Among the reigns of IPs that Sega has continued to feature these past few years, it is no secret that the publisher is looking to integrate its legacy vault of properties to the spotlight once again. Previously, it was reported that the firm is underway with remakes for beloved IPs Jet Set Radio & Crazy Taxi. Among the success of series like Yakuza, it did signal for more worldwide releases as the firm pursues this new initiative.
Other noteworthy efforts by Sega is its internally developing ‘Super Game’. Originally, it was revealed that this unnamed project would feature inner workings of Microsoft’s Azure infrastructure. From a more recent report, the project is now said to be costing Sega more than $800 million in the new effort. Now, we understand the firm is here to rekindle the lost flame of a prior era.
At The Game Awards last week, it was revealed that Sega’s ‘New Era’ trailer properly revealed titles including remakes for Jet Set Radio, Shinobi, Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, and Crazy Taxi. From an interview with The Washington Post, Sega of America CEO Shuji Utsumi elaborates on this new ambition.
“We really want to show the edginess and a rebellious mind-set,” he explained. Utsumi mentions the influence of Sega’s then-“alternative” game system, of course that being a reference to the Dreamcast. Elsewhere in the interview, he also nodded to the idea of additional remake announcements; what’s more is that this corroborates with a previous statement too.
Among that is the comment on Virtua Fighter. “On Virtua Fighter: “We are evaluating right now. Virtua Fighter doesn’t use so many tricks, special moves like in Street Fighter, it’s very realistic. How can we make it more dramatic? It’s something we’re working on.” Regarding current projects, he does affirm that original developers from Jet Set Radio are to return as well for the revival of the classic title.
Going beyond video games, Sega is also exploring more transmedia for its IPs. In one recent interview, it is indicated that the publisher is considering more films aside from Sonic the Hedgehog – predominantly Persona or Yakuza/Like a Dragon. You can read the full report by heading here.
What has you most interested about this approach from Sega?
Source: The Washington Post