We'll admit it, we are more than a little excited to see what SEGA is cooking up. During last week's Game Awards, the studio announced that it would be reimaging and expanding on a bunch of its fan-favourite franchises, with Jet Set Radio being but one of the series to receive the 'surge' treatment.
The amount that we actually know about the project is reasonably small at the moment, but one thing that has been confirmed is that the game's original creators are skating back around to be involved in the next one.
This information comes from a recent Washington Post interview with Shuji Utsumi, SEGA's co-chief operating officer and SEGA of America CEO, where he spoke a little about what an idea like Jet Set Radio could mean today:
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.
If the reaction to SEGA's revival announcement is anything to go by, the time sure is now. This year's Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, despite its flaws, showed that the concept of a graffiti skating sim is still very much alive and kicking. If it's done well (and having the original team on board makes us hopeful), then we are ready for it.
On top of Jet Set Radio, SEGA's revival will encompass Crazy Taxi, Golden Axe, Shinobi and Streets of Rage and it looks like there are plans for even more in the future. Whether all of the original teams are coming back or if SEGA is on the hunt for some perfectly-placed newbies, let's hope that it was worth the wait.