The Simpsons producer Matt Selman has stated that he'd "love to see" a remaster of cult classic The Simpsons: Hit & Run, but claims legal issues would make it very difficult to actually happen.
Speaking with IGN regarding The Simpsons: Hit & Run, Selman claims that trying to get a remastered version of the game out on store shelves would be a "complicated corporate octopus" and that it may never happen as a result. Whilst not outright referencing Disney, it's difficult to see Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox not somehow affecting the legality of a Hit & Run remaster.
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Selman then goes on to explain how a creative battle was fought between developer Radical Entertainment and then publisher Vivendi Games on Hit & Run's open-world elements. According to Selman, Vivendi wanted "another driving game" and there was significant pushback from the development team to instead make a Grand Theft Auto inspired Simpsons game.
"We were all playing Grand Theft Auto at the time and the publisher… they just wanted another driving game. And we were like, everyone's playing whatever version of Grand Theft Auto, people need to get out of the cars," explains Selman. "That was a huge creative battle over whether it was just a 'driving around doing missions' game or a 'getting out of the car and doing missions' game. But I do think the battle was worth fighting."
Almost 20 years later, it seems like that decision was a very good one indeed. The Simpsons: Hit & Run is considered a cult classic nowadays, even beating out games like GTA: San Andreas in polls regarding most wanted remasters. The game is also incredibly popular amongst the speedrunning community, with the world record sitting at a mightly impressive 1 hour 20.
Funnily enough, Hit & Run isn't the only game where a remaster is unfeasible due to legal reasons. Fan remakes of GoldenEye have been routinely shut down by the James Bond license holder, and is likely the reason why we haven't seen a GoldenEye remaster yet either. In the words of Bart Simpson, corporate bureacracy can "eat my shorts."
Source: GameSpot
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