Your opinion on Nintendo consoles for driving/racing games?

[GTxForza]

Dear GTPlanet forum users

So far from what I've known about Nintendo consoles for the racing genre, they feel a lot different compared to the PC, PlayStation and Xbox, I'm going to explain.

1st party wise:

• Nintendo appears to be more leaning toward kart racing (Mario Kart is their flagship racing game IP), yet they haven't resurrected a Futuristic Arcade-Style Racer (F-Zero series) Arcade-Style Off-Road Racer (Excite series) and a Jet-Ski racing (Wave Race) apart from retro online gaming service.
• PlayStation and Xbox's flagship racing games are Gran Turismo & Forza Motorsport series respectively which they're both Simcades (Not Mario Kart-type racing games because their gameplay and handling are nothing like Mario Kart at all) but yet these two games are not near as realistic as the 3rd Party Hardcore Sim Racers are iRacing, rFactor, Assetto Corsa, Automobilista, DiRT Rally & WRC series in terms of handling. Meanwhile, Xbox's most popular driving game is the Forza Horizon series because it's an open-world arcade racer even though it's a spin-off, making it even more popular than Gran Turismo & Forza Motorsport series these days.
• Nintendo EAD's F-Zero series' gameplay and handling feel different compared to Psygnosis' WipEout & Curly Monsters' Quantum Redshift.
• Nintendo's Excite series gameplay-wise and roster of vehicles & tracks feel different compared to Evolution Studios' MotorStorm series.
• PlayStation & Xbox doesn't seem to care about their 1st party arcade-style kart racers as they rather focus on their Simcade Racing IP: Gran Turismo & Forza Motorsport respectively.
• Nintendo doesn't have interest in a Simcade Racing game IP to be equivalent to the Gran Turismo & Forza Motorsport series.
• PS5 Dualsense and Xbox Series X controller pad both have analogue triggers while Nintendo Joy-Con and Pro Controller don't even have them, unfortunately.

3rd party wise:

• PC can be played with any sub-genre of driving games, but I personally think the proper hardcore Sim Racing is the most official sub-genre of racing games which consists of the iRacing, rFactor, Assetto Corsa, Automobilista, DiRT Rally & WRC series in terms of handling.
• Most of the 3rd party photo-realistic racers for PC, PS5 & Xbox Series X (Released in 2020 & Beyond) are not making it to the Nintendo Switch.
• PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X do have licensed Sim Racing peripherals like Fanatec Podium Wheelbase DD1 & DD2 and Thrustmaster T300/TX that support force feedback and the ability to add a gearbox shifter, load cell pedal set and handbrake.
• Nintendo Switch has only two licensed Racing wheel peripherals (Which consist of Hori Mario Kart Racing Wheel Pro Deluxe & Mini), but doesn't support force feedback, gearbox shifter, load cell pedal set and handbrake add-on, unfortunately.

My personal opinions:

• The 3rd party Sim Racing games (Assetto Corsa Competizione, DiRT Rally 2.0, etc), Standard Arcade-Style Racers (Ridge Racer, Daytona USA, etc), Open-World Arcade-Style Racers (Test Drive Unlimited, Need For Speed, etc) & Off-Road Arcade-Style Racers (Gravel, DiRT 5, etc) are much more fitted than any sort of arcade-style kart racers (No matter if it's 1st or 3rd party) including ModNation Racers, Crash Team Racing and many others when it comes to PC, PlayStation and Xbox gaming platforms in my opinion.
• I cannot really enjoy arcade-style kart racers regardless of party, because they're not my type of gameplay, so I much prefer Hardcore Sim Racing, Rally Sim, Simcade, Off-Road Arcade-Style Racers, Open-World Arcade-Style Racers, Standard Arcade-Style Racers & Futuristic Arcade-Style Racers, but I still dislike hoverboard racing and on-foot racing games though.

Overall, I still prefer PC, PlayStation and Xbox to Nintendo when it comes to racing/driving games, but please don't judge me and I'm not saying Nintendo is bad for that. Yet I still prefer Nintendo's F-Zero more than PlayStation's WipEout & Xbox's Quantum Redshift though.

Sidenotes:

• The closest racing game to Gran Turismo 7 & Forza Motorsport Reboot for Nintendo Switch is GRID Autosport, but the handling wise is not near as realistic as the following Simcades are F1 2021, F1 22, Gran Turismo 7 & Forza Motorsport Reboot.
• Eden Games' Gear.Club Unlimited 1 & 2 for the Nintendo Switch was claimed to be Gran Turismo & Forza Motorsport alternatives by the journalists but to me, this game is more like an alternative to Evolution Studios' Driveclub (PlayStation 4's first-party title), because of the gameplay, handling and the roster of playable cars & courses.
• Assetto Corsa Competizione is currently the most realistic racing game available for the PS5 & Xbox Series X in terms of handling.
• rFactor 2, iRacing, Assetto Corsa Competizione Automobilista 2 & DiRT Rally 2.0 are considered to be the most realistic racing games for PC in terms of handling model.
• When we make comparisons to racing games, it's better to be the exact same sub-genre (In regardless of being 1st or 3rd party), but sorry for my hypocrisy in comparing the Nintendo Switch to PC, PS5 & Xbox Series X.
• There is a reason why the F1, Gran Turismo & Forza Motorsport series are chosen to remain as Simcades? in order to optimize the controller pads and make them accessible to most kinds of racing game players.
• Even though Gran Turismo 7 is heavily flawed in terms of features while Forza Motorsport Reboot is not out yet, both of their handlings are still way more realistic than all Nintendo Switch racing games, thanks to their great race car driver consultants, well wait for GT7 to get improve by several months while letting Forza Motorsport Reboot finishing its development.
• WipEout & Quantum Redshift are both created by Nick Burcombe.
• I'm aware that most Fanatec wheelbases are not compatible with PlayStation unless it's attached to the DriveHub by Collective Minds.
• I can tell why did Crash Team Racing exist? because PS1 owners who don't have a Nintendo 64 were asking for a Mario Kart-type racing game so Naughty Dog created this for them.

 

[wheelhp]

I ran into similar problems back when I was looking at the original Wii for racing titles, for me the most racing fun I had was playing excite truck on it

 

[GTxForza]

I ran into similar problems back when I was looking at the original Wii for racing titles, for me the most racing fun I had was playing excite truck on it

I totally agree with your personal opinion & experience, Excite Truck is fun but I still had a much better time with Colin McRae: DiRT to Excite Truck and MotorStorm.

 

[T0MMY3688]

I think for first party racing games on Switch it is fine with just Mario Kart since it is their most iconic IP. Will be nice to have more though. Fast RMX is a pretty good anti grav racer on Switch.

As for 3rd party games, most of them are either ports or mediocre games. Gear Club 2 is fine on Switch since it has no competitors but the physics is not the best and the track design is quite poor.

 

[GTxForza]

I think for first party racing games on Switch it is fine with just Mario Kart since it is their most iconic IP. Will be nice to have more though. Fast RMX is a pretty good anti grav racer on Switch.

As for 3rd party games, most of them are either ports or mediocre games. Gear Club 2 is fine on Switch since it has no competitors but the physics is not the best and the track design is quite poor.

Fast RMX is also a very good love letter to F-Zero.

I also personally think Nintendo chooses to avoid competing with PlayStation & Xbox as they rather have different target audiences, sorry for my fanboyism for PC, PlayStation and Xbox.

 

[T0MMY3688]

Nintendo do have a unique audience compared to PS and Xbox, Nintendo don't really have a comparable IP to those 2 consoles. I do think that is a good thing, it makes Nintendo games to be far more unique and different than what can be found on the other 2 console.

Switch pairs really well with Xbox for me, I go for the usual AAA titles on Xbox then play more indie games and unique Nintendo games on Switch.

As for racing games side, I do wish Switch has more arcade racer on it.

 

[GTxForza]

Nintendo do have a unique audience compared to PS and Xbox, Nintendo don't really have a comparable IP to those 2 consoles. I do think that is a good thing, it makes Nintendo games to be far more unique and different than what can be found on the other 2 console.

Switch pairs really well with Xbox for me, I go for the usual AAA titles on Xbox then play more indie games and unique Nintendo games on Switch.

As for racing games side, I do wish Switch has more arcade racer on it.

I do understand on everyone has their own preferences when it comes to video games.

For me, I prefer PC when it comes to hardcore Sim Racing and Rally Sim while PS5 & Xbox Series X for Simcades, however for arcade racers, any of them will do.

That's why we rather make love for gaming platforms, not fanboy wars these days.

 

[T0MMY3688]

I do understand on everyone has their own preferences when it comes to video games.

For me, I prefer PC when it comes to hardcore Sim Racing and Rally Sim while PS5 & Xbox Series X for Simcades, however for arcade racers, any of them will do.

That's why we rather make love for gaming platforms, not fanboy wars these days.

PC is definitely the go to place for hardcore sim, great variety of games there while Xbox and PS is more to semi-sim at best. I used to have a PC for pCARS 1 and AC back then but it is way too old these days to run most sim.

PC + Xbox/PS + Switch is a good combo for a variety of games. Assuming you have the time to play on all 3 platforms.

 

[RX-7_FD3S]

Personnaly Switch isnt what I look for anymore. Last nintendo console I owned was a gamecube since then I never felt like I would want one except for the odd game that looks fun like the fitness with ring one. But it's not worth it to buy one just for one game from time to time.

For myself the perfect combo is a big android tablet, a PC and a PS5. Gives me more than enough games to fill my empty times.

 

[GTxForza]

PC is definitely the go to place for hardcore sim, great variety of games there while Xbox and PS is more to semi-sim at best. I used to have a PC for pCARS 1 and AC back then but it is way too old these days to run most sim.

PC + Xbox/PS + Switch is a good combo for a variety of games. Assuming you have the time to play on all 3 platforms.

I personally love to treat gaming consoles as collectible items.

Personally Switch isnt what I look for anymore. Last nintendo console I owned was a GameCube since then I never felt like I would want one except for the odd game that looks fun like the fitness with ring one. But it's not worth it to buy one just for one game from time to time.

For myself the perfect combo is a big android tablet, a PC and a PS5. Gives me more than enough games to fill my empty times.

I guess the Nintendo Switch doesn't have many racing games that suit you, but I do want to respect your preference.

 

[wheelhp]

Personnaly Switch isnt what I look for anymore. Last nintendo console I owned was a gamecube since then I never felt like I would want one except for the odd game that looks fun like the fitness with ring one. But it's not worth it to buy one just for one game from time to time.

For myself the perfect combo is a big android tablet, a PC and a PS5. Gives me more than enough games to fill my empty times.

You could even just forget new consoles entirely and go straight to a PC with a Ryzen whatever, you're all set with steam sales and emulators, assuming you own the games. I'm not a fan of modern console software, forced updates and badly designed UX, but the PS5 hardware is nice, way better than the ps4 ever could be despite the ps4 having some great games by the time the next console generation came out.
One negative to PC is getting the carpel tunnel syndrome if you play a lot with the mouse.

 

[Tornado]

Realistically there hasn't been a good real racing game on a Nintendo system (at least not one that wasn't multiplatform and much better on another console) since, what? The GT Advance games? Console wise I'd say even further back than that (Beetle Adventure Racing?).


It's a rather notable omission from Nintendo system libraries that I've thought about before but one that doesn't seem to have had any interest to be filled; beyond crappy ports of games from other systems.

 

[GTxForza]

Realistically there hasn't been a good real racing game on a Nintendo system (at least not one that wasn't multiplatform and much better on another console) since, what? The GT Advance games? Console wise I'd say even further back than that (Beetle Adventure Racing?).


It's a rather notable omission from Nintendo system libraries that I've thought about before but one that doesn't seem to have had any interest to be filled; beyond crappy ports of games from other systems.

To me, to enjoy games, it doesn't matter if it's a multiplat, shared with few platforms or exclusive to only one platform so enjoy whatever you want.

For GT Advance on GameBoy, the gameplay-wise feels much like a standard SNES racing game that utilizes the Mode-7 engine rather than Gran Turismo & Forza Motorsport series.

 

[T0MMY3688]

Even including ports and multiplat racing games, the choices on Switch isn't great. Some ports like CTR, Burnout Paradise and HP2010 ran great while others like WRC and art of rally was quite bad. But those games are still best played elsewhere, unless you really want the game to be portable.

Not too familar with older Nintendo devices, my previous Nintendo device was a gameboy colour and I don't remember playing any racing games on it.

 

[GTxForza]

Even including ports and multiplat racing games, the choices on Switch isn't great. Some ports like CTR, Burnout Paradise and HP2010 ran great while others like WRC and art of rally was quite bad. But those games are still best played elsewhere, unless you really want the game to be portable.

Not too familar with older Nintendo devices, my previous Nintendo device was a gameboy colour and I don't remember playing any racing games on it.

Understood, also to me comparing the PS5/Xbox Series X to Nintendo Switch in terms of specs is like comparing the PS3/Xbox 360 to PSP.

Edit: Anyway, there is nothing bad about games being ports.

 

[LuxerWap]

The problem is that there wouldn't be much of an audience for a simulation style racing game as those games will always compete against Mario Kart. It's why F-Zero had been in the dirt for years until F-Zero 99, but even then, most people don't count 99 as a new title.

Even arcade racers on the Switch fail to keep a lot of attention because of Mario Kart. I love having Horizon Chase 1 and 2 in the Switch as well as Hotshot Racing and Need for Speed, but beside NFS due to crossplay, I really couldn't find anyone to play these games with because of how niche they are.

Same goes for the only Simcade racer, Grid Autosport. It's got multiplayer I but nobody plays it. Mario Kart dominates the racing genre and it shows. MK8DX is the best selling Nintendo Switch game of all time; jam packed with content from the DLCs of the Wii U version as well as all of the Tracks and Retro Tracks from Mario Kart Tour.

I feel for Eden Games with Gear.Club Unlimited 2 though. I thought the game was solid and has more potential than the first game, which was a straight up mobile port, even though some of that mobile stuff is also in the second game. I still remember when everyone used to call it "Nintendo's GT/Forza" and that it would've been a good opportunity for Nintendo to purchase and help develop the franchise which would be interesting.