Crazy Taxi

Lawsuit

The December 2003 lawsuit filed by Sega against Fox Entertainment claims that The Simpsons: Road Rage infringes on a patent owned by Sega of America. Specifically, Sega claims that The Simpsons: Road Rage gameplay is too close to that of Crazy Taxi. It was eventually settled in private.

The abstract for the patent reads as follows:

A driving game, wherein players having various driving skills--from beginners to those advanced--may enjoy both aspects of amusement and simulation in consistency. The game device of the present invention has an element for providing to a player a plurality of different movement modes upon moving the vehicle along a traveling line. Upon selection of a desired movement mode, a vehicle-driving game relating to the driving mode selected by the player is executed. Included in this plurality of driving modes are an assist mode in which auto-brake control is performed and a training mode in which various indications, such as the timing of the braking point, are given.

The full patent is available here.

Product placement

Product placement at its best: Kentucky Fried Chicken, Tower Records and Levi Jeans. Each one is present as a location in Crazy Taxi.

Information also contributed by Terrence Bosky