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[AeonGaidenRaiden]

Seeing that we are getting near the end of this generation one thing I noticed was a significant lack of arcade racers this time around. I remember before the release of the PS4, every other console had a ton of them and then you would have one or two simulation type such as GT and Forza. For the PS4 we got Driveclub which I bought day one and must be in the minority, but loved it since then. Probably because I was too busy with the campaign to worry about its online issues at the time. That is it pretty much, the two NFS games that got released this generation both bombed. Others are hit or miss, but nothing that made a dent in the PS3 and 360 lineup. That is why that the only game I envy xbox1 users for is the Forza Horizon franchise. I just want a great looking, fast paced racer with awesome music and fun map or tracks. I feel as if this generation, there was much more focus on more realistic racers (Project Cars 2, Asseto Corsa, GT Sport, Forza, Dirt Rally).

Just an example of what the PS3 had regarding arcade racers and this is not even a full list:

Motorstorm 1
Motorstorm 2
Motorstorm Apocalypse
Blur
Burnout Paradise
Grid 1
Grid 2
Need For Speed - Most wanted
Need for Speed - Rivals
Need for Speed - On the run
Need for Speed - Hot Pursuit
Need For Speed - Undercover
Need For Speed - Carbon
Test Drive Unlimited 1
Test Drive Unlimited 2
Shift 1
Shift 2
Dirt Showdown
Dirt 3
Split/Second
Wipeout HD Fury
Midnight Club - Los Angeles
Pure
Ridge Racer 7
Ridge Racer Unbounded

Just to name a few. And damn, just now I realize how many NFS games got released last generation..EIGHT (8)!. ANyone else miss more arcade racers?

 

[SlashBringingHasher]

well. its hard to innovate in such a grounded genre. it stagnated. stopped selling and it died for the most part.

i dont think its gonna ever come back. onrush bombed a few weeks ago and it was a good game

 

[yet_another_alt]

I really miss Motorstorm. Still mad that Arctic Edge was never officially made playable on Vita.

 

[Dokku]

...I knew something was missing this gen. I had this itch that I couldn't quite scratch and didn't know what it was until I stumbled into this thread.

 

[Danjin44]

Motorstorm Apocalypse

I want remaster of this game. Most people might not agree but this game was one of my favourite Motorstorm game.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Boring as fuck.

Reason why racing games were big in old gens was because the graphics and handling were lousy. But in recent gens, the visuals and gameplay have improved a lot to a point people don't really care.

Even EA doesn't bother churning out annual NFS games anymore..... now it's every 2-3 years. When was the last Ridge Racer? Codemasters used to churn out lots too.

It's got to a point people who want more realism/real cars will play Forza/GT, and for arcadey action FH. Some other racers come and go, but that's about it.

 

[SlashBringingHasher]

Boring as fuck.

Reason why racing games were big in old gens was because the graphics and handling were lousy. But in recent gens, the visuals and gameplay have improved a lot to a point people don't really care.

Even EA doesn't bother churning out annual NFS games anymore..... now it's every 2-3 years. When was the last Ridge Racer? Codemasters used to churn out lots too.

It's got to a point people who want more realism/real cars will play Forza/GT, and for arcadey action FH. Some other racers come and go, but that's about it.

codemasters kind of shit on the genre with their many mediocre racers

 

[Alexios]

Not what I expected given the thread title. Sega really need to remaster and rerelease all their arcade classics, Outrun, Virtua Racing, Sega Rally, Sega Touring Cars, Daytona USA 1, 2, Scud Race, Sega Rally 2, Outrun 2, Ferrari 355 Challenge, all of it, better than arcade perfect, improved in presentation (resolution/AA/AF/lod/draw distance/widescreen, etc, not try to redo the graphics) to show people how it's done.


That's 1996 folks. 22 years ago. And freaking Nicalis release 90s Super GP/Arcade Racer already!!!

 

[DynamiteCop!]

Playground Games seem to be the only ones left able to execute a competent and loved arcade racer.

 

[SlashBringingHasher]

Playground Games seem to be the only ones left able to execute a competent and loved arcade racer.

i mean. Forza and horizon, are sort of arcad-y. they arent even as arcady as say need for speed. they are somewhat between arcade and sims.

 

[SkinnerSw33t]

Fwiw, Payback was really good. NFS ('15) was decent too if you can overlook the mind-jarring FMV.

But yeah, PG is really just killing it (thanks in larger part to T10 but still.)

I do think there's something to the idea that there was a time where arcade racers could really stand out compared to other genres but now can't.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Playground Games seem to be the only ones left able to execute a competent and loved arcade racer.

I think what has happened too is that FH/Forza/GT have added so much content and customization to their games along with AAA production values, a lot of game devs probably get scared off and don't bother unless they want to release the game as a $10-20 indie download.

I hardly play racers, but if I had to pick one, I'd pick FH/Forza. If I was a PS gamer, I'd get GT. If I wanted crazy arcade action, Rocket League, some kind of kart game if there is one available or a $10 BC of Burnout Paradise.

 

[DynamiteCop!]

i mean. Forza and horizon, are sort of arcad-y. they arent even as arcady as say need for speed. they are somewhat between arcade and sims.

I'd still call Horizon a full arcade racer, I don't think a game taking account of realistically based physics discounts the type of game it is.

 

[AeonGaidenRaiden]

I also forgot Project Gotham Racing 3 & 4 on the 360. Such awesome games.

 

[MetalSlug]

Not what I expected given the thread title. Sega really need to remaster and rerelease all their arcade classics, Outrun, Virtua Racing, Sega Rally, Sega Touring Cars, Daytona USA 1, 2, Scud Race, Sega Rally 2, Outrun 2, Ferrari 355 Challenge, all of it, better than arcade perfect, improved in presentation (resolution/AA/AF/lod/draw distance/widescreen, etc, not try to redo the graphics) to show people how it's done.


That's 1996 folks. 22 years ago. And freaking Nicalis release 90s Super GP/Arcade Racer already!!!

That Scud Racer looks so familiar. I think I remember playing it when I was younger.

 

[DynamiteCop!]

That Scud Racer looks so familiar. I think I remember playing it when I was younger.

It was a hugely popular arcade game in the mid 90's, you could basically go into any arcade and it would be there.

 

[nkarafo]

Dunno, i stopped caring that much about console arcade racers during the 7th gen of consoles.

See, during 6th gen these games were usually 60fps. Just like the Arcades! Remember those? Remember how the PS1/SAT/N64 weren't powerful enough for 60fps arcade ports? Well not any more with DC/PS2/GC/XBOX

Then the PS3 and 360 happened and the standards dropped again to 30fps. So there was this huge regression about the most important element of those games IMO. Smooth motion and a very responsive feel. I was playing CMR and WRC games at 60fps on PS2 and now i had to go back to 30fps on the much more powerful PS3/360. No excuses about such thing, sorry.

 

[AngularSaxophone]

Boys started picking more guns over cars.

 

[nkarafo]

Not what I expected given the thread title. Sega really need to remaster and rerelease all their arcade classics, Outrun, Virtua Racing, Sega Rally, Sega Touring Cars, Daytona USA 1, 2, Scud Race, Sega Rally 2, Outrun 2, Ferrari 355 Challenge, all of it, better than arcade perfect, improved in presentation (resolution/AA/AF/lod/draw distance/widescreen, etc, not try to redo the graphics) to show people how it's done.

Ah, Sega. I don't trust them anymore after what they did to Sega Rally 3. It runs at 30fps on consoles and on PC it's literally the worst port ever created. It has an internal engine that ticks at, get this, 62 fps for whatever godforsaken reason. Which makes it impossible to sync without screen tearing or stutters on a 60hz monitor or any panel for that matter. You have to use cheat engine and slow down the game a little so it can run smoothly for a few minutes (and unstable).

 

[flashfire926]

Its such a shame what happened with the genre.
Black Rock Studios, makers of Pure and Split Second, were closed in 2011
Bizarre Creations, makers of PGR 3 and 4 and Blur, were closed in 2011
Black Box, makers of the the underground/MW era NFS games, closed in 2013
Criterion Games, makers of Burnout and Hot Pursuit 2010, had major layoffs, then became demoted to a support studio for DICE
Sony Liverpool, known for the Wipeout series, closed in 2012
Evolution Studios, known for Motorstorm and Driveclub, closed in 2016
Ubisoft went from a great game (Driver San Francisco), to mediocre attempt at a GaaS type racer (The Crew)
EA run need for speed into the ground by introducing a shitty pay to win mechanics in Payback
United Front games, makers of ModNation racers closed down in 2016
Namco just stopped making Ridge Racer for some reason

 

[Larxia]

It's not just arcade racers, it's arcade games in general, the same thing can be said to arcade sport games, things like Tony Hawk and SSX don't exist at all anymore, there's no alternative, no options, nothing (and don't talk to me about steep, that's really not what i'm looking for), and this makes me extremely sad as this is my favorite genre.

 

[BusierDonkey]

Most of the studios suffered deaths at the hands of the bigger developers after being acquired. This was usually because they'd release lackluster versions of games, or too many iterations of fa franchise in a small window (Need for Speed I'm looking at you)

Bizarre, Criterion and Codemasters employees banded together to form Playground Games. They make the Forza Horizon games and are doing well.

Evo Studios employees were picked up by Codemasters after Sony cut them loose and they became Codemasters EVO. They released ONRUSH in June then shit-canned the studio director and most of the EVO staff.

Turn 10 is supposedly working on a new PGR title right now, mind you that has been the rumor since Bizarre was bought by EA.

I keep forgetting The Crew 2 came out in 2018, as it looks like it came out in 2009 at times, but other than it Horizon 4 was the only major arcade racer that came out this year. ONRUSH came out and it's good enough, but kind of released with a whimper and the guys were let go. Maybe Playground can scoop them up too. I think the biggest issue with arcade racers right now is that developers aren't making arcade racers. Horizon 4 cars don't handle quite like a real car, but they don't have the insane grip, insane speed, and over the top settings I expect in an arcade racer. The Hot Wheels expansion was as close as it came. Bizarre was making excellent track based racers with MSR and PGR, but when Activision acquired them they switched gears and made a car based Mario Kart that didn't work that well. Burnout Paradise was a good game, but again it strayed from the path the previous games were set on, then EA made them into aa NFS factory, then let most of them go.

I really do believe a game like Burnout Paradise, but more focused on what made early Burnout games fun, were to release today with proper support and advertising, it could do well. The same goes for a PGR style racer.

 

[petran79]

I really like how they added Nancy as a live action actress. Gives the game 80s vibes.



15000 drawings of 2d animation for a racing game....no one is crazy enough today for such a feat

 

[AeonGaidenRaiden]

Well this made me search for all the awesome trailers from back then:

 

[autoduelist]

I think the fans actually hurt the genre. I come to that conclusion for a couple reasons.

First, take the franchise Need for Speed. I cannot think of any other franchise that has taken so many risks. Rather than getting the same old game reskinned year after year, every iteration has had massive changes. Hot Pursuit plays nothing like The Run plays nothing like Payback, excetera. The problem is, everyone has a favorite. And everyone loves to hate on anything that isn't like their favorite. If you look in the threads about upcoming Need for Speed games, you'll see so much hate before it even comes out because it's not like [fill in my favorite]. And if one of those came out, other people hate on that.

Me? I've enjoyed them all. I look forward to them. I expect them to be different. I'm excited to see what they try next. Sure, some may have flaws ... but I look forward to them. But if you go to threads about them, it's full of people acting like spending your money on them is a waste of time. Is it any wonder the series struggles when its own fans love to hate on it?

Related to that, nobody can decide on what kind of handling they like. People hate on this people hate on that, and people are all too ready to hate on whatever handling any arcade racer has.

And then you've got the 30 FPS issue. This brings its crowd of people complaining.

There are other things going on. You have certain companies buying out companies and losing the magic. You have the standard cyclic nature of genres, where things go in and out of style. If I remember correctly, blur and Split Second came out at a really bad time. So you have all these forces working against arcade racers, and then when we do get one enough people hate on it for not being like their favorite arcade racer and I think the constant naysaying hurts sales and hurts our chances for future ones

 

[AeonGaidenRaiden]

autoduelist

Have you played Payback? Its the only NFS i havent played/bought, just felt like i got burned too many times but on random:

Never liked The Run and Most Wanted (2012) but loved Hot Pursuit and Rivals. Hated NFS (2015). The reviews for Payback are nothing special but i hear people still enjoyed it. What I realized for me, its mostly about setting and music. Some just click perfectly on that front.

You are right though, people hate on NFS a lot but at least they take chances. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt. I really had high hopes for 2015 NFS....but the handling and rubber banding was so bad and map was confusing to figure out what race you already finished and what is a new available one.

 

[dan76]

Yep, I miss them too. I don't want to play a driving simulator, it's boring. I want over the top speed, graphics and music. Sega, sort it out. Sonic Team Racing looks like it could work. They will probably get the handling and course design right but then make you always play as part of a tea,pm... Ugh. Just put a regular race in there. Similar thing happened with that Onrush game. It wasn't about winning. Great.

There are still arcade games being made, mainly lightgun shooters, but there are racers out there. They just never get ported. The days of arcade ports seem to be gone. It's understandable as arcade ops want exclusive games.

 

[Alexios]

Ah, Sega. I don't trust them anymore after what they did to Sega Rally 3. It runs at 30fps on consoles and on PC it's literally the worst port ever created. It has an internal engine that ticks at, get this, 62 fps for whatever godforsaken reason. Which makes it impossible to sync without screen tearing or stutters on a 60hz monitor or any panel for that matter. You have to use cheat engine and slow down the game a little so it can run smoothly for a few minutes (and unstable).

That was by a new English studio they had opened at the time, their internal teams still have what it takes and they also have internal and external teams and collabs that have done good PC games/ports

Also they have done more than right with their super retro releases/enhanced editions on the 3DS and Switch and elsewhere. They just need to move to their 3D stuff already for that treatment

They did Daytona USA console port right last gen too but that was an one off and didn't even come to PC to keep it on a modern platform (and fix minor issues like AF too), so sad.

 

[Shin]

Kinda answered your own question with that list OP.
If so many were released and disappeared then they weren't making enough money to be considered worth it.
Studios gave them/the genre another shot with a sequel, prequel or something along the lines of but they're all gone.
These days you have arcade like gameplay baked into the "main" game (whatever the hell that might be), I think it's a fair all things considered.

Sega was pretty much king of arcade racers along with Namco, that scene is dead for the most part of the world so there's that.
Racing in a cabine/cat seat in the arcade just isn't the same as staring at a dead screen at home, even online and streaming.

TL;DR they died when the arcade life did or Sega/Namco cut back on that scene.

 

[IncognitoPanda]

Mario Kart

 

[Diddy X]

I think they nailed pod racing with this game

It would be great if they made a new one.

 

[Pantz]

We could use more racer variety for sure. My question is, how/why is there so many rally racing games this gen? Take half the rally games and make them different types of racers please.

 

[thelastword]

I think we genuinely had great arcade racers before.......

Ridge Racer, NFS, Burnout, Project Gotham, Motorstorm......Yet, I blame EA for the fall of arcade racers because they had the most successful arcade IP's and they messed it all up.....NFS is pure jank now.....We can't compare current NFS titles to Porsche Unleashed, High Stakes, Hot Pursuit, Most Wanted, Underground and said games certainly don't have the addictiveness of the burnout series anymore.....

I think because of that, persons have defaulted to a game like Horizon as best racer, but it's a crying shame really, because there are so few arcade racers being made......in OG xbox days, we had PGR, started off with metropolis on Dreamcast......We had Ridge Racer starting from PS1 days, we had Midnight Club......But get this, we had a tonne of other arcade racers in between, even in the PS3/360 era; like Tokyo Extreme Racer, Sega Rally Revo, Blur, Split Second, Flatout, Test Drive, Sega and Sonic all stars, Grid, all the Karting games (LBP, MODnation) and so many more, just tonnes more...Now it's all dead Jim, there's not many, not much competition to be had.....Ea should lead, where is the EA that gave us Rumble Racing, where are games like Auto Modellista from pubs like Capcom, Where is Ridge Racer or PGR.....It's all dead Jim......

Had it not been for DC this gen, as a pure old school (track based) addictive arcade racer, I don't think we'd have much to talk about....It's the best we've got this gen from a pure visuals, thrills and adrenalin feel that only comes with good arcade racers with proper tracks and a challenge.......One thing's for sure, we definitely need other companies to step up.......

 

[Panajev2001a]

well. its hard to innovate in such a grounded genre. it stagnated. stopped selling and it died for the most part.

i dont think its gonna ever come back. onrush bombed a few weeks ago and it was a good game

Agreed... OnRush, Wipeout HD collection / VR update for PS4, DriveClub, etc... if titles like that can out one or two generations ago would have killed it IMHO.

 

[nkarafo]

I think they nailed pod racing with this game

It would be great if they made a new one.

Did they fix this for newer machines?

 

[Orta]

I'd love a remaster of the original Ridge Racer. 4k, 60fps and all the associated bells and whistles.

That and all Sega's arcade racers, given the above treatment too.

Not too much to ask

 

[Diddy X]

Did they fix this for newer machines?

It works fine on my 1060 + Ryzen 1500x

 

[Stuart360]

Well it doesn't help that actual arcades dont exist anymore. Steam has a good Indie selection of arcade racers though, and new ones come out pretty frequently.
I really wish the likes of Sega and Namco would release ports of their arcade racers for like $10 or something. I'd die to see a 4k port of Scud Race, its amazing how good that game still looks.

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

I want remaster of this game. Most people might not agree but this game was one of my favourite Motorstorm game.

I wholeheartedly agree. I wish we got more racers like MotorStorm where an iota of creativity was actually used for a racing game for once.

 

[Skyfox]

Split second or Ridge Racer on switch would be sweet!

Why don’t the publishers hire some rando company to port these 7th gen racers to switch (or even one X/PS4 Pro)?

Stuff like Daytona holds up to this day because it wasn’t trying for realism.

Stylized/Surreal is what the genre craves.

 

[Rayderism]

I'll never understand why people buy boring sim racers by the millions, but fun arcade racers never sell well. That's why we don't have more arcade racers, because they can't seem to make big money on them. I don't think I've ever seen anyone talk badly of Split Second, but it didn't sell well enough to garner a sequel? How does that work? Just about every aspect of that game oozed with awesomeness.

Personally, all of my favorite PS4 racers are arcade racers....Flatout 4, Wipeout Omega, Road Redemption, Grip, Horizon Chase, Trackmania, etc. But as nice as those games are, most of them can't hold a candle to the best the PS3 had to offer.
I have some sim racers, but other than having nicer graphics, they all feel like the same games I've played over and over again through the decades. In fact, the only sim racers I do still enjoy seem to be the rally games, but again, how many of those do I need? I'm looking at 8 of them in my racing game folder on my PS4 right now......and more are in the works as we speak. But arcade racers? Slim pickin's. It just boggles my mind.

I've been waiting for Wreckfest with baited breath since it was announced to be coming for consoles. But something like GTS......I don't know.....sometimes I load it up and watch it show off the cars and run demos, but actually playing it is just boring to me.

 

[Great Hair]

CTRL+F "Tokyo Extreme Racer"
Results = 1

Hello ... it is me again. Genki ... what is f#### wrong with you!!!!

 

[Imtjnotu]

Bring back motor storm....

 

[thelastword]

CTRL+F "Tokyo Extreme Racer"
Results = 1

Hello ... it is me again. Genki ... what is f#### wrong with you!!!!

So many great arcade racers man...bring them back, lets start the revolution....

 

[Dice]

Redout is pretty good. 80% off on Steam right now.

 

[BusierDonkey]

CTRL+F "Tokyo Extreme Racer"
Results = 1

Hello ... it is me again. Genki ... what is f#### wrong with you!!!!

Didn't your hear? Shutokou Battle Xtreme released in 2017! Wait... it was a mobile game... fuck.

Bring back motor storm....

Did you try ONRUSH? Made by the same guys (technically not Evolution anymore, but Codemasters EVO) It released in the summer. It was about as close to MotorStorm as you'll find, but it tanked. I swear the guys from Evolution were cursed.

 

[Imtjnotu]

Didn't your hear? Shutokou Battle Xtreme released in 2017! Wait... it was a mobile game... fuck.



Did you try ONRUSH? Made by the same guys (technically not Evolution anymore, but Codemasters EVO) It released in the summer. It was about as close to MotorStorm as you'll find, but it tanked. I swear the guys from Evolution were cursed.

It looked ok. If I can't get back motor storm then EA should give us a proper burn out

 

[RAIDEN1]

Well Burnout Paradise recently got a re-release, though I prefer Burnout Revenge better, its great its available to play on the XB1 FINALLY...Wipeout also got a re-master recently..but its a shame there isn't the likes of Ridge Racer around anymore..

 

[clem84]

Horizon Chase Turbo came out recently and it's great.

 

[Zannegan]

I really enjoyed Excite Trucks back when the Wii launched. The simple terraforming plus insane hangtimes was a satisfying combo, that I think could still find an audience.

Alas, Bots killed any momentum that franchise had.