Bizarre: Racing games not meeting sales expectations
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Jun 19th 2009 at 7:00PM }
It's difficult to argue against Ward, as he doesn't suggest anything concrete, but racing games have been competitive in the sales charts this generation (if that's recent enough). Console exclusives such as MotorStorm, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (a glorified demo!) and Forza 2 all rank among the top 10 bestselling games to date on their respective platforms, and Burnout Paradise has succeeded both at retail and digitally in its lengthy, multiplatform run. Sure, a niche racer like GRID is never going to gain mass appeal (nor is it intended to) and certain staple franchises, like Need For Speed, have dwindled in popularity and quality (hence the reboots), but the racing genre is right where it should be -- at least, in terms of our expectations.
Perhaps Ward and Bizarre just have greater expectations for their upcoming racer, Blur, which we called "a hyper-realistic Mario Kart." That puts Blur in good company, as Mario Kart Wii -- what Ward calls "the exception rather than the rule" -- has sold in excess of 15.4 million units by last count in May. But, really, there's nothing realistic about expecting those kinda numbers.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ghen @ Jun 19th 2009 7:06PM
I'm going to predict it right now: Blur will sell less than Grid or any other high metacritic low sales game he might be talking about.
Shagittarius @ Jun 19th 2009 7:08PM
Unlike other genres racing games to me really don't vary that much...I don't need a whole lot of racing games. Even shooters seem much more different from game to game.
tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 19th 2009 7:17PM
All I need for racing is Gran Turismo for sims and Burnout Paradise for arcade racers. All these boring 4 letter racing games need to go away because they're oversaturating the market. THAT is why racing sales are slowing down.
ryanpaulmcgowan @ Jun 19th 2009 7:30PM
Pretty much this. There's no need for 14,000 racing games that all deal with the same boring tripe. At least do something that hasn't been done this gen yet.
For example, Destruction Derby. Take that game, make it nice and shiny, make the physics nice and fun without being overly realistic, add in some nice stunt type stuff that has nothing to do with racing and more to do with getting points for stuff (a-la Burnouts stunt race mode thing) and sell it. Also, don't forget online play.
I would buy Destruction Derby.
I will not buy Blur.
Lunastra78 (PSN: lunastra78) @ Jun 19th 2009 8:19PM
One realistic racer (Gran turismo, Forza), one arcady and over the top (Motorstorm Pacific Rift, Burnout Paradise, Pure) and one half-realistic with lots of diversity (GRID, PGR) is really all you need to cover most of what this genre has to offer.
And I might give Modnation Racers a chance, that one look interesting.
Ignatius @ Jun 19th 2009 10:56PM
Destruction Derby 64 was AWESOME.
I wonder why I never saw a sequel...
Slaziman @ Jun 20th 2009 12:11AM
Don't forget the kart racer!
[tre] @ Jun 20th 2009 4:17PM
Burnout Paradise- the fun, arcadey one
Midnight Club- the one in the middle
Gran Turismo- the "real driving simulator"
Pure- The black sheep that's still a great game
Those are the only 4 that I need.
Blackmagic1o0 @ Jun 19th 2009 7:40PM
well maybe if they cranked out another project gotham and didnt leave Microsoft they wouldnt be having this problem. And besides all that the game just doesnt look that appealing. After i saw split second, forza, and NFS: Shift Blur just looks medicore sorry to say it but its true
Masker @ Jun 19th 2009 7:46PM
I Heard Bizarre stopped making Project Gotham Since Microsoft advertised Forza more.
Blackmagic1o0 @ Jun 19th 2009 7:55PM
i really don't think it was that. Maybe Microsoft that thought Bizzare lost there flare and didnt own up to what the series used to be. Also Forza is competing with Grand Turismo which is a premiere brand so i guess they had to market to compete with the game. Forza 3 looks amazing i really wanna see what GT has to offer. Prologue was a joke and i think GT is never gonna come out. Honestly idc about the game anymore since its been delayed and in production for so long.
-Vexx- @ Jun 19th 2009 7:48PM
I think ill get Blur just because its a bizarre game lol
J.Goodwin @ Jun 19th 2009 7:58PM
Bizarre stopped making PGR because Activision bought them.
Unfortunately Blur is not getting very good pre-reviews. I'm expecting the numbers to be slightly below mediocre :/
What will be interesting is who will be making the future PGR games, since apparently Microsoft owns that IP now. If the rumors about putting all the racing games into Turn10, we might even see Rallisport Challenge return.
CH3BURASHKA @ Jun 19th 2009 8:00PM
Because there are so damn many, and you need only 1.
Zoot Suit Jedi @ Jun 19th 2009 8:27PM
Riiiiiiiiiiidge Racer!
JoeTheBlow @ Jun 19th 2009 8:37PM
Translation from business-speak: "Oh shit, we fucked up".
Nook @ Jun 19th 2009 8:55PM
man, i love playing mkwii online - it's so fun.
i'm looking for a good racer for my psp or wii, i thought nfs hp2 was pretty good.
Tim @ Jun 19th 2009 9:34PM
Because of the oversaturation of the racing genre, I can see it, being deduced into a niche audience, in the future.
Jon D @ Jun 19th 2009 10:54PM
Racing games have been hit-or-miss. For hardcore racers, it's down to the two names you know: Forza and Gran Turismo. Other than that, we all know Burnout is the place to go to get your arcade racer fix and that's it. everything else is just filler between games or DLC or updates or something.
i will say this though. aside from Need for Speed games, i've been very impressed with the racing games on the market. GRID and DIRT are absolutely incredible as is Motorstorm Pacific Rift. PGR was great as well, but overshadowed by Forza 2 so I understand their move to arcade racing. Hopefully Blur and Split/Second will be able to join the ranks of Burnout Paradise.
wow, i remember when Burnout first came out last year....it's freaking huge now and it only gets bigger.
tcc3 @ Jun 20th 2009 1:55AM
Maybe Bizarre sales targets for racing games have been off because they havent made a good one this gen.
Its like they forgot what made PGR2 good. I'd keep playing PGR2 if it were backward compatible.
mister_d @ Jun 20th 2009 7:22AM
DIRT and GRID are the best racing games to be released in a long, long time. Codemasters have done well to reinvent Colin Mcrae and TOCA to be fresh and exciting to play. They're obviously not expected to sell mega numbers like all their competitors are trying to, which is why they will survive while some of the bigger names are going to disappear.
It's simple, there's only enough room for so many games to be up there with the top sellers, and there's more games that are developed (with all the associated development and marketing costs) with that ambition than the market can currently support. It's no surprise to see PGR get dropped and NFS struggling to maintain it's ridiculous sales figures.
Game_playa @ Jun 20th 2009 12:52PM
BUT FUEL...
Nate Addison @ Jun 20th 2009 10:09AM
I think that racing games aren't meeting the expectations that Ward and Bizzare are talking about because of the online multiplayer modes. I couldn't say when it really kicked in but online racing isn't online racing as much as it is an online demolition derby. From Motor Storm to Midnight Club to Project Gotham, if you don't spin someone around within 10 seconds from the start of the race then you were probably the one that got spun around. This is whats hurting the whole genre.
CitizenErased @ Jun 20th 2009 11:15PM
Racing games not meeting sales expectations? These next gen games are just too expensive, after spending thousands of dollars buying next gen games I learned to be patient and cautious buying games. I buy AAA titles major franchise like GT5 on day one. The newer franchise racing games I usually wait for them to drop in price or when they're on sale until I buy em. Except for Motorstorm that was a one day purchase because it looks amazing.
Jasmino924 @ Jun 21st 2009 9:18AM
I can't understand why the games aren't selling well. I mean, if there are som amny awesome racing games on the market like Burnout Paradise and Grid why aren't they doing well? We all seem to like them so what's the big deal. Plus, if the market just isn't there for the games, why on Earth are the developers still creating them!?!?!?
http://systemfailnews.blogspot.com/