SEGA Wants To Re-Capture The Rebellious Nature Of Its Past, Dreamcast-Era Self

On Thursday, SEGA made an incredible announcement, and did it in such a way that fans are really still processing what’s happening.

In one swoop it announced new Jet Set Radio, Streets Of Rage, Golden Axe, Shinobi and Crazy Taxi games. While it’s been rumoured that SEGA would return to some of these franchises, for it to happen all at once is something fans could’ve never predicted.

It’s a different kind of announcement from SEGA for a lot of reasons, but one very welcomed to fans, and quite intentional according to SEGA of America chief executive officer and co-chief operating officer for SEGA, Shuji Utsumi.

In a recent interview with The Washington Post, Utsumi talks about how he wants to bring the company back to its more rebellious, Dreamcast-era days.

He talks about how the landscape of players in the industry is as such that players are looking for weirder concepts, the ideas that we used to see from plenty of studios, including PlayStation, but at present see less of with each new year.

“We really want to show edginess and a rebellious mind-set,” said Utsumi.

He highlighted Jet Set Radio in particular, talking to how much of a unique idea the game was in the first place, something exemplified even further by the recent Bomb Rush Cyberfunk title which was essentially a modern day Jet Set Radio.

Utsumi also adds a confirmation that Jet Set Radio’s original creators are “involved” in this new title.

“The concept of games like ‘Jet Set Radio’ is advanced. The original creators are involved again, and its time is now, it’s a good time where people can appreciate all kinds of concepts.”

Also for those curious as to why a new Virtua Fighter game was absent, Utsumi talked about how they’re currently evaluating what their approach will be.

“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.”

It’s clear that Thursday’s announcement is the likely beginning of something new, and hopefully exciting for SEGA fans.

After all, it’s always good to see more studios in the industry look to trying new things, even if in this case it is still for now just with old, established IP.

Source – [The Washington Post]