Sega Rebooting Retro Franchises Including Crazy Taxi and Streets of Rage as Gaming Corp Eyes Hollywood Expansion
08.12.2023 - 02:05
/ variety.com
Ethan Shanfeld Dust off those joysticks: Sega is rebooting a handful of retro franchises including Crazy Taxi, Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, Jet Set Radio and Shinobi. The Japanese gaming giant announced the new initiative, which will “revive a number of IPs as all-new video games, developed for today’s audiences,” Dec. 7 at the Game Awards.
Sega also showed the Los Angeles audience a trailer that previews footage of the new games, which are currently in development. As two of the rebooted titles already have film adaptations in development, Sega eyes Hollywood ambitions beyond its successful “Sonic” movie franchise. A Shinobi movie adaptation from Marc Platt and Stories International was announced back in 2016, and Lionsgate landed film rights to Streets of Rage last year, recruiting “John Wick” writer Derek Kolstad.
“Sonic is definitely a blueprint for us,” Sega COO Shuji Utsumi told Variety in an interview before the Game Awards. “First, we really want to create the games and appeal to the gamers. The game is first.
However, if we are creating the world and the characters that gamers love, that means if filmmakers love that kind of direction, [that can inspire] the movies. So, why not?” With 2020’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” grossing $319 million at the worldwide box office and 2022’s sequel raking in $405 million, Sega is looking to spin new films, television series and licensed products off of other legacy titles. Beyond the five reboots announced, Utsumi says there are additional projects Sega is currently evaluating but has “not yet greenlit.” While nailing down specific release dates for the new Crazy Taxi, Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, Jet Set Radio and Shinobi games is a long way away, Utsumi estimates that the
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