Crazy Taxi vs. The Simpsons: Road Rage
Ever since The Simpsons: Road Rage, a game that's based on The Simpsons teleivision series, was released a few years ago, many people have noticed how similar it is to Crazy Taxi, a popular arcade game that also became a hit in the home videogame market.
In both games you have to drive passengers to their destinations within a certain time period by any means necessary, even if you have to drive your car through a shopping mall or drive on the sidewalks. If you succeed, you get paid and if you drive really fast, you'll get rewarded with more time added to the end of the game. If you're running too far behind, your passenger will lose patience and bail right out of your car, thus you end up losing money.
I have a copy of both games for the Playstation 2 and they are pretty addicting in their own way. Crazi Taxi has a kick-ass soundtrack by The Offspring, four interesting characters to choose from (a spiky green-haired guy named Axel, a sexy woman named Gina, a hip-hop looking guy named B.D. Joe, and a chubby bald older guy with a gravelly voice and an attitude named Gus), and you get drive along realistic looking streets that resemble San Francisco. Road Rage has the Simpsons characters driving throughout the Springfield metropolitan area with some pretty witty banter (such as Chief Wiggins saying "Just say no to drugs, stay in school, yadda, yadda, yadda.") and some outrageous vehicles (such as Reverend Lovejoy's Book Burning Chariot, which is propelled on burning books like Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women").
The Simpsons: Road Rage also has some holiday-themed hidden cars that are revealed only if you play the game on a certain holiday. If you play on Halloween, you'll get Bart Simpson dressed as Frankenstein driving a Halloween-themed car. If you play on Thanksgiving Day, you'll get a car with Marge Simpson dressed as a pilgrim. If you play on Christmas Day, you'll get Apu dressed as Santa Claus driving a red car whose horn beeps "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." If you play on New Year's Day, you'll get a New Year's themed car with Krusty the Clown dressed in a tuxedo.
Both games were big hits on the home videogame market and both were re-released as part of the low-cost "Greatest Hits" line where older hits are priced around $19.99.
For years it was common knowledge that The Simpsons: Road Rage is quite similar of Crazy Taxi. Yet it was only recently that Sega of America, the company behind Crazy Taxi, has filed a lawsuit against Fox Interactive, which owns the rights to The Simpsons property, Electronic Arts, which published the Road Rage, and Radical Games, which developed the game, on the grounds that Road Rage is a knock-off of Crazy Taxi.
The only thing I'm wondering about is what took Sega of America so long to do something about this. If they felt that Road Rage was a knock-off, you'd think they would've filed this lawsuit a few years ago when Road Rage was at the height of its popularity. Road Rage is not a new game and the people behind that game has already made as much profit as they could. In fact, according to the story that I have already referred to, Road Rage has sold more than one million copies across multiple platforms worldwide. That's why Road Rage can be found so cheaply in the stores.
Well, anyway, Sega of America is seeking the removal of Road Rage from retail shelves, a recall of all existing copies, and unspecified damages in return for lost profits.
If you're looking for a videogame that could become a collector's item one day, then you'd better snatch up The Simpsons: Road Rage just in case a judge rules in favor of Sega of America. While you're at it, you could also get a copy of Crazy Taxi (which can also be found in stores for low prices) so you can see for yourself whether Sega has a case or not.
DISCLAIMER: This blog is based on one person's biased opinions of which videogames should be considered to be classics and why. It is not meant to provide a complete history of the videogame industry, the latest videogame news, technical support, or hints on how to play a certain videogame. None of the videogame manufacturers or programmers mentioned here have endorsed or supported this blog in any way, shape, or form.
NOTE: If there are any errors or updates to what I have written about this entry, please send an e-mail to [link=mailto:kstarkREMOVE-ALL-CAPS-IF-NOT-SPAM@erols.com]kstarkREMOVE-ALL-CAPS-IF-NOT-SPAM@erols.com[/link] (remember to remove the capital letters from my mailing address before sending or else it will get rejected) and I'll edit this piece when time permits.
CRAZY TAXI AND THE SIMPSONS: ROAD RAGE GAMES AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE
DREAMCAST
Crazy Taxi
Crazy Taxi 2
GAME BOY ADVANCE
Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride
The Simpsons: Road Rage
GAME CUBE
Crazy Taxi
The Simpsons: Road Rage
PLAYSTATION 2
Crazy Taxi
The Simpsons: Road Rage
WINDOWS
Crazy Taxi
X-BOX
Crazy Taxi 3
The Simpsons: Road Rage
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