Why is Sega making its new Crazy Taxi, a series about wacky driving shenanigans, a "triple-A" game?

Sega's upcoming new Crazy Taxi will apparently be a "triple-A" title, but, uh, Sega does know it's a goofy arcade game right?

When you think about Crazy Taxi, you probably don't think that it's high budget, or has the best graphics in the world, or that it has the most in-depth gameplay ever, but you do probably think about how it's just good, simple fun. It's not really the kind of game that fits the triple-A bill, yet it seems like that's what Sega is trying to do with it. In a recent interview with Japan Times, head of Sega's Sapporo Studio and senior executive officer Takaya Segawa spoke of some of the titles that it's worked on and is working on.

"We’re responsible for titles such as Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis and Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage! in cooperation with the bases in Tokyo and overseas," Segawa said. "We are also participating in the development of triple-A titles, including Crazy Taxi." Segawa's comments suggest that Sapporo Studio is just assisting on the game it's working on, though, as he went on to say, "At present, we don’t have any titles developed independently by the studio, but we intend to do so in the future."

Sega revealed that it is reviving Crazy Taxi, alongside other classics within its catalogue like Jet Set Radio and Streets of Rage, last year during The Game Awards, as part of an overall effort to breathe new life into its older and underutilised IP. It's possible that the lot of them could be a part of Sega's mysterious super game, which would make the triple-A description make a lot more sense, as giving a game like Crazy Taxi a triple-A budget seems like a bit of an odd choice. For now, though, we'll have to wait a little longer to see what Sega has planned for the classic arcade game.