Jet Set Radio to be Fortnite-ified?

Regardless of how you feel about Fortnite, it's easily one of the most popular games out there. With collaborations that span the cultural zeitgeist from Marvel to Balenciaga, Fortnite maintains a frequent player base through being cross-platform and F2P, raking in consistent revenue through partnerships and in-game purchases.

Now SEGA has its ears perked and is aggressively interested in creating a similarly popular, lucrative global hit. Most famous for their Sonic games, SEGA is looking to create a "Super Games" project centered around AAA-quality, big-budget reboots to help stem their flagging revenue. Varying sources familiar with the project have confirmed that one of these core games will be a first-person shooter, and it looks like Jet Set Radio and Crazy Taxi will fill two other slots in the project. These projects will be more than a remaster or touch-up of nostalgic titles-- I suspect they'll overhaul much of these games to accommodate cosmetic purchases and online interactions.

For those unfamiliar with the zany 2000s games, Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio are SEGA legacy IPs filled with punk vibes, quintessentially-2000s soundtracks, vibrant colors, and speedy chases. How SEGA plans to take these games and convert them into monetized, community-oriented titles is anyone's best guess, but work has been underway on Crazy Taxi's reboot for the past few years. It's expected to release in the next couple of years, while Jet Set Radio's remaster timeline is TBD. While I think controller is the way to go when playing these titles, Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio are available on Steam for those who want a Y2K blast from the past. (If you play Jet Set Radio or its even cooler, more obscure sequel Jet Set Radio Future, Gum was my favorite character.)

I wrote about Bomb Rush Cyberpunk in my 2022 Games article as one that I'm keeping my eyes on. With this recent development around Jet Set Radio, I'm even more interested to see how the indie performs.

What are your thoughts on SEGA's ambitious plans for their future developments?