Is Arcade-Racing dying out?

[JackKey 23]

Maybe its just me, but currently I have the feeling that Arcade-Racing is dying out.

Ever since I never had a console my view might be distorted, but recently I have the feeling, that more and more developers are switching to sim-racing games ( having pretty much only official racing cicuits), and arcade gets more niche/indie or are fantasy/retro/fun-racer - or are just low-budget.

Blur ( flopped )
Split/Second ( hmm, yeah, flopped, but was more fun-racer I think )
Driveclub ( flopped? )
Need for Speed ( ugh yeah - nearly dropped by EA - and mediocre reboot )
DiRT ( now goes sim ? )
GRID ( Autosport was more Simcade ? )
FlatOut ( turned LowBudget )
WRC ( turned LowBudget )
Test Drive ( Dead ? ) Unlimited 2 was more Sim as well compared to TDU 1

Well, I love DiRT Rally and its one of my most played games on Steam (2nd), but I grew up with arcade-racing-games having licensed cars or look-alikes.

Successful franchises nowadays seem to be sim-only - Forza, Gran Turismo, Assetto Corsa, DiRT Rally?

It's not like I just want to whine and complain - I actually want to know what you guys are thinking, where the direction is flowing right now.

Right now there is not a single Arcade-Racer I am waiting for.

Kinda like: I always loved Racing Games but nowaday I feel completely detached from the genre.
Like I am not part of it anymore.
Something like I am waiting for game with the:
- driving model of "GRID1/DiRT2-3/NFS-HighStakesPS1-PorschePC-Underground-MostWanted2005/CrashTime4/CMR1"
- licensed cars like Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Aston Martin, Dodge, Mercedes, BMW,.... and so on
- beautiful varied tracks that are not just official racing cicuits like in NFS Porsche maybe. Driving along the coasts of Core d'Azure, Chinese Mountains, Hawai, Australien Outback, London, San Francisco.
I guess this is just my nostalgia, but I kinda just wait for a "GRID1" with a Porsche driving through Mountains, Deserts and Coastal Areas.

[RubyRuby 0]

You're just getting old, guy.  :'(  So am I, but my expectations for a true GRID sequel are about zilch.  On the other hand, we can still play GRID!

[JackKey 23]

Well yeah, I can play every single NFS, FlatOut and Codemasters-Game that ever existed on my PC right now - so I have that going for me.

But I actually wanted this thread be a little bit more about where the racing-genre is currently moving towards, not just me getting old wearing nostalgia-goggles ^^.

[Operator1 4]

Good topic for discussion.

I enjoy arcade racing, "sim-cade" racing, & sim racing games as long as the prevailing general theme is circuit-based motorsport.

I don't enjoy Mario-Kart-style game-play much because it's more about power-ups & wrecking opponents, not pure racing.

I don't enjoy BurnOut-style game-play as much because it's mostly about destruction & maximizing the accumulation & usage of turbo-boost, not pure racing.

I don't enjoy stunt/trick-based game-play or drifting because, again, not racing.

I don't enjoy open-world driving games because they're usually more about exploration, discovery, & scenery (often with some cliché "underground street racing" vibe) than pure racing - and when they do race, the road course layouts tend to be mostly about just mashing the accelerator down for long, wide, high-speed straights, with some obstacles/traffic & blind corners thrown in just for the purpose of screwing up your run (turning it into less of a race & more of an elimination match to see who can survive to the finish line).

I think the appeal of more arcade-oriented racing games is a low barrier-to-entry that's easy to pick-up-&-play... but they often lack enough depth to keep people playing for long.

I think the appeal of more sim-oriented racing games is the authenticity that more closely resembles what we might see in the real world... but they often have such a high barrier-to-entry (not so easy to just pick-up-&-play) that many people move on to something else before accumulating enough seat-time to derive much fun/satisfaction from it.

Leaderboards for sim-oriented racing games often show that only about 20% (or less) of the players are what most might consider "competitive." That tells me that 80% (or more) of those sim-oriented gamers are playing just to have fun in a more authentic setting than arcade-style racing games provide...

...So if a racing game could strike a satisfying balance between pick-up-&-play accessibility plus motorsport-oriented authenticity, it might do very well. (I had hoped that GRID AutoSport would satisfy this niche nicely, but too many design flaws & technical issues nearly rendered that game dead-on-arrival.)

[OzoreXS 0]

Arcade racing its no dying.

Lets take for example, WMD - SMS (Slightly Mad Studios) and have a look into the last 8 years.

They managed to enter in the EA world with its NFS franchise. What did they do?
Need for Speed Shift. This title provided great GFX+sounds+variety+modding support...etc etc. The handling of this title was comparable to Grid Autosport... lets say kinda simcade.
So it was a great title, but avarage player/buyer didnt liked it.

What was then? NFS Shift 2: Unleashed. For me the best NFS title of all times. Why? because its proximity to the simulation, even without modding. Again, almost nobody liked the game due to its "difficulty".
What did EA after this unsuccesfull titles? : The run, most wanted and the whole new NFS with frostbite stunning GFX ... games you will only "enjoy" with the proper gamepad and big bag of doritos. Thats what people was waiting for. Something absolutely arcade and skills needed free

What did SMS? Project CARS. They took NFS shift 2 and improved it a bit. The result? a successful semi-sim for consoles and PC due to the concept of "World Mass Development" (more lie than true, but thats another story):smile:

So each market segment has its users

Developers can make an enjoyable game turning it sim or arcade. The key is the "X" formula that makes a title enjoyable. Codemasters always created very enjoyable games, some of them more sims alike and most of them arcade.

I dont think SIM racing is the future standard for racing games.

[KK78 9]

I personally don't think it is dying, if anything the quality is not there as much recently generally. DriveClub is a good example of the opposite though, I don't feel it was a flop and Sony closing Evo down is obviously Codemasters gain (looking at GT Sport compounds the point as it looks very boring to me) but it did have a poor launch (whether it was Evo fault or Sonys for pushing it is debatable) but once the game settled and more and more content came it was a solid arcade racer that became highly competitive. It was simple to pick up but tough to master, been quick in DriveClub, really quick, was not easy and I hope it is something that Evo get to create again in some form because it introduced a lot of really interesting elements with the online competitive nature of the game. 

[likewise 19]

I don't think that DriveClub flopped, it is actually a very well put together game, maybe the best I have played in some respects. Yes it is more arcade than (Grid Autosport/PCars/F1/Dirt Rally) but in terms of the content and presentation it is hands over any of the above mentioned. If you set a time It is instantly updated on the leaderboard, Some games (CM included) it takes an hour or more to update the times. The loading screens are engaging and feature screenshots from actual players that are updated regularly. The game looks FANTASTIC!, I only wish F1 would look as good... The addition of DriveClub Bikes was a great surprise and was also a lot of fun. The racing was really good although the physics were arcade but it was really fun and I still go back every now and then just for some good times. All racing game developers could take some ideas from a very competent game such as DriveClub.   

[sjsharp2010 225]

OzoreXS said:

Arcade racing its no dying.

Lets take for example, WMD - SMS (Slightly Mad Studios) and have a look into the last 8 years.

They managed to enter in the EA world with its NFS franchise. What did they do?
Need for Speed Shift. This title provided great GFX+sounds+variety+modding support...etc etc. The handling of this title was comparable to Grid Autosport... lets say kinda simcade.
So it was a great title, but avarage player/buyer didnt liked it.

What was then? NFS Shift 2: Unleashed. For me the best NFS title of all times. Why? because its proximity to the simulation, even without modding. Again, almost nobody liked the game due to its "difficulty".
What did EA after this unsuccesfull titles? : The run, most wanted and the whole new NFS with frostbite stunning GFX ... games you will only "enjoy" with the proper gamepad and big bag of doritos. Thats what people was waiting for. Something absolutely arcade and skills needed free

What did SMS? Project CARS. They took NFS shift 2 and improved it a bit. The result? a successful semi-sim for consoles and PC due to the concept of "World Mass Development" (more lie than true, but thats another story):smile:

So each market segment has its users

Developers can make an enjoyable game turning it sim or arcade. The key is the "X" formula that makes a title enjoyable. Codemasters always created very enjoyable games, some of them more sims alike and most of them arcade.

I dont think SIM racing is the future standard for racing games.

Personally I find that CM strike a good balance between the 2  because I enjoy most if not all of their racing games. At least the ones I've played anyhow so yeah I agree. As long as I think they can find this balance I think they'll satisfy most people.