Crazy Taxi: World Tour announced, fans upset over GenAI use

DMC183

This looks like a pre rendered mobile game ad

SeedersPhD97

i've seen multiple folks, you included, talking about how no developers have been able to crack what made crazy taxi's driving so good but holy shit i wasn't expecting for even sega to not be able to figure it out cuz this might be the worst attempt we've seen in a long time...

Trouble “The Bradster” Man51

WHY THE FUCK EVEN HAVE A CAR IF YOU CAN JUST STOP INSTANTLY 😭

hitokirieric.bsky.social46

Maybe they just reused the Crazy Delivery code from Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth to save time.

CrummyLion26

"This game didnt use gen ai art. We just used it to help program stuff like physics and other hard stuff" The game:

GuyNamedJack20

I genuinely hate how I can feel how this plays from looking at it. I was expecting at least the gameplay to be competent, but this is just sad. They would've been better off spending the development time making a remastered collection of 1, 2, and 3 from M2, hell even throw the GBA game in there.

MoonWatcher17

Am I crazy or does the camera *twitch* every time he taps the curb too

DMC15

My local arcade has a japanese crazy taxi cabinet, I think i'll just play that instead

Jessie is me 🦊12

This looks like EVERY generic mobile pay-to-play game out there. Extremely lifeless honestly.

crystalqueen200.bsky.social11

Being able to just drive THROUGH traffic like it isn't even there looks really bad for game balance

tso11

AI reading as a corporate version of prefabs once again. Defauly lighting, no texture direction, boring animation

Seanmotionally Stunted10

They put the crazy taxi on mood stabilizers

MK Zero7

Ha ha ha, very funny Sega. Har-dee-har, ya got me. Now where's the real gameplay footage? .....fuck you mean "That IS real gameplay footage?" Shit look like a fake mobile game ad...DAMN you guys really blew it.

Alex7

Oh God this looks like fucking ass, just play the og at an arcade or emulator

Princess Flutters 🦋💖6

the cars it "crashes" into just flying away like ragdolls made of feathers, wow thanks very cool

Nico6

The Crazy Taxi homage in Yakuza 8 which is like 1% of that game's systems looks better than this

SuperYoshi5

I was worried for years about this reboot because Crazy Taxi has a far higher skill ceiling than it first appears under the hood and people love Simpsons Road Rage despite it playing like hot dogshit so it bugs me to no end when people say it's a hard concept to fuck up. It's shockingly easy!

Sega CD Pride Month5

I can't tell how it feels by looks alone but being able to stop like that breaks the game

Danny, Squaresoft's Official FFVIII Shill4

This looks like a mobile game ad, not even a game but one of those fake ads for a game. Man Jet Set is boned.

Kody Dotson4

None of you played the original Crazy Taxi on SEGA Dreamcast and it shows: youtu.be/nbXI2isTvug?...

☆「ＹＡＳＥ」IdolismJ ☆4

This looks like a fake video game in a commercial oh my god

lum @ comms open!3

oh ew why does the car just stop immediately on brake

Matthew3

I'm starting to think that maybe this game was average at best back in the day, and only it's soundtrack carried it

camron3

artificial intelligence except its a video game

Aoi3

looks like a mobile game ad

like_being_here3

just noticed that this doesn’t go into R gear for the entire video, even on drifts and stops. YIKES.

👑TTTTTsd👑3

I gotta be real maybe it's good they seem to have forgotten that other Streets of Rage game they were making

PAG | VickiViper θ∆3

Man why does this look like Saints Row instead of Crazy Taxi

Thray Walsh3

It really feels like they're banking an awful lot on getting the original soundtrack back, and the fact that they did is somehow more offensive?

MB the Small Town Machine3

Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah

SquidRadio3

This is the kinda footage you use in the background of a detective show or B-movie to show "VIDEO GAME" to the audience.

drag00nnight.bsky.social2

@unclesilver.bsky.social I wanted to get your take on this, as someone who actually played crazy taxi… It looks and feels off right? The comments point it out as well, and even my limited experience seeing crazy taxi played, it looks/feels off, but I wanted to get your thoughts as well!

Space Man2

also, why is it not running at 60fps? The og was SILKY SMOOTH. WTF is this 30fps at best bs?

🍉wooooooooods2

That shit looks like every other low budget arcade racer I’ve ever seen we’re so cooked

Greg With Two G's2

Feels like a game from an interstitial ad on YouTube. Complete dogshit energy. No momentum, no consequence.

Don Quiznostes2

Oh damn, it’s got the same momentum physics as Sonic 4 lmao

~~~Rixor~~~2

Just what Crazy Taxi needed. Sonic Frontiers missions.

SLaser362

God that drift alone makes me wanna die inside. Also the pizza stack blocking your view of lining up that downhill is ugh

Nickocalypse2

Gen AI sucks, but its integration so many tools recently doesn’t make their recent statement surprising. Like at all. Look what’s happened to Photoshop, sneeze and you use an ai tool. 😐 That being said: I wasn’t expecting INFINITE WEALTH TO DO THIS BETTER. m.youtube.com/watch?v=Yte9...

Strain42 but on Bluesky20

I literally JUST posted this on Twitter, came here, and your post was the first one I saw.

👑TTTTTsd👑15

Concept art not being considered a real asset here is killing me. Is that not the skeleton of what you’re putting in? What?

Flux8

This feels like using ai just for the sake of it. Like Sega mandated a more minimum amount of ai use, or something

Roundcat4

Or fuck, it's not like they can't go outside and see hundreds and millions of cars! In the country where they make the cars!

Dan4

I'm so tired of people making excuses for AI usage "Oh it's only for this, it's only for that..." They used it. That's the end. Period.

Urpgoarwazhere3

Just brings me to mind how Kyoto Animation would actually scout real-life locations to use them as reference. Like actually taking pictures and film of London for the K-ON movie.

Tevor the Third3

Also isn't the game set in real world locations? Are there no pictures of San Francisco anymore?

Rinric's Stompy Jamboree2

This feels a little bit like the execs telling the team to use the thing and the team used it to mollify C-suite guys, because this workflow makes no sense to me otherwise.

erin154

was talking about it with friends, and it feels as though there's a corporate mandate at SEGA and other publishers to use a certain amount of AI tokens, and studios have decided the single place they could cut the corners on was concept art.

Kuji (Comms Open!)138

"our artists couldn't think of anything themselves, or we didn't let them"

Haysey_Draws Sleepy Teachers79

... THERE IS A LITRAL CITY THEY COULD VISIT TO GET IDEAS FROM AND GET A FREE HOLIDAY WHAT THE HELL ARE WE DOING HERE?!

Jenny Chongo (Professional Dingus)46

*destroys a bit of the planet for the funsies of it all*

Disgruntled Mushroom38

This seems... inefficient to say the least

Alex35

What a pointless extras step that only exists because the actual cost of using AI hasn't hit them yet, every publisher will be singing a different tune once generating a single image costs $1000 each

Tak21

The human mind is not capable of imagining a car that goes fast otherwise

Mon 👻17

this still fucks over concept artists and removes creativity from the field how braindead and out of touch with our qualms are these companies 😭

mrschmiphf.bsky.social16

They aren't doing anything outside the scope of what game dev has been for literal decades at this point, but now instead of artists searching for a diverse set of reference material, they have to ask the robot to shart out what it thinks the person prompting it wants and copy that.

Cryptic_TX5515

But what even IS a taxi? Well, we hired the torment nexus to help explain what a taxi is.

Thomas Davis14

isn’t this literally what Larian said they were gonna do for Divinity and they still got (rightfully) clowned on for it

therealWokeKong10

This is probably the most egregious use of it so far from a AAA studio. Flat out admitting “yeah there’s zero creativity in this game, please give us your money anyways”

Lucas9

they needed AI to imagine how a city looks?

Miss Andrist9

spoke to a friend of mine who works in tech and she mentioned how her job has an honest to god AI token spending leaderboard. the people working dont actually *want* to use it, the technology is inefficient, but so long as Number Go Up, productivity must be increasing, is what the execs think.

Straw Hat/Kylo Ross8

Sega in 2 years when AI becomes too expensive to continue to operate for artistic endeavors, so they have to hire sketch artists again and look at all the new hires rolling in:

Cryptic_TX558

I don't understand this logic anyway If you "have an idea" and type it into FlurgoAI, and FlurgoAI spits something back out at you...like...that's no longer your idea. It has been tainted. How do I know you were actually thinking of the thing it spit out?

Everyday until a New Darkstalkers is announced7

I did use AI some time ago, trying it out to develop concepts, really, that shit smooths your brain and stunts your imagination. Its Lazy.

🐺 Drawing "4 // Itchy. Tasty." since 1996 🐺7

So it's just quite literally copying from AI, which in itself stole from other artists. This is such stupid shit.

Dylan6

what fucking earth-shattering ideas do you need from the ground-up for CRAZY TAXI????

Leonix6

AM3 DEVELOPED CRAZY TAXI IN A CAVE WITH A TICKET PLANE AND A BOX OF CDs

💖Ella The Sister Kisser💖 Evie's Strongest Sister6

The concept of San Francisco simply cannot be dreamt up but for a machine

Iron Joe6

isn’t this exactly what people accuse Palworld of

ultracyber5

honestly I'd argue this is even worse than just using AI assets because that means they didn't even have a proper concept for the game, there's no actual ideas behind it just slop

Mark5

At this point I'm just done and exhausted. I'm not getting the game either way which sucks because its announcement was awesome up until the AI shit came to light. What a trash fire Sega better keep the AI away from every other game they're making.

🍁 Ghades 🏳️‍🌈5

"Grok, draw me a taxi."

TQuick5

"Our creative team is so uncreative they need ai to come up with anything."

Ranveld4

dev: Computer, generate me an idea for uhhhh taxi. I want it to be crazy. computer: Crazy Taxi dev: Oh my god.

An Anonymous User4

Gonna be a relief when the AI bubble finally pops.

Darisucc ☃️ (Also on VGen!)4

Whats crazy is that when this whole ai thing was first getting started, this is what people said an ethical use for ai *would be*, but now that ai has developed so much, and we've learned so much more about it, this is still like really stupid and ultimately still really harmful to the planet

Orlando B ✍️ COMMS OPEN3

... Y'know what, that is actually such a stupid and creatively compromised process that I can actually believe that execs would have people doing it...

Fynn Bytez3

Others have pointed out the corporate mandate which maybe but this also reads like trying to find the one thing you can cut that will get gamers to stop yelling at you over it cause AI has been shown to be game poison for sales. This is also why they didn't want to disclose it in exacts.

WilsonXp3

Honestly it does feel like a corporate mandate from SEGA to use AI in some sense. Makes me even more worried about what other games will be impacted cuz of this.

Thrinaga Battleheart 🏳️‍🌈🩷💜💙3

Y'know what the worst part is? Since ATLUS is a Sega subsidiary, there's probably going to be LLM use during the development of Persona 6. Aaaaand unfortunately all of the people who've only played Persona 3/4/5 are gonna buy it first day when it does come out, regardless of GenAI use

Me when I don’t know how to think for myself

TheGhostGalleon3

It's a popular city and cars in a game series they've already made before. Just use street view or play the old Crazy Taxi. I was excited for the game until this silly AI nonsense.

Chronuckle3

I don't even believe that, since they said in another statement to Game Informer how "background assets" generated were "subject to review". That doesn't sound like everything was replaced.

Lizardguy | check pinned post3

Sounds like an unneeded extra step. They could've just had ideas.

Jenny Drac angry scientist2

So either they used it to shut up their bosses and never actually bothered with it or they just didn't have any ideas.Neither looks great

Cal ✧Very Tired✧2

That's an incredibly stupid and inefficient way to do things

Nico | FourVentus Webcomic OUT NOW!2

You already let the AI do your work with that.

FUPA Troopa2

How else could you make taxis in san francisco?

William Wismer2

I'd bet real money that the actual art team hated doing this and only did so because corporate demanded it.

Thomas Daniel2

Very distressing seeing so much people accept that this is okay actually because the game looks fun enough. They will keel diluting the waters forever

Pineapple Spotter2

It’s interesting seeing comments and types of people deflecting from any of this by pointing to the quality of the gameplay. Like if Sega sees successful toleration of generative assets in Crazy Taxi, there’s a feasible path to having a new JSR where Naganuma’s music gets GenAI’d. And people will

Gryph2

Translation: The bosses made us use it, then we just threw it away when they weren't looking

Lexo2

Making a wild guess here, but this game’s was teased in Dec 2023, possibly started development earlier in 22-33. Back then, GenAI tools was still a novelty enough for devs to try out, either cuz they were experimenting (E33), corporate mandates, or possibly both. I would not be shocked if… (1/?)

Kat 🏳️‍🌈 🇵🇷🌴☀️✨2

RGG destroying their Yakuza series SEGA and the devs fully using GenAI to come up with ideas for new games I’m not gonna buy this or any of SEGA’s games on the foreseeable future cause this is a huge disrespect to the craft and passion of making games Genuinely fuck you SEGA

Noir2

...this is so fucking redundant and stupid

Vincent Becherer (BOARD ARTIST AVAILABLE FOR WORK!)395

Respect your decision to still play it, Jeff, but IMO this is kinda exactly what I fear execs are hoping for with genAI slop. That people will overlook its use and the consequences of it (artists not paid, planet destroyed) because a game “looks fun.”

Super Phase219

It’s crazy how as soon as Gen AI came out everyone forgot how to do the jobs that have been making great games since the fucking 80’s 🤷🏼‍♂️

Beef208

All I'm hearing is they're not hiring (any? as many?) concept artists because they'd rather some machine generate it. I guarantee that when this comes out we'll find obvious AI assets that they "forgot to remove." Disappointing, and I won't be playing it.

Carlos Avilés 166

I hate that they are doing this, because even if they then redo the art it’s still going to be heavily biased by whatever the theft machine vomitted

Brian B. Pickens161

"I'm gonna play the game still." There's the problem.

Paresh Maharaj158

Oh so the exact same line Larian used when they got called on it. Good to know everyone is sharing notes I guess. 🙄

Roler42140

Remember when Sonic Team just walked outside to the streets of their San Francisco based studio and used many landmarks from the city to make the levels for Sonic Adventure 2? And that was for the Dremcast, 25 years ago. There's no excuse to be using the slop machine, period.

breakfastmarsupial.bsky.social86

ending this video with “i don’t like it but it looks fun and i’m still going to play it” is such a cop out. stand for nothing, fall for anything

CurtDogg78

"I'm still gonna play it" Jeff cmon bro, that sentiment is why companies keep using AI.

Slein77

I will skip out on this game. Not going to forgive them for using AI like that. There's enough games without the use of AI anyway to keep me busy, so they are making it easier for me to choose what games I should play.

🔞Senor🔞62

two dudes whose professional field is at risk of getting replaced by plagiarism chatbots watching another professional field be replaced by plagiarism chatbots: "game still looks fun! game looks really good!"

Trev | MagicFireRose47

"I'm gonna play the game still" I don't like that.

AlpineCamembear46

It's still slop, whether someone looks it over or not.

V-Rider 🏍️31

Grubb, I love you, but this sucks. Didn't you say that they wanted to build a data center near you a while back? Doing sh*t like this makes them think it's okay to do that. Listen, as much as I would love to play it too, it's not worth it.

ray28

Oh well good bye Crazy Taxi, one less game I have to worry about

Zi 🔜 Furality28

I don't get people who say "This sucks. I wish it weren't so.", but when given a chance to vote with their money/influence, it's "I'll play it anyway." Whatever your values are, at least act accordingly. It looks FUN though! Hands are tied. Can't stand by beliefs when there's FUN to be had.

Berserkerkitten26

Paying real concept artists instead of using a tool that steals from them whilst destroying the planet seems like the morally superior choice, but wtf do I know.

Brian C.25

Really glad you asked the question, appreciate the answer received, but the "I'm gonna play it anyways" is a huge bummer response.

Punk [COMMISSIONS SOON???]24

How about you stick to your values, support real artists, and like NOT play it anyway?

FerengiFreak24

I love Crazy Taxi. Had it on the Dreamcast as a kid. I’m skipping this game though. I’ll stick with the OG.

Reese Jensen24

You guys were just discussing this weekend how thousands of games get released each month. There are simply too many cool games to play and cover; there’s no need to give air to ones causing active harm. That includes gen AI, and IMO anything under Microsoft while they’re funding genocide.

ross manthorp23

This is such a shame to hear. Would love to see you folks take a harder stance on this.

guynamedgatsby.bsky.social21

This is the slippery slope they want. We accept it for “reference” then concept art, then background assets, then minor characters, then finally we are conditioned to be ok with a full AI game. They did the same shit with Microtransactions and people are falling for it again.

Pride Flopie Sue ΘΔ20

And this is exactly why people shouldn't have let Expedition 33 off the hook for their AI usage. The relative lack of pushback from the community and the absurd amount of awards made studios think they can get away with it... And unfortunately so far they've been correct

Kayleigh McKee 🟡 🔜 Animate Columbus!18

Stealing work from concept artists and generally ending up with a worse product all while destroying the environment. Commendable!

🦇Lulu & Lavy😈17

"I wish we didn't have to deal with this." My brother in Christ you're the one that "Gonna play it anyways" and giving them money to make you deal with it more!

鋼のStephen Meyerink17

With much respect for the people and history of GB, it is terribly disappointing to see y'all throw your hands up like this and act like you have no control over whether or not you cover / play this game. You do, and in my opinion, you should exercise that control. There are tons of games out there.

VƎX Werewolf17

Any game that has AI slop in it will not get a penny of my money.

Weatherby16

Are you guys afraid of losing access to things or what? Why is the current Giant Bomb so adverse to having a backbone? It was never a problem for the site before, and they were *owned.*

SpagDretti15

Look as long as no AI was used for game assets I guess it’s whatever I wish they didn’t use it at all because they don’t need it. Even using it for examples for artists follow makes like no sense because the examples should be prior crazy taxi games

ChristinaC.🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️13

Not interested in any games journalism site that’s going to carry any amount of water for game companies using genAI. You are the enemy if you’re “going to play it anyway”

Mon 👻13

They're replacing concept artists. Idk why people are so okay with one of the most important creative jobs being offloaded to an unthinking theft machine

Airahn13

"no but we really like Harry Potter though" type answer

Rick Desilets | The D-Pad13

"This sucks, but I'm gonna buy and play it anyway" is exactly the same in the corporate checkbooks as "I loved this, and that's why I'm gonna buy and play it" Find your spines, gentlemen.

Benjamin13

"Game looks fun, still gonna play it." I think that sucks guys. Where is your solidarity.

Moonlight Breeze12

After such a fun SGF series of Giant Bomb streams, it was honestly disappointing to just hear with a shrug "looks fun, I'm still gonna play it."

Eric12

It’s not that Jeff is gonna play the slop game. It’s that GB will cover and promote the slop game. Feels spineless. Not looking forward to seeing content on the site for this one. I’d appreciate if the site would stand up for their industry.

Tom Voros12

As a longtime fan and GB subscriber, I'd hope to see you guys take a stronger stance against AI. Many of us don't have much of a voice in this industry but you do. Please help us push back on this crap!

PlayWithTheJ12

Meanwhile, if you're still looking for your nostalgia hit after witnessing this disappointment, there's stuff like Star Garden. Made with actual human ingenuity. store.steampowered.com/app/3370970/...

Ash the Art Goblin11

Shame it used the plagerism horror nexus machine, now I'll never touch it. Shame on creatives who support AI. It's not the future, it's the past being stolen- repackaged and resold.

Mia Serena Official11

No. I don't care how fun it looks, them using AI is a surefire way to get me to not play the game. And this comes right after implementing an AI chatbot in Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis, so this is strike 2 for me. One more and I'll probably just not bother with Sega anymore.

Vidya210

Here's what the Crazy Taxi: World Tour director Kenji Kanno -and SEGA at large- don't understand about the use of generative AI: No.

braktheman9

This video is really disappointing to me. Do better, Giant Bomb.

Nayan Ramachandran9

Yeah guys, this take ain't it. If you don't push back, it'll only get worse. People you know in the game industry are losing their jobs permanently because of the proliferation of AI, and you don't seem particularly concerned about this.

tamm9

Hey man good to know you accept a lower quality product for more money that fucks over more people because you need your nostalgia slop shoveled into your mouth like a pig at a trough.

applestooranges02.bsky.social9

”The game looks really fun, I just hate how this cloud is sorta hanging over it” This isn’t a cloud, my guy, this is a whole ass tornado

Astral-Enby9

What's the point of asking if you'll turn around and ignore it to play anyway? Really disappointing lack of spine

Be Cool, Be Wild, Be Eric8

Kind of wish you guys wouldn’t play it regardless.

DJClicheDarkness7

We literally already have crazy taxi. Sure the new one might have some new shit, but we could just play the already existing one and not miss out on much at all. ESPECIALLY if you are supporting AI by playing it. It already exists and they STILL needed to use AI? Ya that's just pure cockshit.

KamEwing7

"I'm not happy with this, but I'm still going to give them my money. Therefore reinforcing to the companies that it's alright to use AI cause it won't change anything, and I'm still going to by the game." This is what you sound like.

Pink Freud7

This doesn't even have the excuse of being a complex fan project made by one person and released for free. There's no need to buy this. None. At all.

Bologna Amputation7

Wow, way to taint a beloved product. Eugh.

airjason.bsky.social7

"As long as the game is fun, I will excuse the use of gen AI" is not something I like to hear from the GB guys. I'm disappointed.

V's7

Yeah this ain't it, boys.

RiK Mack!7

So they're boiling the planet to replace their visdev workers for stuff that you're not even directly using? Yeah, no thanks. If you can't visualise a CITY when you live in one I don't think you deserve to be in business.

Marc Deschamps7

Very well said, guys. It’s frustrating, because these guys made a great version of San Francisco decades ago, and now they can’t do that without some AI garbage? I’m not gonna lie, this one hurts.

Peter G7

No. Just no. If you're willing to accept AI at any point in the development cycle, then it's only a matter of time before developers and publishers assume you're okay with it everywhere.

Dan Johnson will design games for food7

"No way to avoid this"-ass take.

Kirbeat em up7

"I'm going to play it anyway" is a very poor, disappointing response. Please reconsider.

Dan Williams 🌮6

There is no way crazy taxi is good enough to warrant a response like this, even if you're worn down from being bombarded by AI in games these days. You can always change your mind.

Jenny7536

"I'm still gonna play it though." Yeah! Way to stand up for your beliefs, guys!

President Pervert D. Hoover6

(extremely loud incorrect buzzer noise)

Trash6

"still gonna play it" guuuuuys

Keiros6

“I don’t like AIgen but the game looks fun, so I don’t care I’ll still play it!” Congrats on being part of the problem of why AI bros keep shoving this tech down everyone’s throats. Apathy is the biggest reason why the gaming industry continues to get away with shitty business practices.

Three Deers in a Deer Suit5

"I'm still gonna play it" Thanks for being part of the problem, asshole.

Octogenius5

yall should be better than this. cmon man. journalism is power, you don't have to just eat the shit they feed you.

Reky5

If you still wanna play crazy taxi get a fucking dreamcast and play it on there you flaccid human being

Laika, Free Palestine 🍉5

I wish you guys would take a stronger stand against this, you sound excited to play the slop even though you wish it wasn’t slop! Have a little more backbone!

Narrative Matters (@itsnarrative on Twitter)4

Respectfully, I think this is a bad stance. Saying a lot of talented people worked on the game is basically a non sequitur when the issue is that the game specifically used genAI to replace other workers. Taking a principled stand means that you're going to have to *not* play some fun-looking games.

Andy4

People saying that they'll still play a game with AI used in it are basically just leading the way to normalization of that use Historically every unpopular garbage that became accepted went through the same experience, some doorknob hated it but did it, and than everyone accepted

Mx.Cryptid4

"i'm gonna play the game still" skill issue. don't support the dogshit plagiarism machine that destroys the fucking planet. it's that fucking simple

ozwalled4

More people need to be letting developers know that if there's generative AI used in the making of your product, at any stage, in any way, that We. Are. Not. Buying. It.

⚡ Shaz Shanghari4

Disappointing that we’re not actively speaking out about this out of fear that it’ll mean getting blacklisted from events and coverage, but I imagine that’s exactly what the games industry is banking on.

prideful smurf4

There’s a million fun games you’ve never played that haven’t used those tools. Fuck their game and company.

CuteMonster Props4

Go drink some data center runoff and tell me again that you're cool with the job stealing machine making you feel nostalgic. The lack of conviction around what amounts to a toy is embarrassing.

Reyn4

I think the most exhausting thing about this is just how pointless it truly is. Whatever amount of money or time they're "saving" by cutting out concept artists can only be microscopic. But the amount of bad blood and burned bridges they gain from using AI isn't worth it. It's a net loss.

barfspackle4

These replies are a great example of why Bluesky has a reputation of being insufferable

Spoony Bard4

Bunned they are using AI, even more bummed to hear "still going to play it".

Lobsterboy4

Damn didnt yall have like, standards or values at some point?

Kudan3

Yeah nah it's a skip, there are TOO MANY videogames that make it so easy to ignore the AI slop, give them an inch and they'll take a mile.

jackside_disaster3

This doesn't lend them credibility, it only hurts yours.

Danny, Squaresoft's Official FFVIII Shill3

“I’m still gonna play it” then with all honesty why should we care about your opinion on the media at all?

Flynntheghost3

I am NOT going to play this game. Because I have a conscience and self-respect.

ozwalled3

As soon as companies reluctantly admit to using generative AI to make their product, reviewers and reporters should be dropping a wet fart and walking away for wasting everyone's time, and certainly not encouraging them to do it again with a "but I'll play it anyway".

Gami Cross3

If you can't do your job without AI then you don't deserve the job.

Gingerzilla3

Everyone that does art says this is an insane way to do things so why are they doing it? Is it just so they can say they're using AI to investors so they can get a chubby? I need to understand because the tech itself is incapable on producing work that can pass an acceptable quality bar.

Hi I'm Chi!3

So having AI do the job that they definitely have concept artists for...they couldn't of just used a mood board or something?

Viktor Engholm - Immortal Guardian: AEGIS vol 1 OUT NOW3

If you dislike the practice just nut up and don't play it, don't cover it. Paying and playing is accepting.

Emm Kaede🐶🍁3

Alright so you're a part of the problem...

Conando3

Yeah, no thanks. Damn shame.

Cozmic Caztaway3

Mike's definitely correct in "Why do you even need AI for this?" On an unrelated note, damn am I jealous of @grubb.wtf's haircut.

Ryan Walker3

this post and the staff responses to it is the thing that made me cancel my premium sub. just in case there's anyone there keeping track of that kind of data.

Asa Gray3

Not trying to pile on, but this is a bummer.

Bondforged Osha 🏳️‍⚧️3

Lots of complaining but ultimately zero beliefs. You guys suck.

Kitty Dorkling3

nope. it's a hard line.

izzi, librarian bitmap3

Very disappointing and I'm done with GB if the attitude is to say it's a shame but the genAI-made slop looks fun so you'll play it anyway

Lamont Cranston3

Yea I don’t think “🤷 still gonna play it” is the best angle here Jeff.

Blackthorn2

Yeah that's a pass. There's already too many games available to play that *aren't* made by the plagiarism-slop machine. I can just stick to the original. Why would I ever want to buy and play something a person couldn't be bothered to actually make?

DuckingGoodtime2

“Please let me keep interviewing you. I’ll slob your knob. Lemme clean all that AI ball sweat off” -You, after already uttering the pathetic line of “still gonna play it” Absolute clown shit. May your pillow always be soggy.

BulletproofMoon2

Love you dudes, but this ain't it

TedFallenger🔞[COMMS OPEN]2

So they're using the AI for the... creative part?

TV's Adam, getting some buzzards involved,2

hey hey hey it's time to not spend my cah-RAAAA-zy money

mesos2

That justification is taking away art like what Yoji Shinkawa did

‏Greg2

Not only is your take bad but it ALSO does not align with Sega's own words, which indicate that it was used to generate "background assets," and will in fact appear in the game. gameinformer.com/2026/06/07/s...

ragingacadian.bsky.social2

Well i guess I’m cancelling my GB Premium …

Avery2

yeah jeff fuck yeah fuck concept artists in the games industry who cares glad you‘re getting your goo goo ga ga taxi game

snoozysnoopy.bsky.social2

To elegantly outline exactly why their explanation is bullshit and disappointing, but then admit that you're going to cave and play anyway, is such a letdown guys. This is how AAA gaming rots.

Angst | 🐉Like a Dragon🐉2

Absolutely lost respect for you guys after this one

Gir2

Fuck him and fuck "his" game

Jay2

It is nice of Grubb to hunch down to make Mike feel taller. That's a good friend.

GreenGuy2

In a way, this is calling to mind how people would loudly spend money on garbage and go "but I'm doing it ironically!" when called out for it. "But I don't like it" dollars are worth exactly as much as "I love it" dollars to the corporations.

Professor Otaku2

Today in Grubb drops the ball.

readensteel.bsky.social2

I could not care less about the use of gen ai in this game and I probably won’t ever play it but if you’re going to call this out then don’t play the game. It’s like eating a dodo burger while lamenting that they’re extinct. Love the boys and love the site ❤️

Ashezth2

Bye GB, was fun while it lasted.

Peter G34

Good to know I can completely ignore this game.

Slapdash SFW32

"Ai" and "creative" do not belong in the same sentence

Brian Shea13

Update: I asked the lead producer on the project to provide more details on his team's use of generative AI on Crazy Taxi: World Tour. Here's what he said: bsky.app/profile/game...

That Sea Pilot9

What should be noted is SEGA has AI tools and "enables" their teams to use it. Should we remind them what happens if they get caught?

"bluesky modder aagaming"7

they need to elaborate on what "Assets" means smh

The T.C.4

Yeah aunno this AND denuvo like that's just too much poison.

Noetic2

As a game programmer, I think LLMs, particularly if being run on local hardware, are totally acceptable to use for code. That being said, using them for anything else, especially when using them from a datacenter, is not acceptable. So this was the wrong answer from Sega.

Plate Stealer12

"We only used it for concept art that real artists recreated" is the step before players see it in the game and then it becomes "oh we just used them as placeholders and must have missed these ones"

Faye Alexandria8

the shaming must never stop until they owe up and stop using the damn stuff. simple as that.

Bald Capybara7

I would argue we don't need a new crazy taxi game at all; what's left to mine in that game? You drive irresponsibly for money to that one Offspring song they kind of nailed it in one

Timmy the Madfox6

Full confession: as someone who's literally been a SEGA fan since childhood, this actually hurts. 💔 I was actually looking forward to the new Crazy Taxi game, but knowing what I know now? That's a big no thanks. I have 2 SEGA Dreamcasts and a copy of Crazy Taxi 1 & 2 for both of them. Heck... 1/2

Desert Signal4

I was SO excited to see Crazy Taxi come back until I found out about the genAI usage, I've never felt my excitement deflate so fast before... This makes me seriously worried about the rest of games that Sega is reviving, I swear if JSR has genAI assets or even AI graffiti...what are we even doing?

ChrisFratz2

This is making me worried about that new Jet Set Radio. But at least we have Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, and iirc Team Reptile is making a new game in that world too.

Interceptor Aficionado2

Yeah, that's a huge "No thanks" from me. I have a functioning DC and a copy of Crazy Taxi. I'm good, SEGA. Also, as a 2pac fan, what the actual fuck?

nemof66

if you need to play it for your job you should. you can also highlight the use of AI and BDS and leave it up to viewers whether they want to engage with those things. dont let your whole day be filled up by this. i get why people were irked by the vid, but socials are where discourse goes to die <>

cole van h27

I think it's cool you guys asked about it and then shared what their response was. Didn't see that from other folks/outlets at SGF

nine27

I’m not sure this reaction stops at Crazy Taxi. The people who are yelling don’t care that it’s in this one game, they hate the tech in any game now because it’s literally destroying peoples lives, finances and the planet.

ydross.bsky.social25

As you said yourself "voting with your wallet" does not really work. What works is speaking up and being loud about it. You are in a great position to be vocal about the issue. I think that matter more than playing or not playing a game

moodytenure.bsky.social20

I love the internet. No room for nuance, just people endlessly looking to own other people for consumer choices. Just this meme, all the way down

ogto16

i retract my earlier "bummer" comment.

ragingacadian.bsky.social13

I thought the point of independence and supporting you guys with Premium was so that you wouldn’t “need” to do anything like that.

Kaine🇵🇸🏴13

I think it’s fine to be frustrated with the situation, but choosing to cover games that use this technology does help normalize it. If Giant Bomb can’t say ‘no’ to games that use AI for the most basic tasks how are consumers supposed to push back? Outlets like you guys can sway more than you think

TJR13

If they send you a review code, please play it. Be honest with your review and. Point out the good and bad. It is buying the game that is the bummer.

Cuck E Cheese13

Frustrating reddit post, full of comments by people who receive no scrutiny for their stances and can't extend grace to people whose job it is to react quickly.

Adam12

I hate that we’re all made to feel like shit while these studio heads and CEOs get to discard artists, steal material & resources, and make us all feel guilty with zero consequences. And now I feel like a bully and hate myself a little bit more today.

J Dub8

Sorry you're getting piled on, people are clearly passionate about this. It's a nuanced subject that warrants a continued conversation and y'all don't deserve the vitriol.

Geo8

Publishers are not going to care until the bottom line starts getting effected. If you have to play these games sure but I'm hoping some strong independent outlets can bake in a score penalty...say minus a half or a full star for AI use Oh you wanted that metacritic score higher? Shouldnt use AI.

Andrew McCarthy6

I hope this is a decision you’ve reached yourself and not one you feel you had to make because of pressure.. becuse they would suck. Regardless. You continue to be a good person, Jeff. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.

Bees, or Whatever6

I mean, odds are you probably HAVE played a game that used GenAI at this point. Doesn’t change how you personally feel about it, and you have been vocal. People just wanna fight. It’s not worth it. Keep doing what you do.

Lil Nibbler, LBWI4

Grubb I think you can play Crazy Taxi. Imo you just can't buy it. Image below unrelated.

HPAlpha4

Also the fact that most large developers are likely already using AI and refusing to disclose it because they know it's poison

fanciestofcats.bsky.social4

We always have retro games. I look forward to Giant Bomb Blast Corps week

Jaskel3

I know I get wound up on the hype during a convention (especially if a favorite gets shown off), so I get not entirely thinking through something like that off the cuff. I am a little surprised the video made it out on Bsky without someone at GB going "Wait, maybe we shouldn't post this as-is."

Zoobamaphooza3

Just play the game if you wanna play it, dude. This shit will be in every game pretty soon, there's only so much we can do as fans of the medium. It's in every industry. It's everywhere. No ethical consumption etc etc.

notoriously.bsky.social3

Good on you to reflect on your decisions!

kingmardan.bsky.social2

Look Grubb... I saw the clip and... I really like that T-shirt and think it's rad.

Socks @ Furality Booth 505714

And now I’ve learned that the offspring has been using genAI in their music videos. So looks like we’ll have to do one better than them too lmao.

Regular Car Reviews9

And the world’s only functioning crazy taxi was built by furries!

Sharkey5

Furry Con 20XX, Neo San Fransisco. You're a Driver with Socks Inc, the hot new ride share service for furries one a desperate schedule and nothing to lose. How many furries can you get to and from dinner before the night market opens up???

Vivian4

this is the best reply to this post so far. Do i get my sona in due to virality.

The Adventures of the Fox in the Fedora3

Not a programmer or anything, but if ya ever get it off the ground, I got a whole bunch'a voice actors (furry and non) that would be so down for a project like this.

caylee 🏳️‍🌈🐱🤖🏳️‍⚧️2

i once recreated all of Crazy Taxi's UI for a project and if i can find the time i'd 100% be down to do this lmao

RUSTPUPPY2

I volunteer for the entire soundtrack

Sega CD Pride Month6

It's good that developers that lean on this are very obviously ashamed/embarrassed when they have to disclose or answer questions about it though.

smbflurry2

Crazy Taxi background assets are literally things like a KFC lol. They could have just done the same thing with more modern restaurants/stores, got some product placement deals to subsidize licensed music and had a decent game.

I think my name is Germendoza or something?2

Yup. Such a shame unfortunately they use ai. Hope Sega can hear all the backlash and respond. (which I hope they do because I also kinda doubt they would make a statement).

Stephen Kleckner6

Has it been done before? If the answer is yes, then was it ancient aliens?

Jtduckman3

they were able to put crazy taxi on the game boy advance without using AI, there's no reason why they would need to use it for a modern installment

KrsJin2

I’m actually having a hard time finding what Sapporo Studio has even worked on to get a baseline for their stuff.

Lena LaVey 🏳️‍⚧️2

We can't have nice things anymore. That blast of excitement from hearing the Offspring once again has been ruined

𝕲𝖔𝖉𝖘 𝕻𝖚𝖓𝖈𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝕭𝖆𝖌2

Went from day 1 buy, to a not a snowballs chance in heck in an instant :(

benstylus 🐧 The Once and Future Urban Champion2

Sega using Gen AI saves so much money though... ...so much of MY money when I don't buy their games.