History DuelingWorks / RacingGame

|| ''Forza Horizon 2'' (2014) || ''VideoGame/{{Driveclub}}'' (2014) || Flagship racing games for the newly-released UsefulNotes/XboxOne and UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, respectively. || ''Horizon 2'' is open-world, while ''Driveclub'' is focused entirely around circuit and point-to-point racing. Also, ''Driveclub'' was built heavily around its online components, allowing players to form "clubs" and gain experience together while also partaking in challenges by other players in the middle of races. || [[CurbStompBattle This one is easy]]: ''Forza Horizon 2''. ''Driveclub'' was marred by an utterly disastrous online launch that rendered its much-touted online features almost completely unusable for weeks, forcing its developer, Evolution Studios, to delay the free [=PlayStation=] Plus version of the game until June 2015, and give out the first two DLC packs for free as compensation. While the problems were eventually fixed, and those who stuck with the game enjoyed it, by that point it was too late to mend ''Driveclub''[='=]s reputation, and Evolution Studios was [[http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/03/19/driveclub-developer-evolution-studios-hit-with-layoffs hit with layoffs]] six months after the game's launch. The development studio would eventually [[http://kotaku.com/sony-shuts-down-driveclub-developer-evolution-studios-1766375507 be shut down in March 2016.]] ||

After spending some time in the Land Down Under, Creator/PlaygroundGames brings the Horizon Festival to their homeland of Great Britain, making the festival run all year-round (in-game) with changing seasons that affect the game world. Not only that, the festival is more social than ever with the open world shared between players on 72-player servers, although those who still want to drive alone offline have the option to do so. || Although ''Forza Horizon 4'' has yet to be fully released as of this writing,[[note]]September 27, 2018, the day before it releases for Ultimate Edition players[[/note]] it's blowing the three-months-older ''The Crew 2'' out of the water in terms of critical reception. On Metacritic, ''Horizon 4'' has managed to achieve a metascore of 92, beating the highly-praised ''Horizon 3'' as the highest-rated entry in its series. ''The Crew 2'', however, got a very mixed critical reception with its metascores staying in the 60s (66 on PC, 64 on [=PS4=], and 69 on Xbox One). ||

The same could not be said for ''Most Wanted'', which received a large backlash from the majority of the ''Need for Speed'' fanbase for being almost nothing like [[SacredCow the 2005 EA Black Box game they remember]] and too much like ''VideoGame/BurnoutParadise''. Likewise, core ''Burnout'' fans also did not like the ''Paradise'' similarities. The backlash was so big that it affected the reputation of both Criterion and the following year's ''Rivals'' (mainly developed by a new developer called Ghost Games, who have several people originally from Criterion in their staff) and later prompted EA to decide not to release a new ''NFS'' game in 2014.[[note]]''Rivals'' received a ''[[GameOfTheYearEdition Complete Edition]]'' re-release that year, which has never been done before in the series' history.[[/note]] With ''Horizon'' spawning a series of [[EvenBetterSequel increasingly lauded sequels]] (see below), and the ''Need for Speed'' series eventually receiving a [[ContinuityReboot yet another reboot]] in 2015 (which ended up getting a mixed reception from critics), the winner is Playground Games' ''Forza Horizon''. ||

The same could not be said for ''Most Wanted'', which received a large backlash from the majority of the ''Need for Speed'' fanbase for being almost nothing like [[SacredCow the 2005 EA Black Box game they remember]] and too much like ''VideoGame/BurnoutParadise''. Likewise, core ''Burnout'' fans also did not like the ''Paradise'' similarities. The backlash was so big that it affected the reputation of both Criterion and the following year's ''Rivals'' (mainly developed by a new developer called Ghost Games, who have several people originally from Criterion in their staff) and later prompted EA to decide not to release a new ''NFS'' game in 2014.[[note]]''Rivals'' received a ''[[GameOfTheYearEdition Complete Edition]]'' rerelease that year, which has never been done before in the series' history.[[/note]] With ''Horizon'' spawning a series of [[EvenBetterSequel increasingly lauded sequels]] (see below), and the ''Need for Speed'' series eventually receiving a [[ContinuityReboot yet another reboot]] in 2015 (with ended up getting mixed reception from critics), the winner is clearly Playground Games' ''Forza Horizon''. ||

The same could not be said for ''Most Wanted'', which received a large backlash from the majority of the ''Need for Speed'' fanbase for being almost nothing like [[SacredCow the 2005 EA Black Box game they remember]] and too much like ''VideoGame/BurnoutParadise''. Likewise, core ''Burnout'' fans also did not like the ''Paradise'' similarities. The backlash was so big that it affected the reputation of both Criterion and the following year's ''Rivals'' (mainly developed by a new developer called Ghost Games, who have several people originally from Criterion in their staff) and later prompted EA to decide not to release a new ''NFS'' game in 2014.[[note]]''Rivals'' received a ''[[GameOfTheYearEdition Complete Edition]]'' rerelease that year, which has never been done before in the series' history.[[/note]] With ''Horizon'' spawning a series of increasing [[EvenBetterSequel increasingly lauded sequels]] (see below), and ''Need for Speed'' eventually receiving a SeriesReboot ''again'' in 2015, the winner is clearly Playground Games' ''Forza Horizon''. ||

|| ''[[VideoGame/{{Forza}} Forza Horizon]]'' (2012) || ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed: [[VideoGame/NeedForSpeedMostWanted Most Wanted]]'' (2012) || 2012 British-developed production car racers held in {{Wide Open Sandbox}}es with an emphasis on multiplayer, nonlinear progression, and killer soundtracks with EDM, indie rock, and alternative rock. Also use Kinect voice commands on Xbox 360 in single-player. || The other similarities between these two games are a few shared cars (including their DLC cars), speed traps that could tell how fast a car was going upon passing them by, and having the same song in their soundtracks: "The Power" by DJ Fresh and Dizzee Rascal; they also share a few artists, such as Skrillex, Nero, Madeon and The Maccabees. They both also received a good deal of DLC from their respective fanbases. That's where it ends though. ''Horizon'', being a spinoff of the ''Forza Motorsport'' games, was a Xbox 360-exclusive semi-sim racer developed by a newly-formed developer called Playground Games, containing employees with racing game experience (including those previously from [[Creator/CriterionGames the developer of the competing game]]), with some collaboration by the series' main developer Turn 10. ''Most Wanted'', which was released on several consoles, was a reinterpretation of the beloved 2005 game of the same name. The arcade-styled racer was made solely by Creator/CriterionGames, a veteran racing game developer known for the ''VideoGame/{{Burnout}}'' series who previously made the unanimously-acclaimed 2010 reboot of ''Hot Pursuit''. ''Horizon'' took place in a fictionalized version of Colorado, but the free-roaming was mostly stuck to the roads. ''Most Wanted'' took place in a fictional city called Fairhaven, which has inspirations from Boston, Massachusetts and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and contained more free-roaming areas off the main road. ''Horizon'' had many cars in a decent variety of body styles, though they had to be bought at a showroom using in-game currency or optional microtransactions. ''Most Wanted'' had way less cars by comparison, but a wider variety of body styles, including street-legal open wheel cars, and all but ten cars (fourteen counting DLC) could be found resting in various spots all over its (single-player) world and driven immediately from there; the rest, called the "most wanted" vehicles, had to be beaten in special unlockable races. ''Horizon'' had realistic car modifications that not only affected performance, but the class the cars were allowed to race in; ''Most Wanted'' had car mods that could be added instantaneously with no effect on the cars' pre-defined classes, but they emphasized one aspect of performance over another. ''Most Wanted'' has (single-player only) police and crashes have an effect on gameplay, mostly from ''Burnout''-style takedowns; ''Horizon'' has no cops and only cosmetic damage. ''Most Wanted''[='=]s multiplayer had racers competing in multiple events within various five-event playlists, chosen at random in public sessions and by players in friends-only sessions. ''Horizon''[='=]s multiplayer events could be chosen completely by the player, whether by joining or hosting a public or private session. Among their DLC outside of cars, ''Most Wanted'' added a new area (an airport) and a couple new single-player-only race modes, while ''Horizon'' added rally races and a free expansion that provided additional optional goals for players to do in each and every car in the game. || Both were well-received by critics, each winning various racing game of the year awards, and both did supposedly well sales-wise. ''Most Wanted'' outsold the previous year's ''Need for Speed'' game (''The Run''), was the seventh-best-selling game in the US in November 2012, and was the fifth-best-selling game in the UK on its week of release. ''Horizon'' sold well-enough be on the top 20 most played games on Xbox Live for the first two months after its release. However, going over their hatedoms, ''Horizon'' was disliked by core ''Forza'' fans for dropping the traditional racing day events of the main games, disabling some of the more realistic aspects of ''Forza'' such as performance-affecting car damage, and running only at a locked 30 frames per second throughout. Since it was a spinoff though, the hatred simmered down as the months went by and ''Forza Motorsport 5'' was released the following year on UsefulNotes/XboxOne.\\\\
The same could not be said for ''Most Wanted'', which received a large backlash from the majority of the ''Need for Speed'' fanbase for being almost nothing like [[SacredCow the 2005 EA Black Box game they remember]] and too much like ''VideoGame/BurnoutParadise''. Likewise, core ''Burnout'' fans also did not like the ''Paradise'' similarities. The backlash was so big that it affected the reputation of both Criterion and the following year's ''Rivals'' (mainly developed by a new developer called Ghost Games, who have several people originally from Criterion in their staff) and later prompted EA to decide not to release a new ''NFS'' game in 2014.[[note]]''Rivals'' received a ''[[GameOfTheYearEdition Complete Edition]]'' rerelease that year, which has never been done before in the series' history.[[/note]] With the later arrival of the EvenBetterSequel ''Horizon 2'' (see below), and the announcement of a 2015 ''Underground''-inspired reboot for ''Need for Speed'', the winner seems to be Playground Games' spinoff. ||

After spending time time in the Land Down Under, Creator/PlaygroundGames brings the Horizon Festival to their homeland of Great Britain, making the festival run all year-round (in-game) with changing seasons that affect the game world. Not only that, the festival is more social than ever with the open world shared between players on 72-player servers, although those who still want to drive alone offline have the option to do so. || Although ''Forza Horizon 4'' has yet to be fully released as of this writing,[[note]]September 27, 2018, the day before it releases for Ultimate Edition players[[/note]] it's blowing the three-months-older ''The Crew 2'' out of the water in terms of critical reception. On Metacritic, ''Horizon 4'' has managed to achieve a metascore of 92, beating the highly-praised ''Horizon 3'' as the highest-rated entry in its series. ''The Crew 2'', however, got a very mixed critical reception with its metascores staying in the 60s (66 on PC, 64 on [=PS4=], and 69 on Xbox One). ||

|| Initiator || Imitators || Description || Misc. || Winner? ||

''Project CARS 2'' began development in 2015 hot on the heels of its predecessor's release. The full game was released on September 22, 2017. It features all the content seen in the original ''Project CARS'', including new cars - such as Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Nissan - and new tracks - like Daytona, Indianapolis, Knockhill, and Sportsland SUGO. The dynamic time and weather system has received numerous upgrades as well: their new physics engine, [=LiveTrack 3.0=], brings out progressive track conditions through a race weekend. A new discipline, rallycross, also makes its debut, with matching cars and tracks. Like ''GT Sport'', the game also has a solid esports platform, with upgraded matchmaking, as well as online ranking systems and championship. || TBD, but right now ''GT Sport'' and ''Project CARS 2'' have pulled ahead. ''GT Sport'' has received mostly positive reviews, with a Metacritic score of 76; the bulk of the praise was directed to the engrossing gameplay, more challenging AI opponents, the extremely well-built multiplayer platform, the highly detailed cars and scenery, and the in-depth photo mode; the bulk of the criticism is levied against the lack of single-player content and its extremely strict always-online policy, to the point the game doesn't even save when offline. ''Project CARS 2'' has a Metacritic score of 86, and has also been well-received by those who weren't too hot on the predecessor, with compliments given to the new content, the better multiplayer platform, and far more polished handling on controllers, with the only real complaint being given to the number of bugs that are left unfixed. Same thing cannot be said for ''Forza Motorsport 7'', however: despite its Metacritic score of 87, the game has received considerable backlash by the fanbase: particularly pressing issues include the removed content from ''Motorsport 6''[[note]]For example, all of Toyota's production cars didn't make the cut due to licensing issues[[/note]], the lack of completely new content for a new ''Forza'' game, and most importantly the alleged pushing of microtransactions with random-chance lootboxes containing Mods, driver suits and even cars, as well as VIP being retooled as a consumable instead of being a permanent status - something that Turn 10 has said they will fix in a coming update, though. ||

|| ''[[VideoGame/{{Forza}} Forza Horizon]]'' (2012) || ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed: [[VideoGame/NeedForSpeedMostWanted Most Wanted]]'' (2012) || 2012 British-developed production car racers held in {{Wide Open Sandbox}}es with an emphasis on multiplayer, nonlinear progression, and killer soundtracks with EDM, indie rock, and alternative rock. Also use Kinect voice commands on Xbox 360 in single-player. || The other similarities between these two games are a few shared cars (including their DLC cars), speed traps that could tell how fast a car was going upon passing them by, and having the same song in their soundtracks: "The Power" by DJ Fresh and Dizzee Rascal; they also share a few artists, such as Skrillex, Nero, Madeon and The Maccabees. They both also received a good deal of DLC and some HateDumb from their respective fanbases. That's where it ends though. ''Horizon'', being a spinoff of the ''Forza Motorsport'' games, was a Xbox 360-exclusive semi-sim racer developed by a newly-formed developer called Playground Games, containing employees with racing game experience (including those previously from [[Creator/CriterionGames the developer of the competing game]]), with some collaboration by the series' main developer Turn 10. ''Most Wanted'', which was released on several consoles, was a reinterpretation of the beloved 2005 game of the same name. The arcade-styled racer was made solely by Creator/CriterionGames, a veteran racing game developer known for the ''VideoGame/{{Burnout}}'' series who previously made the unanimously-acclaimed 2010 reboot of ''Hot Pursuit''. ''Horizon'' took place in a fictionalized version of Colorado, but the free-roaming was mostly stuck to the roads. ''Most Wanted'' took place in a fictional city called Fairhaven, which has inspirations from Boston, Massachusetts and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and contained more free-roaming areas off the main road. ''Horizon'' had many cars in a decent variety of body styles, though they had to be bought at a showroom using in-game currency or optional microtransactions. ''Most Wanted'' had way less cars by comparison, but a wider variety of body styles, including street-legal open wheel cars, and all but ten cars (fourteen counting DLC) could be found resting in various spots all over its (single-player) world and driven immediately from there; the rest, called the "most wanted" vehicles, had to be beaten in special unlockable races. ''Horizon'' had realistic car modifications that not only affected performance, but the class the cars were allowed to race in; ''Most Wanted'' had car mods that could be added instantaneously with no effect on the cars' pre-defined classes, but they emphasized one aspect of performance over another. ''Most Wanted'' has (single-player only) police and crashes have an effect on gameplay, mostly from ''Burnout''-style takedowns; ''Horizon'' has no cops and only cosmetic damage. ''Most Wanted''[='=]s multiplayer had racers competing in multiple events within various five-event playlists, chosen at random in public sessions and by players in friends-only sessions. ''Horizon''[='=]s multiplayer events could be chosen completely by the player, whether by joining or hosting a public or private session. Among their DLC outside of cars, ''Most Wanted'' added a new area (an airport) and a couple new single-player-only race modes, while ''Horizon'' added rally races and a free expansion that provided additional optional goals for players to do in each and every car in the game. || Both were well-received by critics, each winning various racing game of the year awards, and both did supposedly well sales-wise. ''Most Wanted'' outsold the previous year's ''Need for Speed'' game (''The Run''), was the seventh-best-selling game in the US in November 2012, and was the fifth-best-selling game in the UK on its week of release. ''Horizon'' sold well-enough be on the top 20 most played games on Xbox Live for the first two months after its release. However, going over their hatedoms, ''Horizon'' was disliked by core ''Forza'' fans for dropping the traditional racing day events of the main games, disabling some of the more realistic aspects of ''Forza'' such as performance-affecting car damage, and running only at a locked 30 frames per second throughout. Since it was a spinoff though, the hatred simmered down as the months went by and ''Forza Motorsport 5'' was released the following year on UsefulNotes/XboxOne.\\\\

|| ''VideoGame/DaytonaUSA'' (1993) || ''VideoGame/RidgeRacer'' (1993) || Early 3D arcade racing games with an emphasis on drifting. || The dueling continued on the home market, where ''Daytona USA'' was one of the launch game of the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn while ''Ridge Racer'' headlined the UsefulNotes/PlayStation's launch. || ''Daytona USA'' won in arcades, being Creator/{{Sega}}'s biggest arcade earner and one of the most successful arcade games '''ever'''. ''Ridge Racer'' instead took the lead in the home market with its faithful home port (the saturn port of ''Daytona USA'' was considered vastly inferior) and critically acclaimed console-exclusive sequels. In the end, ''Ridge Racer'' spawned a much longer series with [[LongRunner more than twenty]] sequels and spinoffs, while ''Daytona USA'' only had a single sequel and two remakes.||

|| ''VideoGame/TestDrive'' (1987) || ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed'' (1994) || Racing games focused around exotic cars raced on open-road circuits. || The first ''Test Drive'' came out in 1987, while the first ''NFS'' was made in 1994 with a tie-in from ''Road & Track'' magazine. As ''NFS'' became popular, ''Test Drive'' was brought out of retirement by Accolade. The two series diverged in 2001 when ''NFS'' switched its focus to tuner car racing. || ''NFS'', hands down. It was one of Creator/ElectronicArts' flagship series in the '90s and well into the 2000s, while ''Test Drive'', for much of that same period, was seen as playing FollowTheLeader. While the ''Test Drive'' series came back with its best game, ''[[WideOpenSandbox Unlimited]]'', in 2006 (just as ''NFS'' was entering its DorkAge), its [[ObviousBeta buggy]] sequel damaged the goodwill that the series had earned. ||

''Project CARS 2'' began development in 2015 hot on the heels of its predecessor's release. The full game was released on September 22, 2017. It features all the content seen in the original ''Project CARS'', including new cars - such as Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Nissan - and tracks. The dynamic time and weather system has received numerous upgrades as well: their new physics engine, [=LiveTrack 3.0=], brings out progressive track conditions through a race weekend. A new discipline, rallycross, also makes its debut, with matching cars and tracks. Like ''GT Sport'', the game also has a solid esports platform, with upgraded matchmaking, as well as online ranking systems and championship. || TBD, but right now ''GT Sport'' and ''Project CARS 2'' have pulled ahead. ''GT Sport'' has received mostly positive reviews, with a Metacritic score of 76; the bulk of the praise was directed to the engrossing gameplay, more challenging AI opponents, the extremely well-built multiplayer platform, the highly detailed cars and scenery, and the in-depth photo mode; the bulk of the criticism is levied against the lack of single-player content and its extremely strict always-online policy, to the point the game doesn't even save when offline. ''Project CARS 2'' has a Metacritic score of 86, and has also been well-received by those who weren't too hot on the predecessor, with compliments given to the new content, the better multiplayer platform, and far more polished handling on controllers, with the only real complaint being given to the number of bugs that are left unfixed. Same thing cannot be said for ''Forza Motorsport 7'', however: despite its Metacritic score of 87, the game has received considerable backlash by the fanbase: particularly pressing issues include the removed content from ''Motorsport 6''[[note]]For example, all of Toyota's production cars didn't make the cut due to licensing issues[[/note]], the lack of completely new content for a new ''Forza'' game, and most importantly the alleged pushing of microtransactions with random-chance lootboxes containing Mods, driver suits and even cars, as well as VIP being retooled as a consumable instead of being a permanent status - something that Turn 10 has said they will fix in a coming update, though. ||

''Project CARS 2'' began development in 2015 hot on the heels of its predecessor's release. The full game was released on September 22, 2017. It features all the content seen in the original ''Project CARS'', including new cars - such as Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Nissan - and tracks. The dynamic time and weather system has received numerous upgrades as well: their new physics engine, [=LiveTrack 3.0=], brings out progressive track conditions through a race weekend. A new discipline, rallycross, also makes its debut, with matching cars and tracks. Like ''GT Sport'', the game also has a solid esports platform, with upgraded matchmaking, as well as online ranking systems and championship. || TBD, but right now ''GT Sport'' and ''Project CARS 2'' have pulled ahead. ''GT Sport'' has received mostly positive reviews; the bulk of the praise was directed to the engrossing gameplay, more challenging AI opponents, the extremely well-built multiplayer platform, the highly detailed cars and scenery, and the in-depth photo mode; the bulk of the criticism is levied against the lack of single-player content and its extremely strict always-online policy, to the point the game doesn't even save when offline. ''Project CARS 2'' has a Metacritic score of 86, and has also been well-received by those who weren't too hot on the predecessor, with compliments given to the new content, the better multiplayer platform, and far more polished handling on controllers, with the only real complaint being given to the number of bugs that are left unfixed. Same thing cannot be said for ''Forza Motorsport 7'', however: despite its Metacritic score of 87, the game has received considerable backlash by the fanbase: particularly pressing issues include the removed content from ''Motorsport 6''[[note]]For example, all of Toyota's production cars didn't make the cut due to licensing issues[[/note]], the lack of completely new content for a new ''Forza'' game, and most importantly the alleged pushing of microtransactions with random-chance lootboxes containing Mods, driver suits and even cars, as well as VIP being retooled as a consumable instead of being a permanent status - something that Turn 10 has said they will fix in a coming update, though. ||

''Project CARS 2'' began development in 2015 hot on the heels of its predecessor's release. The full game was released on September 22, 2017. It features all the content seen in the original ''Project CARS'', including new cars - such as Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Nissan - and tracks. The dynamic time and weather system has received numerous upgrades as well: their new physics engine, [=LiveTrack 3.0=], brings out progressive track conditions through a race weekend. A new discipline, rallycross, also makes its debut, with matching cars and tracks. Like ''GT Sport'', the game also has a solid esports platform, with upgraded matchmaking, as well as online ranking systems and championship. || TBD, but right now ''GT Sport'' and ''Project CARS 2'' have pulled ahead. ''GT Sport'' has recently gotten a long-lasting closed beta that has received mostly positive reviews; the bulk of the praise was directed to the engrossing gameplay, more challenging AI opponents, the extremely well-built multiplayer platform, the highly detailed cars and scenery, and the in-depth photo mode. ''Project CARS 2'' has a Metacritic score of 86, and has also been well-received by those who weren't too hot on the predecessor, with compliments given to the new content, the better multiplayer platform, and far more polished handling on controllers, with the only real complaint being given to the number of bugs that are left unfixed. Same thing cannot be said for ''Forza Motorsport 7'', however: despite its Metacritic score of 87, the game has received considerable backlash by the fanbase: particularly pressing issues include the removed content from ''Motorsport 6''[[note]]For example, all of Toyota's production cars didn't make the cut due to licensing issues[[/note]], the lack of completely new content for a new ''Forza'' game, and most importantly the alleged pushing of microtransactions with random-chance lootboxes containing Mods, driver suits and even cars, as well as VIP being retooled as a consumable instead of being a permanent status - something that Turn 10 has said they will fix in a coming update, though. ||

|| ''Powerdrome'' (1988) || ''VideoGame/{{F-Zero}}'' (1990)\\

''Project CARS 2'' began development in 2015 hot on the heels of its predecessor's release. The full game was released on September 22, 2017. It features all the content seen in the original ''Project CARS'', including new cars - such as Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Nissan - and tracks. The dynamic time and weather system has received numerous upgrades as well: their new physics engine, [=LiveTrack 3.0=], brings out progressive track conditions through a race weekend. A new discipline, rallycross, also makes its debut, with matching cars and tracks. Like ''GT Sport'', the game also has a solid esports platform, with upgraded matchmaking, as well as online ranking systems and championship. || TBD, but right now ''GT Sport'' and ''Project CARS 2'' have pulled ahead. ''GT Sport'' has recently gotten a long-lasting closed beta that has received mostly positive reviews. ''Project CARS 2'' has a Metacritic score of 86, and has also been well-received by those who weren't too hot on the predecessor, with compliments given to the new content, the better multiplayer platform, and far more polished handling on controllers, with the only real complaint being given to the number of bugs that are left unfixed. Same thing cannot be said for ''Forza Motorsport 7'', however: despite its Metacritic score of 87, the game has received considerable backlash by the fanbase: particularly pressing issues include the removed content from ''Motorsport 6''[[note]]For example, all of Toyota's production cars didn't make the cut due to licensing issues[[/note]], the lack of completely new content for a new ''Forza'' game, and most importantly the alleged pushing of microtransactions with random-chance lootboxes containing Mods, driver suits and even cars, as well as VIP being retooled as a consumable instead of being a permanent status - something that Turn 10 has said they will fix in a coming update, though. ||

''Project CARS 2'' began development in 2015 hot on the heels of its predecessor's release. The full game was released on September 22, 2017. It features all the content seen in the original ''Project CARS'', including new cars - such as Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Nissan - and tracks. The dynamic time and weather system has received numerous upgrades as well: their new physics engine, [=LiveTrack 3.0=], brings out progressive track conditions through a race weekend. A new discipline, rallycross, also makes its debut, with matching cars and tracks. Like ''GT Sport'', the game also has a solid esports platform, with upgraded matchmaking, as well as online ranking systems and championship. || TBD, but right now ''GT Sport'' and ''Project CARS 2'' have pulled ahead. ''GT Sport'' has recently gotten a long-lasting closed beta that has received mostly positive reviews. ''Project CARS 2'' has a Metacritic score of 86, and has also been well-received by those who weren't too hot on the predecessor, with compliments given to the new content, the better multiplayer platform, and far more polished handling on controllers, with the only real complaint being given to the number of bugs that are left unfixed. Same thing cannot be said for ''Forza Motorsport 7'', however: despite its Metacritic score of 87, the game has received more negative gamer reception compared to the previous ''Forza'' titles: particularly pressing issues include the removed content from ''Motorsport 6''[[note]]For example, all of Toyota's production cars didn't make the cut due to licensing issues[[/note]], the lack of completely new content for a new ''Forza'' game, and most importantly the alleged pushing of microtransactions with random-chance lootboxes containing Mods, driver suits and even cars, as well as VIP being retooled as a consumable instead of being a permanent status - something that Turn 10 has said they will fix in a coming update, though. ||

''GT Sport'' is the seventh primary ''Gran Turismo'' game by Polyphony Digital, and also the series' first major installment without a number. A more [=eSports=]-focused entry, ''Sport'' is different from the series's ''Prologue'' titles and will feature more content at launch, with 130 cars (both real and fictitious), and 19 locations. ''GT Sport'' also introduces a livery editor a la ''Forza'' for the first time ever in the series. While the game focuses more on its online multiplayer asset, with full FIA-sponsored racing championships, the offline component isn't left out, with the series's traditional Driving Licenses and Career events marking a return. The series's acclaimed photo mode, now called "Scapes", features over a thousand locations and supports car positioning. || TBD. While ''GT Sport'' was already announced in 2015, ''Horizon 3'' was only announced at the 2016 edition of the Electronic Entertainment Expo/[=E3=]. Despite ''Horizon 3'' getting an overall warmer reception from gamers and critics alike (gaining ''universal acclaim'' based on its Metacritic score of 91 and winning Best Sports/Racing Game at The Game Awards 2016), ''GT Sport'' is also seen as a promising title dead-set on bringing ''Gran Turismo'' back to the forefront of (semi-)sim racers. However, since ''GT Sport'' has been delayed to 2017, it's likely that it will be going up against ''Forza Motorsport 7'' instead. ||

|| ''VideoGame/TestDrive'' (1987) || ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed'' (1994) || Racing games focused around exotic cars raced on open-road circuits. || The first ''Test Drive'' came out in 1987, while the first ''NFS'' was made in 1994 with a tie-in from ''Road & Track'' magazine. As ''NFS'' became popular, ''Test Drive'' was brought out of retirement by Accolade. The two series diverged in 2001 when ''NFS'' switched its focus to tuner car racing. || ''NFS'', hands down. It was one of ElectronicArts' flagship series in the '90s and well into the 2000s, while ''Test Drive'', for much of that same period, was seen as playing FollowTheLeader. While the ''Test Drive'' series came back with its best game, ''[[WideOpenSandbox Unlimited]]'', in 2006 (just as ''NFS'' was entering its DorkAge), its [[ObviousBeta buggy]] sequel damaged the goodwill that the series had earned. ||

''VideoGame/{{Wipeout}}'', (1995) || Futuristic hovercraft racing. || ''Powerdrome'', released for the Atari ST (1988) and Amiga (1989), was a ridiculously in-depth simulation of futuristic hovercraft racing, complete with localized vehicle damage, pit stops, and insanely unforgiving difficulty. ''F-Zero'', one of the SNES's launch titles, spawned a series known for excessively high speeds and crowds of opponents (and [[MemeticBadass Captain Falcon]]). ''Wipeout'', a UsefulNotes/PlayStation launch title, stood out with its [[DifficultButAwesome floaty handling]] and [[RuleOfCool futuristic]] [[AwesomeButImpractical weaponry]]. || The ''Wipeout'' series originally had a promising future, but the games' popularity declined with each installment. However, the recent release of ''Wipeout HD'' and its ''Fury'' ExpansionPack, seen as the best game in the series by some, has pushed it back into the limelight. ''F-Zero'' has essentially been dormant since 2003's ''F-Zero GX'', and the series has never gone beyond CultClassic status, although its legacy lives on with Captain Falcon's ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' appearances, which are responsible for his memetic status in the first place. Absolutely nobody remembers ''Powerdrome'', though it did get a {{remake}}. Verdict: ''Wipeout''. ||

|| ''VideoGame/RidgeRacer'' (1993) || ''[[Creator/{{Gameloft}} Asphalt]]'' (2004) || Glossy arcade-like racing games with an emphasis on drifting. || Unlike most of Gameloft's copies, ''Asphalt'' has directly competed with its "inspiration" twice: ''Ridge Racer'' had an installment on [=iOS=], the home of several ''Asphalt'' installments, and ''Ridge Racer 3D'' and ''Asphalt 3D'' were both launch titles on the Nintendo3DS. || A tie: ''Asphalt'' received better sales and reviews on [=iOS=], but ''Ridge Racer'' did better on the 3DS. ||

|| ''[[Manga/WanganMidnight Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune]]'' || ''[[Manga/InitialD Initial D Arcade Stage]]'' || Competitive arcade street-racing games with drifting as a core mechanic, magnetic cards as storage media and [[ProductPlacement fully-licensed]] cars. || Both arcade series rolled out in 2001, and popularized competitive street racing for arcade machines. || Both have sizable markets and are the biggest titles of the genre patch. In the US and Europe, ''Wangan Midnight'' always had a clear lead. This is due to the ''Initial D'' games requiring more time to learn, and the larger initial investment required (the WMMT cards are around a third cheaper in those areas). However, in Asia, ''Initial D'' was initially far more popular due to the anime and movie, and that in Asia both game cards are practically identically priced. However, ''Initial D'' started losing market share to ''Wangan Midnight'' in the late 2000s due to the anime falling out of popularity. With Initial D Arcade Stage 8 Infinity announced as the final entry of the game, the winner is now clearly '''Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune''' ||

|| ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeedUnderground'' (2003) || ''Street Racing Syndicate'' (2004)\\

|| ''VideoGame/{{Wipeout}}'' || ''Cyberspeed'' || Futuristic racing games released in fall 1995 for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation. || They're very similar, right down to the designs of the hovering, ship-like cars. However, unlike ''Wipeout'', the tracks in ''Cyberspeed'' resemble bobsled tracks more than roads. || ''Wipeout'' by a mile. Have you even heard of ''Cyberspeed''? ||
|| ''VideoGame/{{Trials}}'' || ''Urban Trial Freestyle'', ''Motorbike'' || Games where you race a stunt motorbike across a series of treacherous obstacle courses. Physics play a heavy factor. || ''Trials'' started as a series of Flash-based web browser games, but sequels were later developed for PC and UsefulNotes/XboxLiveArcade. ''Urban Trial'' and ''Motorbike'' were released as multi-platform games after the release of ''Trials Evolution''. || ''Trials'' by a wide margin. The ''HD'' release was one of the most popular XBLA games, given extra exposure by the "Summer of Arcade" campaign in 2009. ''Evolution'' was {{even better|sequel}}, adding new features such as outdoor environments and a [[LevelEditor course editor.]] Neither of its two competitors could come close, though ''Urban Trial'' had a far better showing than ''Motorbike'', which faceplanted right out of the starting gate due to myriad technical problems. ||
|| ''[[VideoGame/{{Forza}} Forza Horizon]]'' || ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed: [[VideoGame/NeedForSpeedMostWanted Most Wanted]]'' (2012) || 2012 British-developed production car racers held in {{Wide Open Sandbox}}es with an emphasis on multiplayer, nonlinear progression, and killer soundtracks with EDM, indie rock, and alternative rock. Also use Kinect voice commands on Xbox 360 in single-player. || The other similarities between these two games are a few shared cars (including their DLC cars), speed traps that could tell how fast a car was going upon passing them by, and having the same song in their soundtracks: "The Power" by DJ Fresh and Dizzee Rascal; they also share a few artists, such as Skrillex, Nero, Madeon and The Maccabees. They both also received a good deal of DLC and some HateDumb from their respective fanbases. That's where it ends though. ''Horizon'', being a spinoff of the ''Forza Motorsport'' games, was a Xbox 360-exclusive semi-sim racer developed by a newly-formed developer called Playground Games, containing employees with racing game experience (including those previously from [[Creator/CriterionGames the developer of the competing game]]), with some collaboration by the series' main developer Turn 10. ''Most Wanted'', which was released on several consoles, was a reinterpretation of the beloved 2005 game of the same name. The arcade-styled racer was made solely by Creator/CriterionGames, a veteran racing game developer known for the ''VideoGame/{{Burnout}}'' series who previously made the unanimously-acclaimed 2010 reboot of ''Hot Pursuit''. ''Horizon'' took place in a fictionalized version of Colorado, but the free-roaming was mostly stuck to the roads. ''Most Wanted'' took place in a fictional city called Fairhaven, which has inspirations from Boston, Massachusetts and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and contained more free-roaming areas off the main road. ''Horizon'' had many cars in a decent variety of body styles, though they had to be bought at a showroom using in-game currency or optional microtransactions. ''Most Wanted'' had way less cars by comparison, but a wider variety of body styles, including street-legal open wheel cars, and all but ten cars (fourteen counting DLC) could be found resting in various spots all over its (single-player) world and driven immediately from there; the rest, called the "most wanted" vehicles, had to be beaten in special unlockable races. ''Horizon'' had realistic car modifications that not only affected performance, but the class the cars were allowed to race in; ''Most Wanted'' had car mods that could be added instantaneously with no effect on the cars' pre-defined classes, but they emphasized one aspect of performance over another. ''Most Wanted'' has (single-player only) police and crashes have an effect on gameplay, mostly from ''Burnout''-style takedowns; ''Horizon'' has no cops and only cosmetic damage. ''Most Wanted''[='=]s multiplayer had racers competing in multiple events within various five-event playlists, chosen at random in public sessions and by players in friends-only sessions. ''Horizon''[='=]s multiplayer events could be chosen completely by the player, whether by joining or hosting a public or private session. Among their DLC outside of cars, ''Most Wanted'' added a new area (an airport) and a couple new single-player-only race modes, while ''Horizon'' added rally races and a free expansion that provided additional optional goals for players to do in each and every car in the game. || Both were well-received by critics, each winning various racing game of the year awards, and both did supposedly well sales-wise. ''Most Wanted'' outsold the previous year's ''Need for Speed'' game (''The Run''), was the seventh-best-selling game in the US in November 2012, and was the fifth-best-selling game in the UK on its week of release. ''Horizon'' sold well-enough be on the top 20 most played games on Xbox Live for the first two months after its release. However, going over their hatedoms, ''Horizon'' was disliked by core ''Forza'' fans for dropping the traditional racing day events of the main games, disabling some of the more realistic aspects of ''Forza'' such as performance-affecting car damage, and running only at a locked 30 frames per second throughout. Since it was a spinoff though, the hatred simmered down as the months went by and ''Forza Motorsport 5'' was released the following year on UsefulNotes/XboxOne.\\\\

|| ''Need for Speed: Most Wanted'' (2005) || ''Need for Speed: Most Wanted'' (2012) || ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed'' games that are titled ''[[VideoGame/NeedForSpeedMostWanted Most Wanted]]''. Both games were released on Windows, Xbox 360, [=PlayStation=] platforms, and Nintendo platforms. || This is a case of an internal FandomRivalry. The 2005 game was developed by the late EA Black Box, while the 2012 game was developed by Creator/CriterionGames. Details on the 2012 game can be seen in the above ''Forza Horizon'' 1 vs. ''NFS:MW'' 2012 row, though it can easily be described as ''VideoGame/BurnoutParadise''[='=]s SpiritualSuccessor. The original game on the other hand was a continuation of sorts to the ''Need for Speed: Underground'' games, with (albeit reduced amounts of) aftermarket customization, the then-reintroduction of police, and an infamously cheesy storyline. || Professional review-wise, a tie; both games have equivalent aggregate scores on Metacritic. Commercial-wise, also an arguable tie; [[Creator/ElectronicArts EA]] definitely moved a lot of copies of both games. ''Fandom''-wise, on the other hand, is lob-sided towards the 2005 game, based on several fans (mainly tuner fans, who make up the current majority of the ''NFS'' fanbase) perceiving the 2012 game to be inferior to the original. (Again, the ''FH''1/''MW'' 2012 battle above explains the situation for the later ''Most Wanted''.) ||
|| ''[[VideoGame/{{Forza}} Forza Horizon 2]]'' || ''VideoGame/TheCrew'' || Both are WideOpenSandbox racers with a good focus on car customization and very strong emphasis on multiplayer. || ''Horizon 2'' is held in Southern France and Northern Italy, with an open-world thrice as large as the original ''Horizon''. There are over 200 cars, as with the original ''Horizon'', 7 radio stations (ranging from electronic and indie music all the way to rock, rap and classical), a series of challenges known as the Bucket List, and the addition of a weather system alongside the original ''Horizon''[='s=] night racing. Car fine-tuning has been finally introduced to ''Horizon'', and is just the same as the mainline ''Motorsport'' series' system. Not only that, the critical-and-fan-acclaimed Drivatar technology has also been employed in the game. The multiplayer has also been drastically improved, sacrificing waiting rooms and giving players a seamless transition between offline and online racing, and vice-versa.\\\\

|| ''Forza Horizon 2'' || ''VideoGame/{{Driveclub}}'' || Flagship racing games for the newly-released UsefulNotes/XboxOne and UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, respectively. || ''Horizon 2'' is open-world, while ''Driveclub'' is focused entirely around circuit and point-to-point racing. Also, ''Driveclub'' was built heavily around its online components, allowing players to form "clubs" and gain experience together while also partaking in challenges by other players in the middle of races. || [[CurbStompBattle This one is easy]]: ''Forza Horizon 2''. ''Driveclub'' was marred by an utterly disastrous online launch that rendered its much-touted online features almost completely unusable for weeks, forcing its developer, Evolution Studios, to delay the free [=PlayStation=] Plus version of the game until June 2015, and give out the first two DLC packs for free as compensation. While the problems were eventually fixed, and those who stuck with the game enjoyed it, by that point it was too late to mend ''Driveclub''[='=]s reputation, and Evolution Studios was [[http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/03/19/driveclub-developer-evolution-studios-hit-with-layoffs hit with layoffs]] six months after the game's launch. The development studio would eventually [[http://kotaku.com/sony-shuts-down-driveclub-developer-evolution-studios-1766375507 be shut down in March 2016.]] ||
|| ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed'' (2015) || ''The Crew: Wild Run'' || Open world, always-online street racing games that are retools for their related [=IPs=] || The veteran ''Need for Speed'' franchise had to take a [[StealthPun break]] in 2014 to make a massive comeback that will bring back the ''Underground'' era of [[TurnOfTheMillennium the early 2000s]], which this new subtitle-free installment provides. Meanwhile, 2014 newcomer ''The Crew'' took notice of the mixed feedback of its launch, and responded with an expansion called ''Wild Run''. || Right now, ''Wild Run'' has a 72 on Metacritic, based on only 11 reviews for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 version, while the much more reviewed ''NFS'' reboot is in the 60s on both [=PS4=] and UsefulNotes/XboxOne. It's very clear though that ''NFS'' will sell more based on its [[VideoGameLongRunners long history]] and EA's [[CashCowFranchise marketing power]]. Fandom-wise though, many ''NFS'' fans have mixed opinions about the reboot, seeing it as either (depending on who you ask) a SurprisinglyImprovedSequel[=/=]EvenBetterSequel to ''Rivals'' and also as a great platform for the series' future development, or a lazy, half-assed attempt to WinBackTheCrowd; meanwhile, the fans of ''The Crew'' think that the expansion's features are either cool (motorbikes, new car Specs, a ''[[SceneryPorn massive]]'' graphics overhaul, and an improved [=PvP=] multiplayer platform) or unnecessary at best or a flat-out nuisance at worst (the "Smart Loot" system, for example). Still though, the final outcome has yet to be seen, especially since both Ghost Games and Ivory Tower have expressed interest into updating their games with more and more content as time goes by. ||
|| ''[[VideoGame/DiRT DiRT Rally]]'' || ''Sébastien Loeb Rally EVO'' || No-holds-barred rally racing simulators for UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, UsefulNotes/XboxOne and PC. || ''[=DiRT Rally=]'' was first launched on Steam Early Access in December of 2015 by Creator/{{Codemasters}}, and marks the return of the series to the ''Colin [=McRae=] Rally'' roots after the mixed reception of ''Showdown'', as a NintendoHard racing sim based on rallying and rallycross. The game offers a strong amount of vehicles ranging from old rally cars from the '60s to the more modern rally racers of the new Tens. One can also create their racing clubs with other players, where one can send timed challenges for others to beat. The Career mode takes cues from games like ''Gran Turismo'', where the player wins credits at the end of every rally, which can be spent on new cars, upgrades, and crew management.\\\\

|| ''[[VideoGame/{{Forza}} Forza Horizon 3]]'' || ''[[VideoGame/GranTurismo Gran Turismo Sport]]'' || Installments in the respective Xbox and [=PlayStation=] brands' flagship semi-sim racing franchises || ''Horizon 3'' is third ''Forza Horizon'' game by Playground Games and the ninth installment in the ''Forza'' series. Set in Australia, the player now takes full charge of the Horizon Festival. Players can create new races and challenges and share them with their friends through the [[LevelEditor Horizon Blueprint]], and can hire their friends' Drivatars to get extra credits. Car customization is also further fleshed out with the introduction of widebody kits and new rims. The game also supports crossplay multiplayer between Xbox One and Windows 10 PC, and features a full co-op campaign for 4 players.\\\\

|| ''[[VideoGame/SplitSecond Split/Second]]'' || ''VideoGame/{{Blur}}'' || Arcade-style [[DrivingGame racing games]] with a major gimmick. || Said gimmicks are player-controlled explosions and VideoGame/MarioKart-esque weaponry, respectively. || ''[[SplitSecond Split/Second]]''. The explosion-packed racer has sold over a half-million units worldwide, while ''VideoGame/{{Blur}}'' has yet to reach that milestone. Not only did ''Blur'' fail to sell well (and the game's TakeThat to ''Mario Kart'' in it's marketing campaign [[InsultBackfire blew up in their faces, adding to the problems)]], Creator/{{Activision}} shuttered developer Bizarre Creations because of it. However, by 2011 Disney also had to close down ''Split/Second'' developer Black Rock Studio after developers' claims of Disney's ExecutiveMeddling after the game's release. ||
|| ''[[VideoGame/SplitSecond Split/Second]]'' || ''VideoGame/{{Motorstorm}}: Apocalypse'' || Arcade-style [[DrivingGame racing games]] focused around over-the-top destruction. || The destruction in ''Split/Second'' is controlled by the player and is in the context of a GameShow, while that in ''Apocalypse'' is caused by earthquakes and other natural disasters that the player must work around or evade. || ''Motorstorm: Apocalypse'' had the incredible misfortune of being released [[TooSoon just]] ''[[TooSoon days]]'' [[TooSoon after the 2011 Japanese earthquake, and just over a month after another earthquake in New Zealand]]. As a result, its release in those two countries -- the former of which is the mecca of gaming -- was [[NoExportForYou canceled]], releases in North America and Britain were delayed by almost a month, and the Australian release, while on time, saw all advertising pulled from the airwaves and all new shipments halted. ''Split/Second'' wound up winning this contest by a country mile, with its half-million-plus sales dwarfing ''Apocalypse'''s roughly 125,000 worldwide units. ||
|| ''VideoGame/RidgeRacer'' || ''[[Creator/{{Gameloft}} Asphalt]]'' || Glossy arcade-like racing games with an emphasis on drifting. || Unlike most of Gameloft's copies, ''Asphalt'' has directly competed with its "inspiration" twice: ''Ridge Racer'' had an installment on [=iOS=], the home of several ''Asphalt'' installments, and ''Ridge Racer 3D'' and ''Asphalt 3D'' were both launch titles on the Nintendo3DS. || A tie: ''Asphalt'' received better sales and reviews on [=iOS=], but ''Ridge Racer'' did better on the 3DS. ||
|| ''VideoGame/DaytonaUSA'' || ''VideoGame/RidgeRacer'' || Early 3D arcade racing games with an emphasis on drifting. || The dueling continued on the home market, where ''Daytona USA'' was one of the launch game of the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn while ''Ridge Racer'' headlined the UsefulNotes/PlayStation's launch. || ''Daytona USA'' won in arcades, being Creator/{{Sega}}'s biggest arcade earner and one of the most successful arcade games '''ever'''. ''Ridge Racer'' instead took the lead in the home market with its faithful home port (the saturn port of ''Daytona USA'' was considered vastly inferior) and critically acclaimed console-exclusive sequels. In the end, ''Ridge Racer'' spawned a much longer series with [[LongRunner more than twenty]] sequels and spinoffs, while ''Daytona USA'' only had a single sequel and two remakes.||
|| ''[[Manga/WanganMidnight Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune]]'' || ''[[Manga/InitialD Initial D Arcade Stage]]'' || Competitive arcade street-racing games with drifting as a core mechanic, magnetic cards as storage media and [[ProductPlacement fully-licensed]] cars. || Both arcade series rolled out in 2001, and popularized competitive street racing for arcade machines. || Both have sizable markets and are the biggest titles of the genre patch. In the US and Europe, ''Wangan Midnight'' always had a clear lead. This is due to the ''Initial D'' games requiring more time to learn, and the larger initial investment required (the WMMT cards are around a third cheaper in those areas). However, in Asia, ''Initial D'' was initially far more popular due to the anime and movie, and that in Asia both game cards are practically identically priced. However, ''Initial D'' started losing market share to ''Wangan Midnight'' in the late 2000s due to the anime falling out of popularity. With Initial D Arcade Stage 8 Infinity announced as the final entry of the game, the winner is now clearly '''Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune'''||

|| ''Powerdrome'' || ''VideoGame/{{Wipeout}}'', ''VideoGame/{{F-Zero}}'' || Futuristic hovercraft racing. || ''Powerdrome'', released for the Atari ST (1988) and Amiga (1989), was a ridiculously in-depth simulation of futuristic hovercraft racing, complete with localized vehicle damage, pit stops, and insanely unforgiving difficulty. ''F-Zero'', one of the SNES's launch titles, spawned a series known for excessively high speeds and crowds of opponents (and [[MemeticBadass Captain Falcon]]). ''Wipeout'', a UsefulNotes/PlayStation launch title, stood out with its [[DifficultButAwesome floaty handling]] and [[RuleOfCool futuristic]] [[AwesomeButImpractical weaponry]]. || The ''Wipeout'' series originally had a promising future, but the games' popularity declined with each installment. However, the recent release of ''Wipeout HD'' and its ''Fury'' ExpansionPack, seen as the best game in the series by some, has pushed it back into the limelight. ''F-Zero'' has essentially been dormant since 2003's ''F-Zero GX'', and the series has never gone beyond CultClassic status, although its legacy lives on with Captain Falcon's ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' appearances, which are responsible for his memetic status in the first place. Absolutely nobody remembers ''Powerdrome'', though it did get a {{remake}}. Verdict: ''Wipeout''. ||
|| ''VideoGame/MarioKart'' || Various || Bright, cartoony go-kart racing games with items. || Many kart-racing games put twists onto the kart formula. For example, ''VideoGame/DiddyKongRacing'' and ''VideoGame/CrashTeamRacing'' had an adventure element, ''VideoGame/ModnationRacers'' has heavy customization, and ''[[VideoGame/SegaSuperstars Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed]]'' has vehicles that transform and tracks that change by the second or third lap. || Because of the ''[[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]]'' brand name and its long-running status, ''Mario Kart'''s level of commercial success is virtually impossible to match. However, there are several games that are considered to be worthy competitors to ''Mario Kart'', and by some to be even better in terms of the experience, such as ''VideoGame/DiddyKongRacing'', ''VideoGame/ModnationRacers'', ''VideoGame/CrashTeamRacing'', and ''[[VideoGame/SegaSuperstars Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing]]''. ||
|| ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed'' || ''VideoGame/TestDrive'' || Racing games focused around exotic cars raced on open-road circuits. || The first ''Test Drive'' came out in 1987, while the first ''NFS'' was made in 1994 with a tie-in from ''Road & Track'' magazine. As ''NFS'' became popular, ''Test Drive'' was brought out of retirement by Accolade. The two series diverged in 2001 when ''NFS'' switched its focus to tuner car racing. || ''NFS'', hands down. It was one of ElectronicArts' flagship series in the '90s and well into the 2000s, while ''Test Drive'', for much of that same period, was seen as playing FollowTheLeader. While the ''Test Drive'' series came back with its best game, ''[[WideOpenSandbox Unlimited]]'', in 2006 (just as ''NFS'' was entering its DorkAge), its [[ObviousBeta buggy]] sequel damaged the goodwill that the series had earned. ||
|| ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeedUnderground'' || ''Juiced'', ''Street Racing Syndicate'' || Tuner car street racing. || ''Need for Speed'', looking for a nitrous boost after the decline of its exotics-beaches-police formula, [[FollowTheLeader riffed on]] ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious''. ''Juiced'' and ''SRS'' followed on ''Need for Speed'' in turn, but never managed to be more than their inspiration. || ''Need for Speed'' had wads of [[Creator/ElectronicArts EA]] money behind it and sold a ridiculous number of copies. ||
|| ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed: Shift'' || ''VideoGame/{{Forza}} Motorsport 3'', ''VideoGame/GranTurismo 5: Prologue'' || Semi-simulation track racing. || EA rolled out its franchise reboot a few months before its main console competitors released their later incarnations. Critical reception was divided, with many people claiming they bought the game only because it was the first to market and planning to abandon it as soon as either of the others would arrive. Issues ranging from bouncing cars to rewards for [[DrivesLikeCrazy driving like]] [[{{Griefer}} a game-ruining jerk in multiplayer]] caused the player base to quickly abandon it. || Tie between ''Forza'' and ''Gran Turismo'', if only because they are exclusive to different consoles (''GT'' for [=PlayStation=], ''Forza'' for Xbox). ||
|| ''VideoGame/GranTurismo'' || ''VideoGame/{{Forza}}'' || First-party semi-simulation track racing series. || ''Gran Turismo'' started early on [=PlayStation=] while ''Forza''[='=]s first installment (''Forza Motorsport'') appeared one generation later on Xbox. || Another tie. Both games are flagship titles for their respective systems, are both critically acclaimed, enjoy frequent DLC support from their respective developers, and are officially endorsed by ''Series/TopGear''. It's more a matter of taste than anything; while ''Forza''[='=]s vehicle roster is heavily focused on American and European cars, ''Gran Turismo''[='=]s is just as heavily focused on Japanese cars. A typical samurai vs. knight debate. As for a technical winner, ''GT'' has been around longer than ''Forza'' and is second to the ''Need for Speed'' series in overall game sales. As for a quality winner, however, many people would say that ''Forza'' has outdone ''GT'' in its latest installments in pure game quality. ||

|| ''Powerdrome'' || ''VideoGame/{{Wipeout}}'', ''VideoGame/{{F-Zero}}'' || Futuristic hovercraft racing. || ''Powerdrome'', released for the Atari ST (1988) and Amiga (1989), was a ridiculously in-depth simulation of futuristic hovercraft racing, complete with localized vehicle damage, pit stops, and insanely unforgiving difficulty. ''F-Zero'', one of the SNES's launch titles, spawned a series known for excessively high speeds and crowds of opponents (and [[MemeticBadass Captain Falcon]]). ''Wipeout'', a UsefulNotes/PlayStation launch title, stood out with its [[DifficultButAwesome floaty handling]] and [[RuleOfCool futuristic]] [[AwesomeButImpractical weaponry]]. || The ''Wipeout'' series originally had a promising future, but the games' popularity declined with each installment. However, the recent release of ''Wipeout HD'' and its ''Fury'' ExpansionPack, seen as the best game in the series by some, has pushed it back into the limelight. ''F-Zero'' has essentially been dormant since 2003's ''F-Zero GX'', and the series has never gone beyond CultClassic status, although its legacy lives on with Captain Falcon's ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros.'' appearances, which are responsible for his memetic status in the first place. Absolutely nobody remembers ''Powerdrome'', though it did get a {{remake}}. Verdict: ''Wipeout''. ||

|| ''[[Manga/WanganMidnight Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune]]'' || ''[[Manga/InitialD Initial D Arcade Stage]]'' || Drifting-based competitive arcade street-racing games with magnetic cards as storage media and [[ProductPlacement fully-licensed]] cars. || Both arcade series rolled out in 2001, and popularized competitive street racing for arcade machines. || Both have sizable markets and are the biggest titles of the genre patch. In the US and Europe, ''Wangan Midnight'' always had a clear lead. This is due to the ''Initial D'' games requiring more time to learn, and the larger initial investment required (the WMMT cards are around a third cheaper in those areas). However, in Asia, ''Initial D'' was initially far more popular due to the anime and movie, and that in Asia both game cards are practically identically priced. However, ''Initial D'' started losing market share to ''Wangan Midnight'' in the late 2000s due to the anime falling out of popularity. With Initial D Arcade Stage 8 Infinity announced as the final entry of the game, the winner is now clearly '''Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune'''||

Made by Italian developers Milestone, ''Sébastien Loeb Rally EVO'' comes hot from the heels of their bike racing simulator ''RIDE''. Strong from the endorsement of Sébastien Loeb, the most successful rally racer of all time, the game is overall very similar to ''[=DiRT=] Rally'', albeit much more forgiving and with slightly more arcade-y physics. It also features a livery editor - similar to the one seen in the ''Forza'' series, and a whole training course where one can sharpen their skills behind the wheel. || ''[=DiRT=] Rally'', by a country mile. The simulator made by Codies currently holds an 85 on Metacritic for the [=PS4=] version, while ''SLR EVO'' has a score of 71 also for the [=PS4=] version. Fandom-wise, the reception is quite similar; gamers hailed ''[=DiRT=] Rally'' as the best rally racing sim since ''VideoGame/RichardBurnsRally'', complimenting the deep and intuitive driving physics, the extreme realism, the DifficultButAwesome gameplay[[note]]Which have also earned the game favorable comparisons to the ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' series[[/note]], and the graphics, with the only real criticisms being directed to the relative lack of content. ''SLR EVO'' is also seen as a good game by most players, with the biggest boon being the large amount of content available, though it doesn't have graphics and physics as good as ''[=DiRT=] Rally''. Not only that, ''[=DiRT=] Rally'' outsold ''SLR EVO'' by a wide margin, the former reaching number 1 in the UK [=PS4=] physical copy sales chart in its launch week, while the latter only reached number 19. ||

|| ''VideoGame/{{Trials}}'' || ''Urban Trial Freestyle'', ''Motorbike'' || Games where you race a stunt motorbike across a series of treacherous obstacle courses. Physics play a heavy factor. || ''Trials'' started as a series of Flash-based web browser games, but sequels were later developed for PC and XboxLiveArcade. ''Urban Trial'' and ''Motorbike'' were released as multi-platform games after the release of ''Trials Evolution''. || ''Trials'' by a wide margin. The ''HD'' release was one of the most popular XBLA games, given extra exposure by the "Summer of Arcade" campaign in 2009. ''Evolution'' was {{even better|sequel}}, adding new features such as outdoor environments and a [[LevelEditor course editor.]] Neither of its two competitors could come close, though ''Urban Trial'' had a far better showing than ''Motorbike'', which faceplanted right out of the starting gate due to myriad technical problems. ||

|| ''[[VideoGame/{{Forza}} Forza Horizon 3]]'' || ''[[VideoGame/GranTurismo Gran Turismo Sport]]'' || 2016 installments in the respective Xbox and [=PlayStation=] brands' flagship semi-sim racing franchises || ''Horizon 3'' is third ''Forza Horizon'' game by Playground Games and the ninth installment in the ''Forza'' series. Set in Australia, the player now takes full charge of the Horizon Festival. Players can create new races and challenges and share them with their friends through the [[LevelEditor Horizon Blueprint]], and can hire their friends' Drivatars to get extra credits. Car customization is also further fleshed out with the introduction of widebody kits and new rims. The game also supports crossplay multiplayer between Xbox One and Windows 10 PC, and features a full co-op campaign for 4 players.\\\\
''GT Sport'' is the seventh primary ''Gran Turismo'' game by Polyphony Digital, and also the series' first major installment without a number. A more [=eSports=]-focused entry, ''Sport'' is different from the series's ''Prologue'' titles and will feature more content at launch, with 130 cars (both real and fictitious), and 19 locations. ''GT Sport'' also introduces a livery editor a la ''Forza'' for the first time ever in the series. While the game focuses more on its online multiplayer asset, with full FIA-sponsored racing championships, the offline component isn't left out, with the series's traditional Driving Licenses and Career events marking a return. The series's acclaimed photo mode, now called "Scapes", features over a thousand locations and supports car positioning. || TBD. While ''GT Sport'' was already announced in 2015, ''Horizon 3'' was only announced at the 2016 edition of the Electronic Entertainment Expo/[=E3=]. Despite ''Horizon 3'' getting an overall warmer reception from gamers and critics alike (gaining ''universal acclaim'' based on its Metacritic score of 91), ''GT Sport'' is also seen as a promising title dead-set on bringing ''Gran Turismo'' back to the forefront of (semi-)sim racers. ||

|| ''[[VideoGame/{{Forza}} Forza Horizon 3]]'' || ''[[VideoGame/GranTurismo Gran Turismo Sport]]'' || 2016 installments in the respective Xbox and [=PlayStation=] brands' flagship semi-sim racing franchises || ''Horizon 3'' is third ''Forza Horizon'' game by Playground Games (possibly their first without Turn 10 Studios' involvement) and the ninth installment in the ''Forza'' series. Set in Australia, the player now takes full charge of the Horizon Festival. Players can create new races and challenges and share them with their friends through the [[LevelEditor Horizon Blueprint]], and can hire their friends' Drivatars to get extra credits. Car customization is also further fleshed out with the introduction of widebody kits and new rims. The game also supports crossplay multiplayer between Xbox One and Windows 10 PC, and features a full co-op campaign for 4 players.\\\\