Racing games are so cool, I wish they were good.
I've been playing games about driving big metal boxes through finish lines since the age of 3, but something I noticed early on was just how few people like playing these kinds of games. On top of that, it feels like nearly every bigger content creator just skims over racing games whenever they do end up seeing them
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00:00 - Intro
1:29 - Racing Games Have Declined
5:02 - A Lack of Unique Racing Games
6:01 - Nobody Cares
7:05 - Outro
This is down to the death of the mid-sized developers. The PS1 (for example) had a ton of racers and small developers making games for it. Now we only have AAA or indie developers. Basically, if we want the genre to return, it's up to the indie devs to make fun, arcade racing games. They don't all have to be simulators.
Only if those indie devs are willing to fork out fees for licensing vehicles. Those mid-sized studios could afford to license vehicles.
@@markisaki979there’s a reason GTA brings so many cars, no real cars=no licensing. If Indie developers can make a Midnight Club but with indie cars, it’ll be a hit
@@DryHotDabs honestly in today's world, having licensed stuff brings more hassle than benefits since brands now know the worth of video game representation: too much strings attached. Back in the day, OEMs and manufacturers were lax enough to let their brands portrayed in vehicular post-911 terrorism simulator (NFS Most Wanted). Nowadays, they were hesitant to put their names even in games like Gran Turismo or iRacing.
I agree, to this day, I still come across racing games for PS2 that I never heard of.
They dont need to. @@markisaki979
Racing games nowadays lack soul. I’ll give credit to NFS for trying a different aesthetic but there’s problems that still plague that game since NFS 2015. Remember back in TDU2 when you can drive like a normal citizen around the whole map and not get bored? It was a Carpg before we knew it. I’d also add this too, I don’t care for festival style racing games. That’s why the old NFS and even The Crew 1 felt fun to play there was a risk and reward factor to those games that modern racing games don’t have.
Yeah bro. And the worst thing is that people bashed NFS Unbound for trying to be different. I think that the community is also a little bit at fault as to why racing games are in a bad state nowadays
The only other racing game with a festival theme to it which was cool was Motorstorm
TDU2 had worse physics than TDU1 and it's such a shame because the map actually seems more interesting to explore but the shit pc port means I might not enjoy the game to it's fullest.
Tthose visuals just seem like they cheaped out on models and vfx i didnt like them at all but just my opinion @@FuzzBR
Tokyo Xtreme Racer is the true definition of Carpg.
It's not that 'nobody' plays racing games anymore it's the fact that they all have that same P2W mechanic at least the new ones do.
Gran Turismo 7 doesn’t have pay to win.
@@YourLocalFloridians But it does have microtransactions, against the will of Kaz
@@TheSilverShadow17 It has five different amounts of money you can buy, but they are all priced like they are for early game people that are struggling to progress and are too lazy to grind. They don’t affect the multiplayer aspect of the game at all, so they are pretty useless to most people.
Mario kart casually selling more than all these games combined…
@@rodrigovillegas2263 As if we care about what's happening with Mario Kart. There's a lot more to the racing game genre than that.
Nobody plays racing games anymore because of DLC cars. No one likes cars being DLC. Remember in old racing games when all the cars came with thr game and you had to unlock them through progression? Good times.
since i don't want you to not have a career after failing your exam, you have gotten my sub bro, also please do more of these short form video essays, this video is amazing!
This actually made me laugh. Thanks for subscribing and I'm glad you enjoyed it!
@@DrPowerslide_ no problem bro
What I need in racing game is a sense of progression, but modern racing games keeps throwing random stuff via wheel spins, or weekly random awards, best cars right from the start, where sense of progression from slow to fast or cheap to expensive is destroyed.
One racing games series I really miss is Motorstorm. It was so unique being an arcade off-road racer with multiple different vehicle classes. Racing at the same time and it is something that still hasn’t been replicated to this day. Making a new game like it would definitely be something that stands out and the fact that no one has made a modern racing game of that formula which worked so well back then feels like a missed opportunity
I really miss Motorstorm too, I still play it now and again. The same development team did actually go on to make a newer fairly similar game released back in 2018 called ONRUSH, but barely anybody bought it, Codemasters subsequently disbanded the team, and the servers were shutdown in 2022. Says it all really... 🥲
Never played that one, but maybe some good people should work on a new Motorstorm project. Just the graphics were so stunning, made me jealous not to have a PS3 back in the days. But you're right with it.
Motorstorm for me was a system seller, fantastic games
I'll second OnRush. If you want a Motorstorm for the PS4/PS5 play OnRush. It's an amazing game.
Track mania, hotshots racing, new star gp, hot wheels unleashed, wipeout, wreckfest, dirt 5, redout, art of rally, Circuit Superstars, and many more fun racing games exist, you just have to look for them, mainstream racing games are a snooze fest
Hot Wheels needs more love
Also I join a community that still plays Daytona USA (PS3) online from time-to-time and honestly it was one of the most fun racing games that I have ever played, and trust me if you're not remotely good at that game (Get a lap time that is less than 1:40:00 on the Expert course "Seaside Street Galaxy" after the 1st lap to even just be decent at that game. It's fucking crazy!) then you will get humbled instantly. Trust me some people play that game constantly lmao.
I've played Dirt 5, but it felt too saturated. It was fun enough, but I didn't get into it. I'll def have to give these other games a try, though!
Wreckfest is a masterpiece, go check it out! @@DrPowerslide_
Wipeout has been dead since Omega Collection. Hell, arguably since 2048
I love racing games but I love offline single-player racing games. Most modern racing games just aren't for me as I have no interest in multiplayer and while many of them still have some things to do in single-player, it's more of an afterthought compared to the full-fledged single-player campaigns that we got in racing games up through the 7th generation. And if a game has always online DRM, I refuse to buy it unless they guarantee an offline patch at end of life.
This. This is the reason that despite owning a wheel and sim racing games, I see myself rather playing something else instead.
Totally agree with this. I find myself playing PS2 era games much more than anything made in the last ten years.
@@kentonbrewer3232 That one indie open world Japanese racing game, Drift Master, looks promising. The cars will have fake names for lack-of-licensing reasons but they're still easily recognizable with performance based on the real cars and supposedly it'll be more than just drifting and also fully-playable offline.
I hate to play with other people than my friends. Even to them I prefer single player games
This is a problem with a few games now or days, single player gets second hand attention in favor for trying to milk money from M
People love racing games, people hate trend chasing games, racing included. Last racing game I enjoyed was NFS Shift The problem is no on really cares to make a good game, racing games make it easy to DLC everything, they cost more in the long run, rarely try to fine tune mechanics, and always opt for flashy over good mechanics. I don't want to be driving a Lambo with a F150 across me, a dude in a PT Cruiser, and some kid on a scooter. Racing games at their core are best when it's a power fantasy, no one wants a super close race, they want to blow out the competition with their car they have invested heavily in, however that doesn't work because you can't have an offline racer anymore, everything must be online against 12 people from all over the planet. Also 5:28 I'm 34 and for me these games where considered the start of the decline for most of the franchises. People are free to enjoy them I have no problem with that but at the time they where in no way considered peak and really viewed as the start of the decline for folks around my age back than at the time of their release. I guess it depends on your age and the games we played at the time but we do agree things have gotten worse.
I'm 39 and I agree, game developers have gotten greedy release the game half finished and buggy, solution, introduce MTX and DLC. I don't mind if a game has a way to EARN ingame currency to buy ingame goods but some companies are giving us the option to use REAL currency to buy ingame currency, CoD is a prime example.
R.I.P. OG The Crew 🫡
I love racing games but i refuse to buy games that will be literaly dead in years to come
it's refreshing to see someone who understands the *actual* reason this genre's declined. some of the best racing games ever succeeded in spite of their ties to car/motorsport culture, not because of them, and i can list a dozen awesome racing games that don't even feature cars or real world vehicles at all. the genre's insistence on being a niche for enthusiasts has only made it regress from what it once was.
*NFS Carbon, Burnout Revenge, Midnight Club 3 DUB, Midnight Club LA and BLUR come to mind when I think of my most enjoyed racing games. Cruising USA, Mario Kart, Ridge Racer Type 4 and Tokyo Xtreme Racer as the OG's 🙌 the genre has come such a long way, I feel like its hit a wall. Personally, I'd love a time traveling racer. environments that constantly time shift while ur racing* 👍
Check out trail out will scratch the itch bro. 20 bucks
Your on to something there, a time traveling racer would be awsome
Dub edition was absolutely amazing
Around 2 years ago I got this weird itch in my head. I had enough of racing games, NFS, Forza, Crew, everything just became repetitive for me. I thought to myself something which I'd never thought about or considered before. I thgouth "let's try the complete opposite, let's try the most realistic driving game now". I bought Assetto Corsa, and immediately realized this wasn't going to be fun or even close to "simulation" with a gamepad, so I ordered a wheel, then a little later I ordered a VR headset, then a little later I ordered a full on sim rig. 2 years on I can say that AC is one of the best gaming experience, and the most fun driving experience I've ever had. I haven't and won't go back to arcade or simcade any more and wouldn't play the latest games if they were given to me for free. I don't know why it took me so long but eventually I got the sim itch and never looked back. Now it's not about how fast I can drive, or how many xp or landscape points I can get due to how high my car flew up a ramp or cliff or how many trees I took out, now driving is like a university or a journey. AC is making me a better driver, I've learned about things like proper racing, trail braking, slip angles, I learned how to drift in AC from scratch and learned about things like oversteer, understeer, counter-steering, how to connect drifts, etc. I always used to think those guys with full sim rigs were a bit over the top and never thought I'd be one of them, and here we are. Long live AC, best driving game ever imho.
true arcade racing games need to return. currently the big majority of "racing games" are just simcade/simulator car games that try to be as realistic/inmersive as possible while this type of game is not bad at all, this "need for realism" has been happening ever since NFS started to flop, or even other arcade racing franchises just stopped releasing games (wich was a damn long time ago) so its obvious that people are starting to get a bit sick of recent car games. nowadays its just to see wich game provides the best experience, not the most fun one
We need burnout back 😎
Wreckfest deserves to be talked about more. it's so much fun. Just being able to load it up, find a server and just start racing (and wrecking) is the main reason I have 800 hours in it. It's pure carnage all the time and I keep going back for the adrenaline rush that I get avoiding buses and heavy cars trying to put me into a tree. I just feel like nobody wants to try something different so they stick with the same racing game re-released over and over. All I can say is. If you're looking for something different, something fun from a racing game. Give wreckfest a shot. I personally want more games like it to come out. Not the festival racing snooze fest stuff
Try trail out. Handling will take some getting used to after Wreckfest but it’s soooo goood
If Wreckfest is GTA San Andreas then trail out is saints row 2
we need midnight club bck
with birdman lol or some one on the hip hop side
Monkey's paw: Rockstar brings back Midnight Club but either immediately abandons it after release like RDR2 and goes back to GTA online or becomes just another generic "open-world festival arcade racer" because it "sells well" like the other same racing games, and puts all the money to GTA
Fr, i still play MCLA even after completing the game, the feeling of the game is unique compared to forza or nfs
Exactly at least that had a nice city instead of the shitty old fashioned ones in Europe. Movies looks beautiful & shows set in Europe but racing games? Fuck no.
not me, I'm not about to pay GTA+ membership just to get my favorite JDM that's been locked up to their paywall and they can shove up GTA Tragedy and RDR1 re-re-release up their asses if they're decided to improperly remaster the MC games that makes these afromentioned games looked like Yakuza Kiwami & Spiderman Remastered by comparison
I think why beamng drive is so popular and successful because it’s unique and doesn’t have the bs from these major game studios, even though the game does require a somewhat beefy pc and doesn’t have much base content to it
Apologies if this isn't related to the topic on why nobody plays racing games, but paying $10 for a new add-ons pack that's separate from a modern AAA/AAAA racing game's content pass is completely stupid. Why bother paying a hefty price for add-ons that aren't included in the content pass for an $80+ game when the developer could've just updated it with all of the separate add-ons included for free? It saves a lot of time and money for gamers who owns a physical/digital copy of the game. Although I don't advocate the idea of using cheats, glitches, and/or exploits in games, it's totally fine if you use a DLC unlocker mod/trainer to get all paid DLCs and content that was only available within a time period for games like Forza Horizon 5 and Need for Speed Unbound.
I totally agree. I paid $40 for Unbound on release, and was quite disappointed when I saw the RS6 Avant locked behind a paywall and a battle pass. Once I finished the game, I just used Cheat Engine to modify the amount of money I had (in singleplayer), so I could play with every car I wanted. If you have the game on PC, I can't recommend doing that enough. PS: I recognize your name from r/BuiltFromTheGroundUp. Good memes, man
@@DrPowerslide_ Thanks! And thank you for making such a great video, it was truly worth watching the whole thing from start to finish.
I really wish that they didn't cancel Blur 2. Such a talented studio with such a unique IP - managed to pull it off with licensed cars too. The original's art style is something that hasn't been seen again, and for that crowd, could have made an amazing e-sport. That is the one racing game that was very poorly marketed and got such a hugely unfair amount of flak when it was.
Really enjoyed this one man, I really like your punctual style of both writing and editing that keeps things on point. Keep it up!
@@rsh650 I wouldn’t necessarily call this clickbait, if anything it’s hyperbolic which, I mean hell I’m just as guilty of in my content so picking straws isn’t for me.
@@rsh650 yeah I really do get what you're sayin, depends on the person I guess. I'm just so used to ridiculous YT thumbnails and titles that this is fine. Besides from a creator ya really want your video to do well, so having a title people are more likely to click is just ideal. theres moral clickbait and and immoral clickbait, I say this is definitely moral, but das just me
Yeah, I'll totally admit that the thumbnail and title were a bit exaggerated. I of course did not mean it literally, since there are still plenty of people playing racing games. Thanks for pointing this out, though. I'll definitely try to improve on this in the future. My next video will have much less "clickbait" compared to this one.
Rammers and corner bombers is what has turned me off from most online racing. I still play racing games but tend to avoid online play because people are either malicious or utterly incompetent. This Solar Crown info is seriously disappointing. Ive been waiting for this since it was announced and now Im probably not going to even buy it. TDU2 was one of my favorite games ever.
That's why I stopped playing Forza Horizon online and mostly The Crew Motorfest because all the bullshit that you have to endure. And the community can be childish about that shit saying "Oh it's an arcade racing game, go play Gran Turismo or Forza motorsport if you want cleaner racing" which I say "Yeah you're right, time to uninstall Motorfest and play those games with people who give a fuck more than a lemming on the internet!"
I was recording some footage for the next video just a little while ago, and decided to play Horizon open. Someone in a Taycan blocked the whole race with their car lol I personally don't like the online modes either. Too many rammers and meta-cars.
I feel the same way. I loved TDU 1 and 2. But not because of the multiplayer. In those games you still had the freedom to choose whether you wanted to play with others or alone. But the new TDU seems to be all about multiplayer from what we know so far. And then there's always online. I was really looking forward to the game, but every new piece of news about the game kills my excitement more and more.
Players: We want to start out in smaller cars and make winning and where you place actually matter Forza: Okay, start in any car you want, finishing position still doesn't matter. But you aren't allowed to tune or upgrade your car unless you drive around for 100hrs
Players: no we didn't ask for this Forza: Aaah got it you want overpriced DLC for cars that appeared in our previous games
And hotwheels@@indominusrex1652
its GT7 what u looking for
@@Elchipo98GT7: *Borderline 200 dollar MTX* mo thank you.
No not everyone wants to start in smaller cars lol
As a car girl and a gamer that used to play a lot of racing games. I can tell you why. (1) because the people who make the racing games are not car enthusiasts. All they care about is making money. So you won't see any cars that we know and love as much. Unless it was made popular by a movie. (2) 2024 and handling and sense of speed sucks. As a drifter drifting sucks. The only game i know that had pretty good drifting was the first tokyo dift game. (3) rubber banding, it doesn't really how fast you are or how good you drive. You can be sure they will always catch up even if they ate it. (4) the best storyline by far is need for speed most wanted. (5) the stupid choice. You know the one where you have to choose. What do you want? Do you want a racing sim with realistic handling and physics. With beautiful graphics but most likely will not have any drifting in it and other then tuning your engine you can't really customize your ride. Or do you and arcade game. That has street racing, cop chases, customization, Aero etc. But handling sucks, and it might hace drifting but it might suck to. And they might say "we have over 70 cars!" But if you really look at it Its just the different types of the same cars. And ots actually just 20. Oh and traffic its almost like they are put to get you. Why are they stopping in the middle of the damn street! And why are they slowing down when ypu drive behind them or stopping? And why are theor weapons? Why can't we have the best of both Why can't we have a street racing driving sim game, that is really good drifting for us drifters, with really good customization, with realistic handling and physics, with cops and NPC racers that uses more good driving skill and np runner banding. Oh and choices. And why not have car meets so we can show off our cars? And meet friends or make them? Why can't we have a game without all these weapons, and ramps that we have to jump every place and we just use pure driving skill? I kinda miss NFSMW
Stopped reading when you mention your gender
Funny that u say that cause football/soccer games I played over the years died because of the same reasons. There is not enough developers for niches that really care about the topic. When it comes to racing games I still get out my PS2. Just got NFSMW from a friend and I had fun again and I still continue my old savegame from Gran Turismo 2 or 4 from time to time. But the enigines are really old. And yeah, the choice between the two playstyles was already annoying back then. The last time I had fun with cars in a "newer" game was the Mad Max game from 2016, which wasn't really racing but really fun to me.
Wooooohooooo! Good for you, you! 🎉🎉🎉🎉@@pravnav
@@Sleepy_340 Reinforcing your point with “I’m a minority” makes it worthless. Nobody fking cares. Minorities are always a pain in the ass
Forza Horizon with NFS wanted system is what you're looking for. Simcade physics with a police system. In the past, we had Burnout Paradise which is somewhat close to what you want. Sadly, it's long gone. I miss the Xbox 360 era(Ring of Death not included)
Nfs and Midnight Club was the heart of racing games back in 2000's and 2010. I know MC stopped coming out till 2009, I'm talking about the early 2010's Nfs games.
Criterion was on point with those early 2010 NFS games. Unbound isn't too bad either. Burnout Paradise was amazing back then too but it's been awhile since I've played.
@@Swattiidon’t forget about Heat. Heat is good.
@@SwattiiBlack box
@@cenanmehmet Overrated af but I did like UG2 and HP2.
@@Swattii overrated for today
Great Quality ngl.Keep it up mate! I wish You 1mil subs!
I fully agree that a lot of bad practices in the industry are to blame. Let me explain. *TL:DR at the bottom (for those who want to skip).* *First:* times have changed. There was a time when the majority of game Developers were very passionate about their craft, their art, and their game. So they would give their all to sell that game to you once. What do I mean by once? That comes to my second point. *Second:* DLC and Updates. Before those existed, Developers had to do everything they could to make their game as polished and full of features and content before release. Otherwise they would need to release a separate edition at some point in the future. But with the way things are now, they can release a game and add new features and bug fixes later. That's not necessarily a bad thing, mainly in the former case, but it can be a double edged sword. *Third:* As much as I hate to say it over and over again, but it is the truth: Money Talks. Yes, whether we realize it or not, when a game or game developer becomes too big to fail, at least in the financial sense, they will then develop the attitude (no pun intended) on just doing what they can to make more money. In short, that often means leaving out good and proven features that while popular with players and were once common practice 15-20 years ago, is just no longer profitable. I think that's what has lead to the decline of not just racing games, but other genres of games too. *Bonus:* Developing a game is much, much more complicated than it was 20 years ago. The reason is also simple. Games back then were limited by computing power, so that meant it took less time to make a game than it is today. For instance, it was not all that long ago that EA made a new Need For Speed game every year. Now they do it every 2-3 years. Another consideration is this: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000's system requirements were as follows: Pentium 166 MHz (all graphic options off) or faster. 64MB RAM for Windows NT. 350MB hard disk space. Super VGA 16-bit color monitor. Compare that with FS2020's system requirements: Processor: Intel i5-4460 | AMD Ryzen 3 1200. Memory: 16 GB RAM. Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 770 | AMD Radeon RX 570. Storage: 150 GB available space. Yep, 150GB vs 350MB. With FS2000's requirements, you could play that game on your Smartphone if you wanted to. Imagine how long it takes to create a game only 350mb in size. Now imagine how long it takes to create a game that's over 150GB in size. With all that time needed, it's no wonder that Devs will cut corners where ever possible. Whether it involves graphics, story line, or general QOL features. --- *TL;DR:* Times have changed, Developers are not as interested in their games as they used to be. DLC and Updates are common. Developing a game is more complicated than it was 20 years ago. Devs focus on Money/Profit over Player satisfaction.
With TDU Solar Crown, you gotta keep in mind that this is a completely new team making the game, and they said that they are looking forward to adding houses in the future. And they want everyone start in the same place because it’s give room for players to interact and be social with each other.
It has online only DRM and has no release date whilst also having been delayed atleast twice now
With every piece of news I lose my confidence in TDU. Always online, almost exclusively multiplayer, missing features. Everything I've seen so far looks more like they're chasing trends. I haven't seen much of the TDU dna in all these months either. It seems to me that the developers don't really know what TDU is all about.
A lot of this is due to car compagnies being very rigid about what they allow developpers to do with their cars. In 2010, street racing and illegal races were peak in video games. Now, car companies are worried about the image of street racing, and developpers are hand tied to please them instead of focusing on fun. Making games with real cars became so complicated that developpers are struggling to respect all the rules car companies are imposing to let them use their car in their game. When you try to please everybody, you loose yourself. And that is what happened with car games Best exemple of this is how The Crew and Forza Horizon lost their story mode progressively with each new games
Glad to see another Racing Games Essay, i have being on a lookout on indie racing games on steam. I love Trail Out,Battle RC, RallyAllyAlly & Smells Like Burnt Rubber. I wish racing/driving genre gets good releases instead of sim.
This is the part where I mention Wreckfest deserves its flowers and to be talked about
Boring
Yes! I love that game
You also have to realize that the first few Fast and Furious and tuning became a real social phenomenon back then, and boosted the sales of racing games for the next 5 to 10 years.
Good video man i thought you had atleast 100k subs with the way it was made
I still want to play racing games like Motorstorm, Midnight club LA (PS3 version), Dirt 2 (PS3 version) since they have great soundtrack
Why PS3 versions?
@@basshead. well it's because: - midnight club L.A.:Good graphics will give a better music vibes than PSP version - Dirt 2:Best cinematic replay, have more music than PSP version
@@Triver24 MCLA is also on Xbox360 and I bet Dirt 2 is better on PC than on PS3.
@@basshead. Damn right
Nobody play racing games? Assetto Corsa, BeamNGdrive, iRacing, Gran Turismo 7, Forza Horizon 3/4/5, Gran Turismo 4, NFS Blackbox Era, NFS Hot Pursuit, All car games of the 90s, and more games: With millions of players still playing, casual players and daily players.
Beamng is a vehicle crash simulator not a racing game, its possible to race in it but thats not its main focus and purpose
@@thefancydoge8668 it's more like a physics sim. You want your virtual car to have a real time suspension simulation? BeamNG You want the car chassis to actually do something rather than just a set value. BeamNG You want your aero actually do something? BeamNG It's a hardcore racing sim I'd say.
I'm still waiting for a modern game like nfs pro street. that game's sense of speed was god tier and scary.
There is also Shift 2, which isn't a festival racer like ProStreet, but the sense of speed in that game was genuinely scary, especially in the later stages of the game.
The new generation of NFS players will cry if it’s too difficult.
@@FR0Z0NEkeys Real life racing is difficult. Imagine multiplayer in a modern version of pro street with last gen graphics and gameplay.
The SHIFT games aren't that difficult. They're really good as an introduction to simcade racing and can bridge the cap to sim racing.
One of the issues with nfs nowadays is that in the past they had many soundtrack variety for everyone and i remember it peaked with the underground series up until payback, nowadays it only had rap and whatever genre that sets the tone for the setting.
Translated by Google: There are 2 types of racing games The "Non Car Guy" racing games Mario Kart, Disney Speedstorm, Rocket Racing, TrackMania and more. They are racing games so that those who have no driving experience or knowledge about cars can play them without problem. "Car Guy" or "Car enthusiast" Racing Game: Forza Horizon 5, The Crew Motorfest, CarX Drift Racing Online, Forza Motorsport, Gran Turismo 7 and others. They are racing games for car enthusiasts who have knowledge about cars and have driving experience.
I just hope in my heart one day that we get a racing game that plays like San Francisco Rush or F-Zero.
You hit the nail on the head when it came to racing games, but it’s starting to change, I personally started development on a more arcadey split/second inspired game which will make way into a twisted metal like game. JEM is single-handedly working on reviving the wangan highway racer genre. You’re not the only one who’s been disappointed by what’s been currently the “meta” of racing games and hopefully we won’t be the end of that.
Good to see an indie developer working on a racing game! Split Second is probably one of my favorite racing games, I was one of the few people who played it back in 2010. Please do let me know when you plan to release your game. I might just make a video on it.
@@DrPowerslide_ It would be an honor and a privilege, I only just started on the project about a week ago though so it will take a while before I even approach the idea of a demo. I’m hoping in about a year for a full release though. I’ll make sure to get you an early copy though since you made a really well done video. Cheers!
Split Second was such an underrated game. I was a leader of a group of racers that would set up matches against other crews in a weekly race off. The winner would have to have the highest team score (points for position). Had a ton of fun playing this with my friends. If you can match that enjoyment, you will have a winner.
@@DrPowerslide_ What are you talking about? I play racing games all the time both retro and modern.
My all-time favourite racing game used to be NFS High Stakes on the PS1. Even when I was a kid, I liked the stylish menus and relaxing music. And then you picked a very expensive sports car, like you had all the money in the world and then drove the crap out of them while being chased by the police... IN A DAMN TUXEDO!! How cool is that?! Being all smug and classy.
A lot of people tend to forget that one of the biggest issues further franchises downfall is that driving simulation games have taken over the genre completely. I've never been a car enthusiast. But I used to love play unique racing games that I grew up with. But by far my two favorites were always the F-Zero series from Nintendo, and the MotorStorm series from From PlayStation. But both franchises have long since been abandoned by their console platforms. Even though they were made by two different companies in two different regions with different approaches to aesthetic and overall style, they were good old-fashioned classic ARCADE style racing games. You didn't have to be an absolute car geek IRL to enjoy the games. No forced realism was shoved into the fictional aspects of the video game itself. You picked a vehicle that had certain stats, chose a paint job, decided if you wanted to favor acceleration or max speed and enjoyed a free Expedition race or a Grand Prix and just have fun learning the games mechanics as you raced and as time went on you played on higher difficulties and played the more difficult and complex Grand Prix cups to unlock more vehicles and tracks. I even enjoyed some of the Hot Wheel racing games growing up but they didn't impact me nowhere near as much as the other two previously mentioned franchises. (Because even to this day I still boot up my PlayStation 3 to play the original MotorStorm or my N64 to play some F-Zero X) We were given this game called "onrush" that didn't understand if it wanted to be a hero shooter like OverWatch or if they wanted to be an actual racing game like MotorStorm...lame and directionless. And these days people only know of F-Zero because of SSB. Us Die Hard fans were expecting to see a brand new installment in the long forgotten franchise that has been abandoned for two decades... and all we ended up getting was F-Zero 99... you know that forced Trend Nintendo has been doing? The live service digital only type games that are pretty much only given two years of shelf life before being abandoned and then delisted? Usually just focusing on Nostalgia and based around the very first entry in the series instead of actually trying to make something new? SOULLESS AF! As for the Hot Wheels games Hot Wheels Unleashed just never got my attention enough and the microtransactions didn't help either. As for Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 it just doesn't look appealing enough for me. I'll wait till I find it on sale somewhere. I really don't care for driver simulation games. I miss classic arcade racing games. It seems these days the only thing that differentiates from that milked subgenre is Mario Kart...ugh...that's NOT the same at all. ( I also forgot to mention my favorite racing game for the Sega Dreamcast was and always has been Re-Volt also shout out for the PS2 for bringing Smash cars another awesome RC racing game that was for the PS2)
One thing I noticed with the racing games in the gaming community, it's that yes, they are very overlooked. I constantly read "this genre is dead", which I actually disagree. There are still some fun racing games that released in this last 5 years (Grid Legends, Hot Wheels Unleashed 1 and 2, F1 2020, Horizon Chase 2). Probably those aren't as good as some old titles from the 2000s or mid 2010s, but are a great time But the thing I noticed is that if it's not Forza, Need for Speed or Gran Turismo, then it's not relevant. And it's really funny to hear/read "all those games are the same", but if you dare to say something about the other games, you trigger them lmao. But I don't blame them. If you take a pic in the new Forza and most recent Gran Turismo, without the watermark, and ask which one is which, probably if it's not a fan of those franchise the person won't differentiate which one is from which game. Every AAA racing game has shifted towards realism. Both in driving and visuals. And the only game that tried to look different from anything else, was Need for Speed Unbound.
Live service games like PUBG, COD, Fortnite, GTA V etc. ruined the sales of several genres as they occupy like 100's of millions of players and it's getting worse. It's like most gamers refuses to play games that isn't "social" now. Live service ruined gaming.
Shareholders ruining the gaming with expectations for infinite growth
@@s3nTer Yes. Shareholder is a big part of the problem too and is why many are forced to release broken games too, 1 year too early. Not a smart movie in the long run, unless the game is called "Cyberpunk".
@@V3ntilatorthe biggest saving grace for cyberpunk was that it was never an online game or had micro transactions to shove down people’s throats. It was just an unfinished broken game, not a store front with a half assed game attached. So the devs actually had something to build and improve off of with incentive instead of saying “we’ll patch it enough to get a few more sales from our shop”
@@BonzerMrT Yeah. At least it were a complete game. I bought it DRM free on their own shop. GOG.
Big clarification - Most Criterion devs (responsible for Burnouts and NFSHP2010) have left the studio long ago. Unbound era Criterion is a different studio altogether.
Beamng and AC still carrying the Genre after all these years.. let’s hope for Beamng 1.0 and AC2 to change gears in the industry
dude i thought u had 730k subs this video were so well made lol i thought i was trippin when i saw only 730 subs
while from a modern perspective it’s pretty bare bones and most of what I say is nostalgia because I grew up with the IP but one of the racing games I always return to every now and then is Hot Wheels World Race on the PS2 and Gamecube, what really stood out to me with this game as a kid was its set pieces, being based on the film of the same name it was set around racing through different realms all having their own distinct biome, Going from the volcanic realm where you would be racing through active volcanoes to the arctic realm that focused in racing through massive glaciers and Arctic mining equipment. This side of the racing genre I find is criminally overlooked.
i recently bought NFS heat for $3 in steam and 1 thing I found on main stream racing game is the depth of car. As a person who recently drive into racing game genre, there is a lot of stuff u need to learn before u can win some end game race. engine swap, turbo, different tire, when to use nitro, all of those stuff make ppl who are not familiar to car interior a wall that need to be break thought by learning those stuff. this is why GTA 5 and mario kart are more popular, bc those 2 game have been simplify enough to let even a child can win a race
If you want something unique from the monotony of the current racing game sphere, you're going to have to dig. I recently found Night Runners on steam, a 90s to mid 2000s street racing game set in japan. it's aesthetic is supreme, and I can't stop playing. It's currently still being produced, but the prologue is out, and I encourage everyone feeling the same as you described in the video to check it out.
im going to steal that loading bar transition thing
I think that at some point everybody runs out of inspiration eventually. Gran turismo for example, they had a peak at some point (gt2; gt3; gt4) but it's been going downhill since. They obviously tried to make the existing formula better but they ended up making it worse. They kept that base formula but they cut out the best factors from it, in the attempt of modernising it. They simply just ran out of ideas.
I think this is definitely true to some extent. I personally have never owned a PS console, so I took my friend FastMiner07's word for it. But, at the same time, if a game is not innovating enough, and the community is showing dislike towards that, then there needs to be a change in the game design/management section.
@@DrPowerslide_this is horseshit. Gran turismo 7 has brought so many new people into racing thanks to psvr2. It is a great game but where it messed up is the level 50 requirement to do engine swaps. They ruined it by making it almost impossible to beat without spending actual money. The game truly shines on a controller thanks to haptic feedback, 4k visuals, and superb AI. As for the OPs intended video all I can say is tell me your a console racer without telling me so. Have you played a racing game on PC? Nobody is playing new games there playing old games like assetto corsa. Only the hard core players with rigs play all the old and new games.
Biased take. Gt7 is a huge evolution of the past games in almost every aspect, but it doesn't capture the old gran turismo vibes on some areas. That's it.
@@Kortex_Racingit got a boost bcz the was a movie about it
The movie was about GT5
I actually love the drifting in need for speed unbound but I think I’ve only learnt it so well because need for speed was my favourite and remains my favourite game on my console - all there is to it is making the right choice of drift at the right time given your speed in specific car know how, for example with the supercars speed drifting (double gas pedal) is trickier but the best choice, I often suggest you do it then when the car “enters the drift”control it while in the drift without using your gas pedal only re-pressing it just before the car sideway momentum runs out or if there’s more curve you tap it time & time again & your supercar with stay drifting
They thought they were cooking when they came up with Car PG
Tbh I really don't get the hate for festival racers. I understand the market saturation aspect, but imo a festival is the best setting for an open world racer.
For me, the problem is that all racing games today want to be a festival racer, but no one can really pull it off. Forza Horizon 1-3 had a really good festival feeling. Since then, the festival has been an uninspired background story at best.
A while ago, I picked up the deluxe edition of Grid Legends on a Steam sale for like $5. I never played the other Grid games and I didn't feel like watching cutscenes, so I immediately ignored the story mode because I just didn't (and still don't) care about it. After the initial period of figuring out how to quickly navigate menus and how to set up multi-event races with the race creator, this $5 impulse buy actually became my go-to offline track racing game. I set up my cheap racing wheel too (a Thrustmaster TMX Force Feedback) and it worked with no extra calibration needed, though it took a while to learn the button mapping and I also needed to tune down the force feedback intensity because of how I set up the wheel mount. There's three things I like about Grid Legends: 1. The game has a dynamic music option. - I know it's not much of a selling point, in fact I didn't even know it was in the game at first when I bought it, but I personally like when games change up the audio mixing in sync with whatever's happening in game. Here, the music gradually cranks up the bass and reverb little by little as you approach the finish line or when the timer ticks down to zero in elimination matches. It also has a practical use, as the music also will fade in a different "sample" when you approach corners too fast, and the intensity of the effect depends on how much faster you're approaching the corner beyond the recommended speed of the driving line. It's easier to notice on some songs than others. If the music's getting intense and there's a corner coming up, consider either gently tapping the brakes or feathering the throttle. Sometimes you'll hear the music change up way before you ever see the driving line change colors. 2. The AI has a nemesis system. - The game's not a demo derby by any means (and the demo derby mode from the DLC actually kinda sucks, so play Wreckfest instead if you want to see panels flying off the cars and littering the track), but you won't really be penalized for making contact with other cars and just forcing them out of the way. You'll lose a small chunk of your winnings on your own repair fees if you really bang up your car, but you can always just do another race if you need more money for something you wanted to buy. That said, if you're too hostile, an AI will become marked as a nemesis. They will start biting back and will actively attempt to block and side-swipe you if you've pissed them off. You can piss off multiple drivers at the same time, and the one's you really aggravate can retain their nemesis status through other career events until you leave them alone for a while. This mechanic incentivizes players to be a bit more mindful of both WHERE people are on the track and WHO they are. 3. The AI can make costly mistakes and can sometimes even have sudden performance issues with their car. - Something doesn't always happen on every lap, or even every race, but it happens often enough that you might want to consider going for wider overtakes and outright avoid drafting in some conditions. The worse the conditions, the wider the berth. Even if it means losing positions, I generally try to keep some distance away from a large pack on corners on the chance that one of the other drivers flubs their cornering or accidentally brake checks the hell out of someone else and causes a pileup. Even on higher difficulty settings, they will still make mistakes. Some of the mechanical failures I've seen are a bit absurd though, like when an AI violently swerves on a long straightaway after a cloud of smoke erupts from their undercarriage for what seemed like no reason at all. You don't want to get caught behind that cloud, btw. It's nearly impossible to see through it. So, my point is this: This game released in February 2022. The only other NEW racing game that has been on my radar since then is the free demo for Night Runners because of its visual aesthetic, its soundtrack, and the fact that I actually have to dodge traffic while driving. Yeeting vehicles around corners while jockeying with the pack and redlining toward the horizon is fun, but I'd like some interesting games to play that aren't the usual simulators or kart/zero-g racing games I keep going back to. The festival racers are more like a showcase than a game and don't really have any unique mechanics to mess around with, and there's not much of a middle ground on the market in general anymore, especially not for people who prefer offline play like me. Midnight Club hasn't been around since L.A. on the PS3/360, the last Burnout game released was Burnout Paradise Remastered in 2018 (after its original 2008 release and the last game in 2011, Burnout Crash), and Need For Speed has drastically varied in quality from game to game for so long that it's gotten to the point where I don't bother buying those games at launch anymore, if at all.
The first 3 Grids put Legends to shame.
We've all moved into playing Sim Racing instead. VR, Triples or a Single Mointor with a Wheelbase is where we're at!
Driver San Francisco to me is the last racing games (idk if everyone will not even consider this game as racing games) that has unique feature and interesting story like what any racing games that let you shift and stole other cars in the city without even having your body getting out straightly from the car, its like seamless GTA not to mention this game has one of the best cockpit camera in racing games history only several racing games that let you do 360 steering wheel animation in cokpit view and how Tanner response to car crash
I play them.....in VR. Tried once and can't go back to flat racing. Next level immersion
Racing games is a part of my life. GT5 & NFS series were my childhood games
just because you dont like to play racing games anymore doesnt mean the genre is dead.
Genre might not be “DEAD” but it’s in need of life support cause so many racing games we’ve gotten in the past decade have such poor quality and poor Re playability compared to games that came out during the ps2 and ps3 era
@@snoopysmx5257 i dont think thats the case. ask some 12 yo if they like racing games nowadays. im sure they do ;)
GT2 was the peak. My mate downloaded an enhanced graphics pack for modern TVs and its still the best thing ever. If they just kept bringing in new cars to GT2 and upgraded the graphics a little it'd be set forever.
The reason why I never got into the crew Motorsport is because I had just got done playing unbound and FH5 not too long before that. So I had already had a racing fill, but TCM being a festival like racer and having so many face value similarities never got me into it deeper than that.
I actually want to give Motorfest a try. I've heard good things about it from Ultraviolet, and from what I've seen it looks to be a better version of TC2.
I started with Papyrus Indaycar and NASCAR in the mid to late 90s. They were amazing, because it was the first sim racing games. As the NASCAR games became more popular, there were add-ons for the Grand National series, truck series, legends cars, plus there was a large mod community that were creating new paint schemes. But, as all racing games became more popular, franchises started coming out yearly, and quite honestly, why am I going to spend another $50 this year, for a little slightly polished version of last year's fame, with new paint schemes, maybe new drivers, but essentially the same game play as I bought last year. (I am still using F1 2020, as I will wait for a major update and discount before getting a new version.) And even Forza and Gran Turismo come out way too soon for non-addicts to play it enough to warrant buying the newest version. Then you have NFS, which at some.point of time, felt like they were pushing 3 or so games a year. I think casual gamers have now realized they can continue playing older games longer and wait for new game engines and even newest gaming devices, and also avoid those problematic releases that takes 3 months of update patched to fix (which is what I did before getting Cyberpunk).
DR. powerslide : Why Does Nobody Play Racing Games Anymore? ME : are you comedy me?
My favorite racing game is an old ps1 or 2 game called Tokyo extreme racing. It was so much fun. Had to pull up behind racers and flash your lights to start racing. Much fun, most racing games nowadays are boring.
i used to play many racing games... on PS1, PS2, X360, etc... from many franchises, be it Arcade or Sim. Nowadays... i lost the motivation... i am almost apathetic to the genre... i am waiting for FH6 to rekindle it... and surprisingly, i think GTA 6 will be the one to do it.
A hidden gem i highly recommend if you like high speed racing is grip combat racing. Basically fantasy forza with antigravity stages
There are different types of racing games of course. There are three categories. There is Arcade (Mario Kart, NFS, Burnout). There is simcade (Forza, Gran Turismo (I know GT is a bit closer to real life but it still has some arcady feel), Project Cars 3, NFS Shift 1 and 2, Dirt Rally 3-5 (as what some have said, it is iffy along with the F1 games), and NASCAR Heat (or any NASCAR)). Then there are sims/real sims (Project Cars1-2, Assetto Corsa, Assetto Corsa Competizione, iRacing, RFactor 2, Automobilista 1 and 2, and then there is RaceRoom). Some games that I mentioned that are in simcade, like dirt 1-2 are sims. So it can be confusing sometimes. And project cars. But there are so many variations you can play. Or a dedicated series like ACC, F1, or NASCAR. Racing games are ‘dead’, it just depends on what games you are looking at/playing.
The fact that direct drive wheel bases are now available for the consoles also proves there is a market for racing games. Things just seemed to move over to PC for a while but seem to be crossing back over recently. Just the arcade racing games that seem to be declining slightly.
Burnout and Midnight club needs to make a comeback
I gave up when a controller wasn’t enough anymore. I’d love a wheel setup, but I can’t afford it.
Me and my friends who play wreckfest every time we lan- wait, we don't play racing anymore?
Horizon Chase Turbo and Art of Rally are much more recent and they are two of my all time favorite games of any genre.
I agree with the points you made in the video. But I’m still a fan of Forza Horizon 5, I love the scenery, and ability to buy so many different cars and mod/tune them in so many different ways. I don’t care too much for story missions and stuff, I just like to hop on and burn the itch to drive
The midnight club era was so much fun.
Oh i do! :) just the old ones that is,
Now I understand why until today I play racing games in my X360, all are different, Dirt 2, Grid, Sonic Racing Transformed, Slip Second, the Original Most Wanted, Pure, etc, each one has something different to offer.
LETS GO NEW VID
More racing games need to follow the career setup like the F1 games where you follow a season with practice qualifying THEN race day. Bonus points if they could incorporate a super points system (since most games follow Motorsports managed by the FIA) in order for you to be able to compete in better and faster racing divisions
Actually, racing games are still played, but for some reasons, devs dont see or listen to what thos people want. For example, NFS mentioned, my friend really loved the Motorstorm, and me? I loved Horizon- when it was stil good. SO now , we are surviving on FH5, but we often talk about how awesome would it be to have open world racer where you have limitless possibilities, the game has some story and is QUALITY MADE. We dont care about realism much- we want action and we want it now! Filled with shredded rubber and gasoline vapor. Thats what I think a lot of people would want....
Gameplay wise they might be stale but graphically they are the best looking games you’ll find
Didn't play much racing games in a long while.. Then I got gt7 and loved it! Then I got a wheel and it's even better! Arcadesim/Simracimg is so fun, really have to feel it to understand!
I guess it comes down to perspective. If you like arcade racing games, then I guess you would be disappointed. If you are into racing sims, then you will probably say we are in an absolute golden era. I have zero interest in NFS or Forza. I like to dabble with AC, ACC, etc. As such, I think racing games are in the best state they’ve ever been and they are only getting better. To each their own.
Game development trends have changed our attitudes, in the days when Burnout 3 Takedown was developed DLC wasn't a priority. In 2024 and beyond developers create games while devising new ways of inserting DLC. When you buy a game today you're only getting a percentage of the product, the rest of the game is waiting for you in a DLC pack. Humans, Ferengi, what's the difference? These days Ethernet ports and routers ensure game consoles are internet ready or in other words they are built to receive DLC.
I haven't been super interested in racing games for a while, but I did get NFS Unbound for like $8 on sale for PC and, my god, the dialogue is so cringy. I guess NFS always had that super cheesy dialogue, and that was part of its charm, but it really does kinda feel a little too "how do you do fellow kids?". I was interested in that Hot Wheels game that came out some years ago, but I never got it. What interested me about it was user created tracks. One of my favorite games as a teen was Mod Nation Racers for the PS3 and I loved the track creation and sharing. The customization of cars and characters was also very robust, which adds a lot to the play time. But that was a Mario Kart style game. Solid progression and story like in NFS Most Wanted (2005) probably makes the most difference imo. Other great arcade racers worth mentioning are the Tokyo Extreme Racer series games. I never got into Ridge Racer, but they certainly are an honorable mention. It just feels like arcade racers don't exist anymore except NFS, everyone wants to be a racing sim.
I still play racing games pretty often, just not the AAA one, my current favorite is Night Runners.
Actual sim racing is still on the up n up
We just need Ridge Racer back. That’ll kick off a new era of arcade racing goodness 😊
Its honestly crazy how asseto corsa, a 10 year almost 11 year old game is one of the best and still treated like a mainstream game.
Thats just a strong modding community. The bare game is painfully empty.
I miss Motorstorm, that shit was insanely fun
NFS biggest mistake - making racing games more realistic. Take NFS MW - the driving was amazing, and it was basically just a box with some weight, you straighten out of corner with a nos - except, for these few "drag racing" missions. There you didnt steer the car, but switched between lines at correct speed. It was clunky, the animation took time, rarely anyone liked them. Now forward to more recent NFS game, and the whole game feels like that. If we can say NFS MW had "animation cancel" ( I mean the car had weight obviously, but it was a good balance between car weight and animations it does to represent that weight) - then later games started to have "delayed animation cancel" - its as if they added so much to car movement, that they couldnt just force car model to react instantly, so they created an animation delay. I didnt leave NFS franchise because it didnt excite me, I left because the driving started sucking ass.
realistic? they traded grip around corners with drifting... does drifting makes you a faster racer in real life?
Honestly , Crew Motorfest steering animations are fucking incredible. It’s legit one of the reasons I love GTA , because it looks realistic when you turn the wheel a full 360 degrees. But , they removed any sort of “home” / houses. Which would have improved the immersion like crazy and Ubisoft has games likes watch dogs I don’t understand why they won’t implement ‘getting out of your car’ - not to do anything illegal , legit just an option to get out of your car (since they legit have a walking animation in the car show) walk into a shop , buy some parts for your car, walk out and hop back in your car. Damn, if they did that Crew would be #1 … I also feel like if forza worked on their driving animation (steering) so it’s not so stiff looking in first person and even third for that manner forza would be hands down the greatest racing game ever because of the foundation forza has. The mechanics are incredible just a little too stiff. But I’m excited for Test Drive
I would love to play racing games if only let us have a ton more customization for the cars themselves and different variety of cars. Only Gta allows you to have a supercharger intake hood but if other games allowed you to add that, it would be great
I agree with all your points - especially with the lack of progression in modern racing games. I've barely played racing games over the past 5 years, because the main ones I've always loved are crap now-a-days: NFS: I'm currently playing NFS UG2 and am enjoying it more than Heat or Unbound, probably in part because it actually has a progression system. The last 2 NFS games are basically the same game - annoying "trendy" young people who's characters don't shut up, in a racing game with terrible driving physics, and I still can't choose from a wide range of headlights etc. I never played Payback. Forza Horizon: The series used to be a racing game and you used these cars to explore. Now it's an exploration game and you just happen to use cars to explore. Basically they're not racing games anymore - the game throws all sorts of cars at you form the beginning, the map is a mess of colorful icons and I have no idea what to do to progress, the credits bonus is reduced for racing on harder difficulties (no bonus at all for racing with rewind off), there is no longer any performance advantage I can tell for racing in manual, and I don't bloody well want to win socks! And Mexico was a terrible setting - basically just Australia (desert) from FH3 but less interesting. **EDIT** And your point about racing games feeling so similar now is so true, and actually also applies to FPS games. All people just sliding, bunny hopping around with colorful guns.
Can I ask where the last 2 NFS fail in terms of progression? Because pretty sure it doesnt give you a lamborghini murcielago on the first hour. Also unpopular opinion, but majority of the headlights/taillights from UG2 looks ass by today standards, I'd rather have no headlights customization if were gonna get tasteless ones.
How’s that scorch mark on your desk under the laptop going
Sadly I think its because racing games dont make as much money as other games, so developing something new and unique can be a big risk. I think the beginning of the end was when Split/second, and blur disappointed in sales, it lead to the closer of both studios. Also the cost of making games is more then what it used to be. It would take a big publisher like EA/Sony/MS to invest in to something thats not a boring festival game. EA especially have a rich history to pull from, yet dont do anything with it.
As someone who loved Underground 1 & 2, liked Carbon, and enjoyed pro street a lot, I just find gameplay boring as hell in the latest need for speed games and not only in this franchise. 1- The circuits / roads are uninteresting. 2- The driving models, are either too realistic or too arcadey. 3- I'm not joking but I have on my phone a few cheap racing games with many times more entertaining driving mechanics. 4- We either seem to get a game with good/fun driving physics and no customization or the opposite. It seems impossible to find both in one place. It feels to me that racing games are never made to feel complete, but they are created lacking in many ways, as if to purposefully be forgotten so that you can buy the next installment.
i might be wrong, it’s like the flight simulator. Simulation games are still popular (iracing, rf2, acc) but arcade racing game is not popular any more
Yes I still play NFS Underground 2 and NFS Heat, both with mods, Payback is installed and next on my list 👍🏻
My issue with racing games is that they are no longer fun. None of them take a risk to make something new. I love arcade racing games but they all want to follow Forza Horizons success, which I hate. Be unique, be bold, take a risk. AAA racing games are creatively dead, Indie Dev's are the ones holding the torch for racing games now.