Shooters | Fighting | Pinball | Platform | Racing | Eastern RPG | Sandbox | Cross-Genre
- Initiators / Followers
- Capsule Pitch Description: Description
- Implementation: Implementation
- Test Drive (1987) / The Need for Speed (1994)
- Capsule Pitch Description: Racing games focused around exotic cars raced on open-road circuits.
- Implementation: The first Test Drive was released by Accolade (with Electronic Arts handling its release in certain markets) in 1987, while TNFS was released by EA themselves in 1994, made by the same developer as Test Drive* and with a tie-in from Road & Track magazine. TNFS would give way to the Need for Speed franchise which, as it became popular, would result in Test Drive being brought out of retirement by Accolade. The two series diverged in 2003 when NFS switched its focus to tuner car racing.
- Powerdrome (1988) / F-Zero (1990) & WipEout (1995)
- Capsule Pitch Description: Futuristic anti-gravity racing.
- Implementation: Powerdrome, released for the Atari ST (1988) and Amiga (1989), was a ridiculously in-depth simulation of futuristic anti-gravity 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 Captain Falcon). Wipeout, a PlayStation launch title, stood out with its floaty handling and futuristic weaponry.
- Mario Kart (1992) / Various
- Capsule Pitch Description: Bright, cartoony go-kart racing games with items.
- Implementation: Many kart-racing games put twists onto the kart formula. For example, Diddy Kong Racing and Crash Team Racing had an adventure element, Modnation Racers has heavy customization, and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed has vehicles that transform and tracks that change by the second or third lap.
- Ridge Racer (1993) / Daytona USA (1994) & Cruis'n USA (1994) & San Francisco Rush (1996)
- Capsule Pitch Description: Early 3D arcade racing games with an emphasis on drifting.
- Implementation: The dueling continued on the home market, where Ridge Racer headlined the PlayStation's launch while Daytona USA was one of the launch games of the Sega Saturn, Cruis'n USA and San Francisco Rush was an early Nintendo 64 title.
- Ridge Racer (1993) / Asphalt (2004)
- Capsule Pitch Description: Glossy arcade-like racing games with an emphasis on drifting.
- Implementation: 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 Nintendo 3DS.
- WipEout (1995) / Cyberspeed (1995)
- Capsule Pitch Description: Futuristic racing games released in fall 1995 for the PlayStation.
- Implementation: 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.
- Gran Turismo (1997) / Forza (2005)
- Capsule Pitch Description: First-party semi-simulation track racing series with an Italian name.
- Implementation: Gran Turismo started early on PlayStation while Forza's first installment (Forza Motorsport) appeared one generation later on Xbox.
- Hydro Thunder (1999) / H 2 Overdrive (2009)
- Capsule Pitch Description: Racing games based on boats.
- Implementation: Hydro Thunder appeared in the arcade and as an early Dreamcast game. H2Overdrive was only available in the arcades.
- Trials (2000) / Motorbike (2011) & Urban Trial Freestyle (2013)
- Capsule Pitch Description: Games where you race a stunt motorbike across a series of treacherous obstacle courses. Physics play a heavy factor.
- Implementation: Trials started as a series of Flash-based web browser games, but sequels were later developed for PC and Xbox Live Arcade. Urban Trial and Motorbike were released as multi-platform games after the release of Trials Evolution.
- Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune (2001) / Initial D Arcade Stage (2001)
- Capsule Pitch Description: Competitive arcade street-racing games with drifting as a core mechanic, magnetic cards as storage media and fully-licensed cars.
- Implementation: Both arcade series rolled out in 2001, and popularized competitive street racing for arcade machines.
- Need for Speed: Underground (2003) / Street Racing Syndicate (2004) & Juiced (2005)
- Capsule Pitch Description: Tuner car street racing.
- Implementation: Need for Speed, looking for a nitrous boost after the decline of its exotics-beaches-police formula, riffed on The Fast and the Furious. Juiced and SRS followed on Need for Speed in turn, but never managed to be more than their inspiration.
- Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005) / Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012)
- Capsule Pitch Description: Need for Speed games that are titled Most Wanted. Both games were released on Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation platforms, and Nintendo platforms.
- Implementation: This is a case of an internal Fandom Rivalry. The 2005 game was developed by the late EA Black Box, while the 2012 game was developed by Criterion Games. Details on the 2012 game can be seen in the below Forza Horizon 1 vs. NFS:MW 2012 row, though it can easily be described as Burnout Paradise's Spiritual Successor. 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 classic staples such as supercars and police chases, and an infamously cheesy storyline.
- Need for Speed: Shift (2009) / Forza Motorsport 3 (2009) & Gran Turismo 5 (2010)
- Capsule Pitch Description: Semi-simulation track racing.
- Implementation: 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 driving like a game-ruining jerk in multiplayer caused the player base to quickly abandon it.
- Split/Second (2010) / Blur (2010)
- Capsule Pitch Description: Arcade-style racing games with a major gimmick.
- Implementation: Said gimmicks are player-controlled explosions and Mario Kart-esque weaponry, respectively.
- Split/Second (2010) / Motorstorm: Apocalypse (2011)
- Capsule Pitch Description: Arcade-style racing games focused around over-the-top destruction.
- Implementation: The destruction in Split/Second is controlled by the player and is in the context of a Game Show, while that in Apocalypse is caused by earthquakes and other natural disasters that the player must work around or evade.
- Forza Horizon (2012) / Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012)
- Capsule Pitch Description: 2012 British-developed production car racers held in Wide Open Sandboxes 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.
- Implementation: 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 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 Criterion Games, a veteran racing game developer known for the 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 carried over the visual aftermarket customization from Motorsport brethren, including realistic car modifications that not only affected performance, but the class the cars were allowed to race in; Most Wanted eschewed the external aftermarket customization systems the 2005 original had, in favor of 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.
- Forza Horizon 2 (2014) / The Crew (2014)
- Capsule Pitch Description: Both are Wide-Open Sandbox racers with a good focus on car customization and very strong emphasis on multiplayer.
- Implementation: 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. Certainly a Spiritual Successor to the ambitious but ultimately flawed Test Drive Unlimited 2 (with some elements of the Need for Speed: Underground games, and also a few The Fast and The Furious-esque hints),note The Crew takes place in the entirety of (a condensed version of) the continental United States of America, and is an MMO under all respects: players can create their four-player crew to take on driving missions and various challenges spread throughout the open world. As they complete these missions and challenges, players obtain various upgrade parts for their vehicle, and if they do well enough, they can get extremely rare and powerful upgrades. The vehicles can be modified to suit various needs, ranging from street racing and off-road driving to car combat. The Crew did not feature a dynamic weather system until the Wild Run expansion's release. Also, much like Horizon's previous battle, it shares a commercial song with the competing game; this time it's "How You Like Me Now?" by The Heavy.
- Forza Horizon 2 (2014) / Driveclub (2014)
- Capsule Pitch Description: Flagship racing games for the newly-released Xbox One and PlayStation 4, respectively.
- Implementation: 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.
- Need for Speed (2015) / The Crew: Wild Run (2015)
- Capsule Pitch Description: Open world, always-online street racing games that are retools for their related IPs
- Implementation: The veteran Need for Speed franchise had to take a break in 2014 to make a massive comeback that brought back the Underground era of the early 2000s, which this subtitle-free installment provided. Meanwhile, 2014 newcomer The Crew took notice of the mixed feedback of its launch, and responded with an expansion called Wild Run.
- DiRT Rally (2015) / Sébastien Loeb Rally EVO (2016)
- Capsule Pitch Description: No-holds-barred rally racing simulators for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
- Implementation: DiRT Rally was first launched on Steam Early Access in December of 2015 by Codemasters, and marks the return of the series to the Colin McRae Rally roots after the mixed reception of Showdown, as a Nintendo Hard 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. 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.
- Forza Horizon 3 (2016) / Gran Turismo Sport (2017)
- Capsule Pitch Description: Installments in the respective Xbox and PlayStation brands' flagship semi-sim racing franchises
- Implementation: 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 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. Gran Turismo Sport was first announced at the 2015 Paris Games Week. Originally meant for a 2016 release, it was however delayed to October 17, 2017. The game's main selling point is the online/esports platform, featuring two full FIA-sanctioned world championships running at the same time - the Nations Cup and the Manufacturers Cup. However, the offline component isn't left untouched, with Arcade Mode and the infamous License Tests and Driving Missions returning full-force. The game also features an entirely revamped photo mode, called Scapes Unlike 5 and 6, the game doesn't feature a dynamic time-of-day/weather cycle, although players are free to modify the race's time of day before entering. There are 177 cars divided into six classes - Nnote , Gr.4note , Gr.3note , Gr.1note , Gr.Bnote and Gr.Xnote - and 19 locations to race on, numbers that will only rise up as time goes as Polyphony has announced a free DLC program. This is also the very first Gran Turismo game to include livery customization (although no bodykits were included unlike in previous two games), and the very first to feature Porsche vehicles, as EA lost their exclusive rights to the brand back in 2016.
- Wipeout Omega Collection (2017) / FAST RMX (2017) & Redout (2017)
- Capsule Pitch Description: Futuristic racing games, primarily for consoles.
- Implementation: Omega Collection and RMX are both Updated Rereleases of earlier titles in their respective series, and exclusive to the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch respectively. Redout, on the other hand, is an original, multiplatform game.
- Gran Turismo Sport (2017) / Forza Motorsport 7 (2017) & Project CARS 2 (2017)
- Capsule Pitch Description: Racing simulators for consoles and PC, and in GT and Forza's case, the seventh main installments of their respective rivaling series.
- Implementation: Information about Gran Turismo Sport can be read above. Forza Motorsport 7 is the seventh installment of the mainline Forza Motorsport series. It is the first Motorsport game to be available on Windows 10 and was released on October 3, 2017. The game features over 700 cars at launch - including Forza Edition cars, most of which are Horizon Edition cars ported from Forza Horizon 3, and 32 locations at launch - 4 of which are either new or returning to the franchise. Two new features to the Motorsport series include dynamic weather (previously seen in the Horizon games) and customizable driving suits. The game is also optimized for the Xbox One X, running at native 4K at 60 frames per second. However, it is the only game of the three mentioned to not support VR at launch. 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.
- The Crew 2 (2018) / Forza Horizon 4 (2018)
- Capsule Pitch Description: 2018 open-world racing game sequels with a strong emphasis on multiplayer, a new gameplay element that changes the game, route editors, and having a career mode that's about getting followers on social media.
- Implementation: After a couple years improving The Crew with updates and expansions, Ivory Tower revamps their version of the United States with a wide variety of vehicles, having not only cars, bikes, and monster trucks from the first game, but also stunt planes and speedboats as well. Like with the first game, the game is always online. After spending some time in the Land Down Under, Playground Games 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.
- Team Sonic Racing (2019) / Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled (2019)
- Capsule Pitch Description: Multiplatform Mascot Racers released exactly one month apart from each other and sold at a reduced price. There's also Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Nintendo Switch, released in 2017, though it came out significantly before the other two and sold for full price.
- Implementation: Team Sonic Racing is a budget title, with a small roster and no plans for patches or content updates. Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled, on the other hand, is a AAA project and has received regular content updates. Bear in mind, also, that between these three games, Team Sonic Racing is also the only one that isn't an Updated Re-release.
- Disney Speedstorm (2023) / DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing (2023)
- Capsule Pitch Description: Multiplatform Mascot Racers for Windows PCs (with a Steam release), Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation and Xbox's eighth and ninth-gen consoles featuring characters and tracks from and based on the libraries of these two studios' works, primarily their animated ones, with said characters appearing as either racers or crew members, and their vehicles being customizable.
- Implementation: Disney Speedstorm is published by Gameloft and developed by their Asphalt studio Gameloft Barcelona that was initially released in a pay-for early access. On PC, it's also on Microsoft Store and the Epic Games Store. A mobile version for iOS and Android has also been soft-launched. It features characters and environments from Disney's vast library of IPs that are given a relatively consistent art style where the characters are re-interpreted as professional-style racers wearing racing suits (which can be changed to other designs), while the maps contain features to make them look sort of more like professional racetracks. While most of the content are from Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar films, as well as the Mickey and Friends franchise, the game also features racers and/or environments from Walt Disney Studios' live-action films (such as Pirates of the Caribbean), the Disney Theme Parks (with Figment as a racer representing Walt Disney World), and Disney Television Animation (with Angel from Lilo & Stitch: The Series and Stitch! as a racer). Crew members from Speedstorm are various minor Disney characters affiliated with the represented franchises and can come from an even larger pool of works, including Disney's Mickey Mouse Comics, though they only appear as static images that are applied to racers before a race. Being a free-to-play game, new content is being added over time via updates. DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing is developed by Bamtang Games and GameMill Entertainment, the same companies behind the Nickelodeon Kart Racers series, and features racers and tracks from DreamWorks Animation's films such as Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, and The Bad Guys (2022). The racers are more-or-less the same as their original counterparts, looking like they've been pulled straight from their movies. All the crew members are the Trolls from the franchise of the same name, who are expected to appear as power-ups joining the racers. As a budget title, it will have a physical release, but there won't be quite as much content. There is also no DLC currently planned as of this writing, but a deluxe digital release will also add Master Oogway from Kung Fu Panda and the Wolf from Puss in Boots: The Last Wish as racers.
