The Misconceptions of Arcade Racers 

I love how some people claim things like "this game needs to have settings for pros like myself" when sometimes they're even less skilled than casual players, having a wheel setup doesn't make you the fastest driver ever

"Arcade racers aren't difficult" Haha, like to see you try the last event of Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2 with the McLaren F1LM, eight laps and helicopters dropping bombs on you for like 6 of those laps.

The fact that so many people think arcade racers are for kids is beyond me. You explained each misconception perfectly, and honestly, i agree with your points. Great vid man! (PD: the outro was epic)

I would still call most arcade racers casual because of theur accessibility. However, I'm of the opinion that just because a game is casual doesn't immediately mean it's easy. It can be approachable and easy at first, but the difficulty may progressively ramp up.

You know stuff you were saying about 3D Clouds? That reminds me of the story of how Gran Turismo came to exist. The studio was originally called Poly’s Tunes, and was tasked by Sony to make a kids arcade racer for a mysterious new console. But the staff at Poly’s Tunes didn’t want to make a kiddy colorful kart racer, they wanted to make a realistic racing game, the studio was full of huge gearheads. So over the years, they worked in secret, scanning cars and making models, and apparently sometimes they just lived in the office, until in 1997 they pitched the game to Sony. Sony reluctantly decided to release the game in Japan, and to better fit the brand of the game, Poly’s Tunes was redubbed as Polyphony Digital. The game was a hit, and in 1998, it launched worldwide as Gran Turismo A funny little story just how extreme the differences between games by the same developers can be

I agree on all the points. May i add some: - For the skills argument, while arcade racing takes skills, it's probably worth noting that those skill doesnt translate to real life professional/amateur racing. But that doesnt necessarily mean it isn't a skill. Arcade racing skills are indeed different though. I will be forever in awe of GTA5 stunts videos I have seen here in youtube. That takes great amount of understanding of the game's physics (as all arcade racers are).

Arcade racers are definitely not just for kids, and I’m disappointed but not surprised that that’s a real viewpoint. Even since the original WipEout in 1995, there have been arcade racers targeted at more mature audiences. WipEout was bred in the atmosphere of mid and late 90s British club culture, blaring techno, and Y2K aesthetics. The Flatout games are definitely more directed at teens (I think the soundtrack selection makes it pretty obvious because I don’t imagine who other than teens from the early 2000s want to listen to Yellow Card in a racing game for long periods of time lol). And they’re also arcade racers with incredibly high skill ceilings. As you mentioned, WipEout, Redout, Trackmania, but also N-Gen (a jet racing game with realistic aircraft control being an option you get before every race), Rollcage and it’s successor GRIP, and even the Ridge Racer series which was definitely originally intended for children (it got more ambiguous after RR Revolution), gets really hard

Paw Patrol: Grand Prix, my favorite Burnout title

Another big misconception about Arcade Racers is, "having bad driving physics and bad handling is not an issue, because the game is arcade". Doesn't matter if the game has brake to drift, steering to drift or regular drift. But if the driving physics is so bad even for an arcade racer, you can't just defend the game because you can't control the car. I've seen and played other arcade racing games that does arcade handling well while having brake to drift mechanics, like Hotshot Racing and Outrun 2, even regular driving in those games feels nice especially when trying to turn. Another thing is, I've also played arcade cabinet games like Wangan Midnight and Overdrive where the driving feels much more smooth compared to current games like Need For Speed.

Love the fact that you put the name of the game footage with the name of the game, should be de facto standard in all gaming videos.

2:43 Segata Sanshiro: I just wanna talk to them. A lot of Saturn racing games controlled best with the Saturn Wheel; hell, a few even *told you* to use it instead of a gamepad (Hang On GP). Sure there were no pedals, but it worked just fine, and made it ideal for small spaces.

Someone: "Arcade racers are for kids." Me playing Carmageddon 2 when I was six: "Uh..."

Glad to see carma max damage get a mention, my favourite series!

"It's simple game for kids, that's the reason. Try new NFS, it has huge lag like for idiots. I would like to have settings for more pro players in Grid" - Car pfp discord user

funny enough, WMMT series and Initial D Arcade Stages, has more sweats than Gran Turismo and Forza and has more technique to master the basics of the game since it's not grounded 100% to reality, like, it took me a full year analyzing and learning from my mistakes just to be competitive enough for the local pro. but OMG the physics is awesome for both controller and steering wheel (yes i sometime play it on a emulator), this just points out that arcade game can be good with steering wheel and also can be competitive as sim racing games.

Great to see new content!

This video offers some very compelling analysis. Great job.

Good video and i agree with your points. Though i wanted to touch on the wheel part. I love both arcade and sim racing. Sure, many arcade racers support wheels. But supporting is very different from it being a good experience. These titles simply don't have the physics engines that would use modern force feedback wheels to anywhere near their potential. And if you have a wheel like that you will most likely try a modern sim title as well. That is when you notice just how much is actually missing from the wheel experience. I have a wheel and i don't expect arcade racers to have any wheel support, that isn't their goal at all. Even if an arcade racer has wheel support i don't make use of it.

Great video!

The "it's for kids so who cares" argument is not relevant, it has never been relevent, and it will never be relevent, games can be enjoyed by anyone. Also, on the topic of arcade racers with high skill ceilings, Fortnite's Rocket Racing, Burnout Paradise, and one of my personal favorite racing games, F-Zero GX, it's one of my favorite speedrun games to watch, you should watch CGN's run that he did at AGDQ 2014.

I dare you to play Garfield Kart with a Wheel! xD

Hold the phone, how did you get Driver San Francisco to work with a wheel? Is it just because it's a logitech? I've been trying to figure out how to get it working on my Fanatec for a while.

I tend to prefer simulation on racing games but my favorite racing game of all time is Sega Rally Championship, also Ridge Racer Type 4 is a new hidden treasure for me but the difficulty with drift style is quite challenging, other hard arcades are Art of Rally and Outrun and I remember Blur progressive difficult as kind of annoying

I prefer arcade racers because they're more fun than sim racers. You have more freedom to roam the playable areas, customize your cars, race how you want, etc. When it comes to the experience sure sim racers have it, but arcade racers have them beat on the fun and freedom factor basically all the time.

The „Arcade Racers are for Kids“ Point often gets used on Kart Racers mainly. But tbh Even that isn’t always true. Yeah, Some are obviously made for kids, like Mario Kart or All Star Fruit Racing (like u mentioned), but there Are Kart Racers wich even require some Skill or have real Competitive Aspects, like also Mario Kart, Blur (I Count Blur as a Arcade Racer AND a Kart Racer bc its very similar to Kart Racers) or ModNation Racers. Especially the Last named Game, ModNation Racers, has many competitive Aspects and can be very hard, for example you can manage how your Kart Drives (if its layed around Speed or Acceleration etc), the AI is very competitive and Aggressive most times and the Weapons can be a heavy Threat to you, sometimes even putting you from first to maybe even last Place if you’re unlucky. And it also has Some Tricks / Mechanics like Shield, or that you get faster for a quick amount of time via jumping and drifting at the same time. Also the Game has (or had, cuz the Servers sadly got shutdown) A Online Race Mode with a Ranking / Level Up System.

Microsoft and Forza devs need to see this video

Grid legends is never taked about because everyone is on about elden ring I swear that gamers hate us racing game fans

dude have you ever played a game called Hot Wheels Velocity X (2002)? it was one of my childhood games and it's also a vehicular combat game with different weapons. I think it would be cool if you could do a review on it and maybe some of the other earlier hot wheels games before Hot Wheels Unleashed. Hot wheels Beat that from 2007 also had good vehicle combat but I didn't play it as much as Velocity X

anyone claiming arcade racers are easy, let them take a crack at baja edge of control, shox, fatal enertia or sega rally revo.

Arcade racers don't need wheel support in the same way that non-realistic shooters don't need FOV sliders and rebindable keys

Ayy Blur and OnRush! Two seriously underrated games that deserved way bigger player bases than what they got.

5:53 wtf did they even mean by this 💀

one great benefit I can think of from arcade racer is that you don't really had some moron whose gonna charge full price AAA game for a mod that not only being low quality at best, it could possibly break your game as well

You could just replace explanation with Curb Your Enthusiasm meme on steering wheels part.

Very good video. Someone already said skill argument. But to me I mean assists can be turned off of braking, auto driving, driving line and more. The crashes, racing politics for Grid Legends story isn't going to appeal to kids, among other factors of artstyle, handling, lighting, tone all matter. Or rules/feel and logic/concepts beyond the real ones because new rules and experiences are too much. Too many new terms even in some universe. Is it too much for some people it has to be real rven though they don't know what some of the cars really feel like they aren't car journalists. Same as movies versus reality not everyone even knows what real gund sound like or care of the quality while others don't mind the authenticity but those people seek it out elsewhere of historical representation too. Or if an anime portrays something well just like some films or documentaries which can happen. Even kids games have advanced things in them. Spyro yeah how would I make my way through trial and error paths to get to certain areas, high level puzzles exist in some.games. you could use no upgrades in some games and have it be incredibly hard if you know the game inside and out. Can't do that these days with many based around skill trees but some old platformers I can beat no upgrade runs. But then skill trees in Grid Legends yeah I felt it did nothing so...... People do challenges with different conditions to our on themselves once they know the game enough and replay them different ways. I enjoy futuristic racers for a reason it's fun, most kids don't care for F Zero or WipEout among others. What kids even knows what F Zero even is, only retro gamers who are adults do that introduce it to their kids likely. Many are hardcore into those types of games, something with more challenge, seeking them out because they went under then had a revival with certain studios. We aren't getting vehicular ones are we anymore and Twisted Metal wasn't for kids. What kid cared for PGR when it has sure Geometry Wars but also a museum like dealership, many garages, avoid mix of variety in modes and real world cities. Besides yes Blur being in marketing and execution for adults. I play many arcade or sim games for their structure and content. If the game controls a certain way it matters but regardless I still get used to them and have fun. I find the arcade and Sim arguments hilarious. The wheel point was so important, did those people forget what arcade means. It wasn't only balls, nobs and joysticks it was wheels, the seats moving like 4D movies and silly dialogue/quotes. Did people forget how good Daytona USA, Outrun and others were. They aren't all fictional cars either in many current or older. Hotwheels having real cars, Outrun Ferraris in 2/SP' 2006 Coast to Coast. Sims fans can have their fun with real elements but not everyone wants that. Games benefit from not being realistic. You don't see people buying a shooter simulation like Operation Flashpoint or the US Xbox exclusive simulators so why the racing claims do people want realism or fun? There is content and representation of what they are looking for, and oh how serious, and there is a reason games exist, business and entertainment they aren't history books or museums of cars unless intended to be like a one make game is or living out moments of history in them. Some people want a game that's a casual drive and radio playing. I wonder what they think of platformers not being full on parkour simulators too even though benefit being fictional with different movesets. XD same with skateboarding games have their charm for being arcade like and playable and silly or serious with storylines even. Some people don't get art or fiction. Even when experiencing non fiction slice of life stuff for tv shows or books they aren't all reading or watching non fiction content. Do people like to just restrict their choices over something dumb yes they do sometimes for some reason. XD What to be cool or follow some nonsense some people are just hilarious. The people braving past the BS perception and getting what they want out something are more interesting people than those restricting themselves.

I'm guessing a lot of the people like this have never played any Japanese cabinet arcade racers.

5:35 Never forget

4:36 one does not simply teach kids swears

All of these misconceptions is just one big gatekeeping statement from the racing community, especially with the last statement. And they wonder why the genre is less popular than it was from >10 years ago.

The misconceptions of Arcade Racers has also hit actual arcade cabinets as well. Many people will go to a round 1 and see games like initial D and wangan midnight maximum tune and assume its for children just by how easy it appears. What they dont see are the players that spent hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars over the course of years to master hidden game mechanics and to practice the courses in time attack down to the milliseconds. Not uncommon to see these games played by children then see a grown man in their 20s to even 40s jump on and play it in a significantly different style.

MAKE SOME AK FILMS

This video just makes me miss blur and onrush. two of the best arcade racers of recent times. :(

Joe Boomer gives you the bird you know for kids

Though not a racing game, it always annoys me when people call Twisted Metal mindless. These critics usually say the games have no depth, while also not using any power moves like freeze missile or shield.

I feel it's unfair to expect every developer to implement wheel support though.

I think why people think arcade racers are easy and aimed at younger audience is because the popular arcade games are NFS and Asphalt. Those games feel like they're on rails. While if you put them something like midnight club 2 then it's a whole different story

Honestly even mario kart is still Fun for me eventho it's made for 7 year olds

Does redout have faster sense of speed than xenon?

Yo mate! It's WSP, the PlayStation player from our NFS HP Remastered session we played with SCPDArmor23 yesterday. I just wanna say a video idea that I'd like to suggest, you could do a video series of NFS HP Remastered online madness of you smashing into other players as a Cop or a Racer in the online HP mode or just do anything in your power to keep up and take down the Most Wanted player in the MW online mode, people would love to see you make some content of you playing with SCPDArmor23 and friends and possibly me too because I'm now a good friend of SCPDArmor23, trust me, even I would love to see some professional action from a RU-vidr like you because of how you played it yesterday in our session together from my perspective, kinda like it ngl.

Yea onrush is completely dead now. And that angers me. Where can I be listening to ReeK this was anymore.

"gaz guzzlers extreme and flat out with a wheel"I have massive respect for you.try burnout paradise.

I swear this is the only time I've heard someone mention Gas Guzzlers Extreme! I ain't played that in ages but loved it. Split/Second is another one I absolutely love, I still need to ghet around to getting blur sometime.

2:04 what is this game

GRID Legend based on Codemasters racing sim team from Dirt rally 2 so you can expect decent amount racing wheel support

Yeah i really agree Casual racing game benefit like compelling Progression Like F1 being simcade with Lot of RPG element and NEED FOR SPEED etc

Last few NFS games have way too much steering delay for a wheel to feel right.

basically normies shouldn't talk

Former go-kart racer here. Arcade, sim, or real deal, one thing is common. If you want to be good at it, you have to understand how motor racing works.

Saying Arcade Games are easy, clearly they haven't played the Trackmania infamous Black Series on both the OG Trackmania and Turbo, good luck with that.

bro dirt 2 best dirt game in my opinion

Wheels are definitely meant for arcade racers… but wheels are absolutely not made for chase cam.

I actually like rubber banding but a lot of people don’t like it