Jet Set Radio details and contest announcement

Sega have released details on the upcoming digital release of the critically acclaimed and much-loved Dreamcast classic Jet Set Radio.

If you owned a Dreamcast you had to own Jet Set Radio. It was a sublime mix of funky graphics, fantastic soundtrack, addictive gameplay and a bizarre story that made it such a classic. Now Sega have finally gotten around to prepare a re-release of Jet Set Radio for Xbox LIVE Arcade, PlayStation Network and Windows PC Digital Download.

For those who have never had the chance to experience Jet Set Radio,You take control of The GG’s (short for Graffiti Gang) and go around vying for control of the futuristic Tokyo-to by marking their turf with graffiti tagged across walls, billboards and rival gang members while trying to avoid the law, who frown upon such an act that their police captain tries to shoot you when he gets the chance.

“Jet Set Radio lets players join the GGs, an up-and-coming street gang in the futuristic city of Tokyo-to, fighting for the right to self-expression against an overbearing, corporate-controlled police force. Rolling and leaping through crowded urban environments on magnetically driven inline skates, players take control of gang leader Beat and his growing posse of deviant artists as they steal turf from the local gangs by covering the city with colorful graffiti. Guided by Professor K, DJ for the hottest pirate broadcast in town – “Jet Set Radio” – the GGs will ultimately uncover the sinister plot hatched by the controlling powers of Tokyo-to.”

To celebrate the upcoming release, Sega will have a contest for US and UK Jet Set Radio fans to produce their own graffti (via digital means of course); “Eager fans will get a shot at designing eighteen brand new pieces of in-game art that will be seen by players the world over. Winners will receive a prize pack that includes a Rukus from Etón Corporation – the world’s first Bluetooth sound system with solar power – and a number of other wicked rewards.” To particpate in the contest visit www.sega.com/jsrcontest.

“Every time we look at our favourite SEGA classics, the fans never fail to ask about Jet Set Radio,” said Haruki Satomi, Senior Vice President of Digital Business at SEGA of America. “The game was unlike anything else when it first came out, and was one of the first games in history to use cel-shading. More importantly, Jet Set Radio is a game that celebrates self-expression, and we’re looking forward to seeing how gamers and artists come together to leave their mark on Tokyo-to.”

Below are screenshots to get you in the Jet Set Radio mood.