Game Skill

Welcome to part 2 of my short series about the Crazy Taxi 1 video game from the Sega Corporation.

In part 1 I talked the gameplay of Crazy Taxi 1 and how it changed car driving games. In this article I will discuss the games development and marketing and how Sega introduced in-game product placement a then-new and somewhat controversial addition to computer games.

Developing and Marketing Crazy Taxi 1

Hitmaker developed the arcade version of Crazy Taxi 1 at a variation from the other arcade games of the period. The cabinet version of Crazy Taxi ran on hardware from Sega Naomi and was originally a sit-down machine. Later, an upright machine was released. The game was made available for Sega Dreamcast, Nintendo GameCube, PS2, and Microsoft Windows over the next couple of years. On June 1, 2010, the South Korean game rating board revealed that Crazy Taxi 1 would soon be released on the Xbox Live Arcade. This information, as well as the fact that it was one of a number of Dreamcast games that would be made available for the PlayStation Network in the Fall of 2010, was officially released by Sega on June 10, 2010. These new game ports originally had an aspect ratio of 4:3, meaning when played on widescreen monitors, the game would be played between two blue bars. It was revealed in October 2010 that a widescreen version of the game would be implemented that would be a Dreamcast version featuring the game’s original arcade level. On November 23, 2010, the game was released for the PlayStation Network, and its release for the XBox Live occurred the next day.

In 2001, Sega received the 6,200,138th U.S. Patent for moving direction as an indication of method, method of game display, and drive-simulating and game apparatus. The 138th patent’s mechanics compared the arcade cabinet to previous Sega arcade games (L.A. Riders and Harley-Davidson, both released in 1997) but made sure to note Crazy Taxi 1′s unique pedestrian avoidance feature and arrow compass system.

Kenji Kanno, the producer of Crazy Taxi 1, made note that the gameplay’s time extension was implemented to differentiate the game from the three minute/100 yen status of arcade games at the time. The arcade version of the game gave players the reward of longer game periods for exceptional performance. In addition, Kanno designed the game to explore a taxi driver’s life and daily routine. For the original arcade game’s Dreamcast version, the designers featured a larger onscreen map to give players the feeling of being lost and the opportunity to learn while playing. This version also featured some unique minigames, which featured educational and fun challenges, such as longer gameplay for players who achieved improved skills. Over 100 minigame ideas were created, but they were then cut down to make room for the game’s minigame Crazy Box challenges.

Crazy Taxi 1′s soundtrack, for the Dreamcast, PS2, GameCube, and arcade versions, features songs from the famous bands The Offspring and Bad Religion. The game’s PC version featured a completely different soundtrack with music from Total Chaos, Too Rude, and Pivit. The XBox 360 and PS3 versions also feature original soundtracks; customized soundtracks for these game ports are available with the use of console system firmware.

Crazy Taxi 1: Advertisements within Gameplay

While passengers within the game can request to be taken to generic city locations, such as the lookout point, rail terminal, and police station, they may also choose to be driven to Tower Records, the Levi’s store, Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken, or the FILA sportswear outlet. Vans with the WOW! logo are also featured in the game. Each brand name chain is modeled as a game location. Crazy Taxi 1 hence is perhaps the best example of in-game product placement and marketing in the history of video games. Due to licensing difficulties, however, later versions of the game have had to replace the chain locations with generic business outlets.

Looking for more? I know how hard it can be, you read a helpful article like the one above but you’re still left thinking there’s something missing.