It's been nearly 20 years since The Simpsons: Hit & Run released, and fans are ravenous for a remake. Developer Radical Entertainment dared to ask what a Simpsons game inspired by Grand Theft Auto might look like, and the resulting creation was a best-selling hit that we still can't get out of our heads all these years later.
There have been one or two decent enough Simpsons games in the years since, but nothing has ever come close to the joy of driving around a virtual Springfield sandbox. If you haven't donned Homer's muumuu and gone on an epic crime spree running down civilians in Mr Plow, have you ever truly experienced the joy of video games? I don't think so.
While we're still unlikely to see a remake or sequel anytime soon (if ever), the fans are doing what they can to keep the flame alive. Just last week we covered a successful petition with over 16,000 signatures under its belt. It's worth noting that this petition has been floating around for five years, yes, but that's not bad going for a 17-year-old game, is it?
Advert
"Public demand definitely warrants a sequel," Hassan Mohammad wrote in the petition, which is now near its goal with over 22,000 signatures. "I'm astonished one hasn't been made yet, or alternatively a remastering of the original game. I hope it can be made possible through the means of this petition. If you are nostalgic about this game and would love to see another one made, you know what to do!"
Sadly, making a new Simpsons Hit & Run isn't quite as simple as just asking the developers, especially since I think the massive demand and sales potential of a remake or new entry in the series is pretty clear at this stage. A sequel was in fact in development at one point before EA got the rights to make Simpsons games, at which point the project was scrapped. We'll never know just how close we got to The Simpsons: Hit & Run 2, but the idea it was ever in development at all hurts my heart a little.
Still, if fans like Hassan can continue to keep the hope alive, who knows what might happen one day? If a franchise like Perfect Dark can come back after all these years, anything is possible.
Featured Image Credit: Radical Entertainment