Racing videogames have been one of the most popular genres in the industry for over a decade, routinely selling large numbers of units in the holiday period. Is it any surprise that Electronic Arts’ near-annual Need for Speed titles arrive later in the year? Or that both Sony Interactive Entertainment and Microsoft both bring a first-party produced racing videogame to market in time for the holiday season annually? Well, PlayStation VR is no different, with a selection of racing videogames set to be ready and waiting at launch.
While Gran Turismo Sport has been delayed into 2017, Sony Interactive Entertainment’s other big PlayStation 4 racing franchise, DriveClub, will be making its PlayStation VR debut alongside the head-mounted display (HMD) on 13th October 2016. Also arriving at launch will be Microids’ Moto Racer 4 and, though not 100% confirmed for day one itself, Oculus Rift launch title Radial-G: Racing Revolved will be available within the launch window of the device.
“Where’s Project CARS?” You may well ask. Well, although Slightly Mad Studios initially confirmed a PlayStation VR release for Project CARS, we’re yet to see it running on the device or get confirmation of a release date. Furthermore, there’s currently no information on whether the studio plan on patching in the PlayStation VR support for free, offering it as additional downloadable content (DLC) in the same fashion as DriveClub VR, or re-releasing the videogame as a new entity altogether. Of course, VRFocus will keep you updated with any movements on that front.
DriveClub VR – Sony Interactive Entertainment
DriveClub VR was a ‘Will it? Won’t it?’ title for some time. Sony Interactive Entertainment revealed early-on in the PlayStation VR’s unusually public development cycle that a prototype for DriveClub VR had been developed, but never discussed a potential consumer release. In fact, when the announcement of Gran Turismo Sport supporting PlayStation VR came it was assumed that the lessons learned through DriveClub VR had been cannibalised for Polyphony Digital’s latest effort. This, thankfully, was not true, as in VRFocus’ experiences with the videogame DriveClub VR stands as one of the best virtual reality (VR) racing videogames to date.
Radial-G: Racing Revolved – Tammeka Games
Tammeka Games’ Radial-G: Racing Revolved has proved to be a hugely popular racing experience amongst Oculus Rift early adopters, and the UK studio is hoping to recreate that success on console. Launching on PlayStation VR with the exact same content suite – including all patches and updates that have been offered on PC since launch – Radial-G: Racing Revolved’s unique brand of high-speed science-fiction racing (unique in that we haven’t seen an F-Zero or WipEout release for quite some time) in a first-person perspective will surely find a keen audience on PlayStation VR.
Moto Racer 4 – Microids
Little is currently known about the release of Moto Racer 4 on PlayStation VR, bar Microids’ confirmation that it will be available at launch. Both single-player and online multiplayer modes have been revealed, though it’s not yet known whether Moto Racer 4 will allow for non-VR players to race against VR gamers, or whether the online multiplayer will be open at all to PlayStation VR owning competitors. In fact, it’s not currently known whether the PlayStation VR compatibility will be open across the entire videogame or restricted to a standalone gameplay mode.
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