Sega is Primed to Start 2025 With a Bang

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home January 2, 2025 32 Views 6 Min Read
Sega is Primed to Start 2025 With a Bang



Sega is ramping up for a major revival of some of its biggest franchises. While it’s hard to say what exactly the future may hold for the storied developer, news about the continuation of Jet Set Radio could be imminent, if recent remarks from the game’s director are any indication.

For the uninitiated, Jet Set Radio is a clever mix of the adventure and sports genres, blending exploration with flashy trick-chaining a la Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. Originally released for the Sega Dreamcast in 2000, Jet Set Radio is regularly lauded as one of the best-aged games of all time, due in major part to its cel-shaded, stylized graphics, but also thanks to its chunky and addictive mechanics, which can go toe-to-toe with some of the best skateboarding games of today. With an injection of unparalleled flair and panache, Jet Set Radio is remembered as one of the coolest, slickest games of the 2000s—nevermind its well-wrought gameplay systems. For those who missed out on the original, there’s little reason to wallow, as Sega has confirmed that a reboot is in the works.

Roller Champions Jet Set Radio

Related


Roller Champions’ Jet Set Radio Crossover is More Deflating Than Exciting

The Ubisoft Forward showcase was full of exciting new announcements and reveals, but Roller Champions’ Jet Set Radio crossover wasn’t one of them.

Jet Set Radio Director Teases Reboot News in 2025

2025 Will Mark the 25th Anniversary of Jet Set Radio

Speaking with 4Gamer, Jet Set Radio director Masayoshi Kikuchi reaffirmed his commitment to the Jet Set Radio reboot, while also reminding audiences of a poignant bit of trivia: “I’m still working on a new Jet Set Radio game. Incidentally, 2025 marks the 25th anniversary of Jet Set Radio, so I’m thinking about how to celebrate it.” Neither of these statements should come as a surprise, as they both simply relay already known information, but Kikuchi’s phrasing and seemingly tongue-in-cheek attitude might have some raising their eyebrows.

“Thinking about how to celebrate” Jet Set Radio‘s 25th anniversary, spoken in the same breath as a confirmation about the IP’s reboot, seems to suggest that something more substantial is on the way. Perhaps Kikuchi was simply being candid here, which is definitely possible, but unleashing some concrete news about the new Jet Set Radio game in celebration of the original’s quarter-century anniversary seems rather appropriate. Kikuchi’s statement is noncommittal, but it certainly has the air of a tease, and it wouldn’t be the most outlandish marketing plan in the world.

Jet Set Radio News Could Just Be the Start for Sega This Year

In addition to Jet Set Radio, Sega is reviving the following IP:

  • Crazy Taxi
  • Golden Axe
  • Shinobi
  • Streets of Rage

Players are no doubt excited about the new Jet Set Radio, especially since 2023’s Bomb Rush Cyberfunk offered a taste of what a JSR sequel could look like, but the above franchise revivals are no less promising. Streets of Rage came back in 2020 with Streets of Rage 4, a no-frills, classic beat-em-up that could pave the way for more exciting sequels down the road, but the others have been dormant for much longer. Shinobi and Golden Axe, for example, haven’t received new releases since the early 2000s, and while Crazy Taxi saw re-releases and mobile spin-offs in the 2000s and 2010s, it hasn’t gotten a proper new entry since 2002.

All of this is to say that anticipation for these reboots has long since reached a boiling point. These are often cited as some of the best games of all time, and they formed the backbone of Sega’s strategy before it switched to a software-only approach. Indeed, 2025 may mark the 25th anniversary of Jet Set Radio, but if news about that game’s reboot is imminent, then closer looks at these other revivals shouldn’t lag too far behind.

Source link