Bike Racing Games And How They Evolved

Bike racing games have always been a huge draw for enthusiasts not just in India but across the world. However, did you ever stop to wonder how they actually evolved over time? Here is a nostalgic ride down memory lane!

Timeline for bike game evolution

MotoRace USA or Zippy Race

This 1983 arcade racing game was released by Irem as MotoRace USA for the United States and Zippy Race for Japan. This offered a dual-viewing approach where players initially controlled bikes, cutting through traffic, while watching from overhead. Thereafter, it gets to the behind angle, like Road Rash for instance, while they cover the final lap till the finishing lane. The game is sub-divided into five parts, showing drives throughout New York, Los Angeles and more! It was a huge hit on the SEGA SG-1000 and Nintendo Famicom/NES. Rumor has it that it will come back in 2021 for the upcoming console from Intellivision Amico.

Excitebike

This 1984 game was another hit, debuting on the Nintendo Famicom and arcade throughout Japan. This puts the player against other bikers along with several motocross obstacles including mud pits and jumps. This came to the NES in 1985 in the USA and also to Europe in 1986. This led to several spin-offs and popular games like Excitebike 64 in 2000 for the Nintendo 64 console.

Hang-On

This one came in 1985 from SEGA and you had to mount a motorcycle-esque cab for participating. This was one of the first such video games to make use of 16-bit graphics. It was perhaps one of the most successful arcade games in Japan and home ports for 8-bit machines were also successful enough. Yu Suzuki, the game designer, came up with several other racing games like Super Hang-On, OutRun, Daytona USA, and Power Drift among others.

Road Rash

This 1991 classic first arrived at the SEGA Mega Drive and has remained one of the most popular bike games ever since! It enabled riders to kick out at others and even throw punches. They could use baseball bats and chains at times as well. You could get knocked off your bike and run back again. Rankings under number four meant a failed race. There are several cops that arrest unruly riders. Multiple sequels have followed including Road Rash 2 and Road Redemption that arrived in 2019.

Suzuka 8 Hours

This was released by Namco, the makers of Pac-Man in 1992 for the arcades and eventually the Super Nintendo with Arc System Works porting. This adapted the endurance game with the same title, using replica bike models and offering head-to-head racing with twin cabs as well. The game also came with a 90-minute mode that was quite intensive. A sequel also launched in the year 1993.

XGIII: Extreme G Racing

This 2001 game became a classic of sorts, especially for those playing on PlayStation 2 and the Nintendo GameCube. It is also called Extreme-G 3 and gives players the ability to buy weapons between their races.

Tourist Trophy

This PlayStation 2 game is from 2006, created by Polyphony Digital. This was a fabulous simulation based game with multiple accessories for riders, game modes, and licensed bike models.

MotorStorm

MotorStorm arrived in the year 2006 for PlayStation 3 and was one of the coolest games in this category. The Pacific Rift sequel came in 2008.

Mario Kart WII

How can we forget this iconic Mario Kart which added motorcycles in 2008? The characters could choose regular bikes or sports models with drifting features and other controls.

Burnout Paradise

This game arrived from EA in 2008 and immediately attained success worldwide. It has received stiff competition from the Forza Horizon series by Microsoft but manages to hold its own, especially on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and the Nintendo Switch.

MotoGP 21

This 2021 version on Series X/S, PC, Xbox One, and PlayStations 4 and 5, is truly incredible! Milestone specializes in crafting motorcycle-based games, producing the Monster Energy Supercross and Ride series' while infusing this game with amazingly realistic experiences. It has classes from Moto2 and Moto3 along with 120 official rider options and 20 tracks as well. 40 past riders from the sport are also included, in addition to customization features as well.