One Sega property that seems to always elicit a near-unanimous response of “Make another one!” is the Jet Set Radio series. Undeniably stylish and impeccably cool, it was an instantly recognizable Sega franchise that was cut down in its prime. The last game in the series, Jet Set Radio Future , released for the original Xbox in 2002, more than 15 years ago.
Dinosaur Games, a studio based out of Austin, Texas, was actually hard at work on a visual proof of concept for a new Jet Set Radio game. It would have made for an abundantly interesting new entry in the series had it come to fruition, but unfortunately, the studio’s efforts were ultimately rejected by Sega. Dinosaur Games’ Jesse Sosa took to Twitter to speak on the project, which the company discussed via one particular post on ArtStation.
“We made this visual proof of concept after Sony expressed interest in seeing the characters in motion at GDC 2017,” the post read. “We spent a week animating and building the city for this presentation which was ultimately turned down by Sega.”
According to Sosa, Dinosaur Games never “received any detailed information” from Sega as to why the idea was rejected, and that “Sony loved it.”
“To be honest,” Sosa tweeted, “I really don’t care if my studio ever gets to make this. I just want SOMEONE, ANYONE, to make a new Jet Set Radio.” That’s certainly a sentiment that seems to be shared by most anyone
The proof of concept shared in the video clearly shares the striking visual cues from the original game and improved on familiar characters in the same manner. It’s shocking to think that anyone who watched this video could have wanted to pass on another entry in the series. However, it could also have been a decision tied to the poor initial sales of the Xbox iteration of Jet Set Radio Future.
