The Simpsons: Hit & Run is on the verge of a comeback, according to Matt Groening during a panel for the franchise at the D23 event in California over the weekend.
The panel was asked about a possible second Hit & Run game in wake of the news that a second The Simpsons movie is in the pipeline, to which showrunner Matt Selman replied, “That would certainly be a treat.” Groening followed this up, stating, “I don’t know if I’m speaking out of turn, [but] I think the original game is coming back in some form,” prompting Selman to interject, “Or…not.” In an effort to derail that particular conversation, Groening added:
By the way, one of the first Simpsons games was The Simpsons: Road Rage. And people said ‘you can’t call it Road Rage, that will encourage road rage’. And we did it anyway, obviously, and then when the next game came out, which was Hit & Run, nobody had a problem.
Developed by Radical Entertainment, The Simpsons: Hit & Run was released for PS2, PC, GameCube, and Xbox in 2003, and follows the titular family and their friend, Apu, as they witness a series of strange events across Springfield, from crop circles to a ‘new and improved’ flavour of Buzz Cola that causes insanity. It’s soon discovered that these events are the result of an alien conspiracy caused by Kang and Kodos. The game features multiple playable characters in including Bart, Homer and Marge, with seven levels spread across three separate maps, all of which are packed with missions and sub-plots, while combining on-foot combat and driving sections.
The Simpsons: Hit & Run takes a lot of inspiration from the Grand Theft Auto series, offering a sandbox-style format that encourages driving freely as well as the ability to attract law enforcement by attacking civilians, blowing up vehicles and generally causing havoc across the game world. Hit & Run was widely praised by critics of the time and sold over three million units worldwide by June 2007, and remains a firm fan-favourite.
Recently, it was announced that the developer Radical Entertainment had returned as New Radical Games, which is a combination of the original studio and Hothead Games.
[Source – The Simpsons D23 Panel via VGC]