Sega's iconic arcade title is making a comeback for a new generation of gamers. At this year's Summer Game Fest (SGF), series creator Kenji Kanno unveiled the specific direction and bold new content for the upcoming 'Crazy Taxi: World Tour.'

Before diving into the new title, Kanno shared the origin story of the original 1999 arcade game. While people often asked why he chose a taxi as the central theme, the concept didn't actually start with taxis. Bored by the flood of standard racing games focused on driving in the late 90s, he drew inspiration from high-speed car chases through city streets in films.

He spent a great deal of time figuring out how to implement this in a 3D urban environment, focusing on building a vibrant world where the sounds of pedestrians could be heard clearly. A core philosophy of the series was to design the game so that it constantly rewarded the player without penalizing them, ensuring that even in failure, the experience remained 'positive and fun.'

The new 'Crazy Taxi: World Tour' inherits the positive spirit of the original while achieving a massive leap in scale and detail. Moving away from the old approach of simply expanding a single city, the game now allows players to travel and race across various countries, living up to its 'World Tour' subtitle. The specific list of countries remains a marketing secret for now. Furthermore, the game introduces a clear 'Story Mode' for the first time in the series, utilizing deep world-building that was impossible in the arcade era to allow players to engage with and immerse themselves in the environment.

Multiplayer, a long-held wish of fans, is also fully supported. With many developers experienced in multiplayer projects on the team, they were able to seamlessly integrate the series' unique feel into a multi-user environment. As a result, the new game consists of both a single-player story mode and a multiplayer mode for playing with others online.

The gameplay evokes nostalgia for long-time fans while boasting an unprecedented level of freedom. Familiar areas return for original fans, and four new time-of-day settings allow players to enjoy driving in various atmospheres, such as downtown at night. Iconic techniques like the dash and drift remain, and the developers have designed the game to respect each player's unique style rather than forcing a single 'correct' way to drive.

The volume and eccentricity of the content have also been greatly expanded. Beyond the basic mission of transporting passengers to their destinations, the game offers various individual missions, including delivery tasks like pizza runs. In particular, the game features diverse activities that go beyond driving—such as physically driving your car underwater or even going fishing—ensuring there is never a dull moment. There are also side missions linked to the story expansion, some of which are so difficult that the developer jokingly remarked, "I'll be rooting for you."

Concluding his presentation, developer Kenji Kanno identified the ultimate goal of the project as 'creating a game where everyone can enjoy themselves in their own style and gain positive energy,' and expressed his gratitude to the fans who still remember Crazy Taxi.