gave Crazy Taxi a review score of 9.6, stating "Playing Crazy Taxi not only reminded me of why I love games but why I believe Sega has some of the most talented designers and developers in the history of gaming." The original Jet Set Radio took home an identical score, with our review stating "This is the type of game that makes me proud to be a Dreamcast owner. It has everything you'd expect out of a AAA product, and it has it in spades." Both games have gone on to be cult classics, but Sega will no doubt want more than small success if these online reboots are part of its plans.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Features