Sega wants classic franchise reboots to show ‘edginess and a rebellious mind-set’

Sega has discussed its plans to revive five of its classic franchises.

As announced at The Game Awards, Sega debuted a new trailer that confirmed that Jet Set Radio, Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, Shinobi and Crazy Taxi will all receive reboots.

Now, speaking to the Washington Post, Sega co-chief operating officer and Sega of America CEO Shuji Utsumi has said, “We really want to show edginess and a rebellious mindset,” when discussing the tone of the recently announced revivals, in hopes of emulating the original games’ vibe.

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

According to Utsumi, the Persona, Sonic and Yakuza franchises have been holding Sega up in recent years, and credits their success for allowing Sega to explore this year-scale reboot project.

“We’ve been investing into these three titles the last three years, making these pillars grow, and they grew very well,” he said.

When asked about another of Sega’s popular classic franchises, Virtua Fighter, he said: “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.”

Footage of what appeared to be a Jet Set Radio reboot or remaster was leaked back in April.

It had already been reported last year by Bloomberg that Sega had been working on big-budget reboots of Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio, according to its sources.