Hey, remember '90s Arcade Racer? This Sega-inspired speed-fest first slid into our collective consciousnesses way back in 2013, when it hit Kickstarter and was quickly confirmed for release on the Wii U. The game – created by one-man studio Pelikan13, AKA: Antonis Pelekanos – hit its funding goal and was quickly snapped up by publisher Nicalis, with a 2014 release being the target.
It missed that target, but footage appeared in 2015 which suggested it was alive and well, and that we wouldn't have to wait too long to play it. In 2016, it was revealed that the game would be skipping Wii U in favour of Switch – a logical move – and would be called '90s Super GP.
Then it all went rather quiet.
Now, it's worth pointing out that we were one of the first mainstream gaming sites to give this promising racer any kind of attention, and did so because we thought it looked bloody amazing. For a one-man team, the visuals looked utterly incredible and managed to nail that trademark 'Sega Blue Skies' look perfectly. We've been waiting for news – any news – for years, and have repeatedly contacted Nicalis via official PR channels in the hope that we'd get some kind of update. Every time, we've been met with silence.
It's our understanding that Pelekanos is no longer associated with the game, and has since switched focus to the amazing-looking brawler The Takeover, which will be published soon on Switch by Dangen Entertainment. Nicalis still has the '90s Super GP game page live on its site, with Switch, PS4 and Steam listed as the supported platforms and 'Soon!' as the optimistic release date.
Will this game ever see the light of day, or is it stuck in development hell forever? The funds raised on Kickstarter back in 2013 will have presumably been used up long ago, although we are led to believe that those who crowdfunded the game initially have been offered full refunds by Nicalis. It would be a real shame for this promising racer to vanish forever, but with its original creator no longer involved with its development, it could well be that '90s Super GP never leaves the garage.
Needless to say, we'll update this story if we get any word back from either Nicalis or Pelekanos. In the meantime, tell us if you were one of the people who backed the game in 2013 and if you'd like to see it on Switch eventually.
Comments 63
Another dead-end Kickstarter game. This is why no one wants to support Kickstarter project anymore cause of failure to deliver like this. Why go quiet when everyone are still holding out for this game? 2014 to 2019 isn't a short period either, that already equal to one console generation in Nintendo's calendar.
I really was looking forward to this game. It could have been great. Why string people along, though? If it's canceled just say so.
will this game ever reach the finish line?
This is the first I have heard of this one.... I hope they find their footing and put it out in 2019 as it looks great
I hope this manages to get a release looks really good would be great on the switch is the pang style game at the end of the vid part of this game or is it something else entirely ?
I have been looking forward to this since the WiiU. I hope it still sees the light of day in 2019.
Another great fans do what Sega don’t type of game. Sad it hasn’t gotten the release it deserves.
Thanks for posting this Mr. McFerran.
I'm also curious about "Racing Apex". It also seems to be in development limbo. I've really been looking forward to both 90s Super GP and Racing Apex.
At least we got Horizon Chase Turbo!
Also: "although we are led to believe that those who crowdfunded the game initially have been offered full refunds by Nicalis"
Can anyone (former backers, etc?) confirm this?
Will this game ever see the chequered flag?
@Fuz spot on!!!!!!!!!
Never been contact regarding a refund I'll contact Kickstarter see what happens
Five years is a very long time, but given its look and the current nostalgia for it, I think this would be a big hit....add in multiplayer online...one can dream.
Dang shame. I’ve been wondering where it’s at. I won’t hold my breath for SEGA to give us a racer of this sort, at least on Switch. I miss the SEGA Super GT arcade. Wish that would’ve made it to consoles.
1: Kickstarter game becomes vaporware.
2: Nicalis game becomes vaporware.
Which of the following statements surprises you (circle one.)
A. Statement #1
B. Statement #2
C. Both statement #1 and #2
D. None of the above. The result could be determined in advance from either statement alone.
I've been really wanting to play this game for a long time. It looks fantastic.
One of my greatest gaming disappointments. So sad/mad about this.
@Audiobrainiac We've got Virtua Racing coming at least. It's a 25 year old racer but it will have online racing so it should feel pretty fresh.
I do remember this, I also remember getting very excited about it. I hope it does come out one day and is as good as it looks.
Was really looking forward to this game. Oh well not exactly short on games anyway.
If it does end up coming out I will definitely buy it though.
I think I was one of the few looking forward to it. At least we got Daytona USA on Xbox One.
The article basically tells this story: you are an indie developer, you contact an indie publisher and the project is dismissed. If true, what kind of cruel sarcasm is this? I have never trusted Nicalis anyway.
Nicalis spit the bit on RedOut too. Really disappointing. But as noted above, at least we got Horizon Chase Turbo...positively glorious.
I backed this on Kickstarter at the "Billboard" level. I was so hyped for it, and even more hyped to have my old podcast site VGPodcasts forever in the game. Fast forward to early 2018 — that site isn't around anymore, contacted Pelekanos about changing my graphic which he agreed to do.. and that was the last I've heard about the project.
This was an early mistake I made in crowdfunding... I've since then been WAY more selective. Still sad though, I loved 90s racing games in the arcade, would love something like this on my Switch.
If anyone has any info on Nicalis refunding pledges, I would love to hear it. Getting my 80 pound pledge back would be a nice way to start 2019
It's about time Sega, Namco brought the 90's arcade racers back. Real racing games real fun!!
This game was aimed at me. I lapped up every screenshot and video. I have sadly dismissed it as vapourware now though.
@frogopus - Great points. I don’t often participate in crowdfunding campaigns, but when I do, I consider whether the product creators have a track record of producing similar items. I’ll consider taking the additional risk when there isn’t such a record, but I’m aware of the risk.
For example, I was confident that WayForward would deliver a Shantae game if funded, given their substantial history as game developers. Granted, the final game (IMO) wasn’t their best ever, nor the best in that series — but they did compete the task, namely the first HD installment of Shantae.
Backing Hyper Light Drifter was a greater risk initially. IIRC, the team did not have much of a history of delivering final games. But I went in knowing the risk, hoping for the best. IMO, the final product is a real standout, so it worked out well.
More recently, the Flip Grip turned out quite well. I am slightly familiar with Jeremy Parish from gaming websites, but don’t know whether he had done this sort of project previously. That said, $12 was small enough to risk without much worry.
Of course, many other crowdfunded projects have failed to materialize, or fell far short of promises. There is always some degree of risk, I suppose, even when dealing with established teams.
Looked good! ... Was a bit on fence and that drifting though, like the awful controls of ridge Racer lol
It will be quite a shame if this game never sees the light of day. It looks pretty fun and the raceways are simple yet fun to look at. I haven't heard of the brawler the original creator has moved onto though.
I was really looking forward to this, but I forgot about it over time. It would be great if this releases but it is sounding like vaporware.
I really wanted this game. Shame it had to end the way it did. Even if it does get released, Nicalis are the ones who benefit from the hard work Pelikanos put into it.
@AstralOrange64 It was announced and crowdfunded in 2013 but development on the game actually started in 2014. Now it's 2019, five years after and there still isn't any new update on the game. My hope is that it's not cancelled yet.
Well, at least we have Horizon Chase Turbo.
Well then folks I would have to suggest anyone at all interested in seeing this project seeing the light of day may just want to send a tweet or two to this person...
https://twitter.com/tyronerodriguez
And I cannot confirm or deny that game has been in development longer..
@NEStalgia #2 to be honest. I thought Nicalis had a pretty good rep.
I don't understand how crowd funding is still a thing after all the years of failure and examples of people being burned on crap like this.
I remember this! I was more interested in Drift Stage, though. The music they released for the game rocks.
Wasn't there supposed to be an 80's arcade racer too?
I was wondering what happened to this the other day, I thought it came out and I missed it. Looks like I didn't and it looks like they took the money and ran.
It would be a shame for the game to not make it as I’m still a buyer! But if not we have Horizon Chase, OUTRUN, and Virtua Racing to ease the loss!! Let’s hope Nicalis figures out a way to get it done and out the door!
@SaturnHero Are you thinking of "Racing Apex"? It's vaporware too I believe. Their website is still up and states the game "takes inspiration from some of the first 3D polygon arcade racing games from 1988 to 1992".
At least we got Horizon Chase Turbo.
There's also "80s Overdrive" for 3DS. Looks like Horizon Chase Turbo.
@GrizzledVeteran Ok, yeah 80's Overdrive is what I was thinking of. I didn't realize that released, I forgot that was for 3ds.
Maybe it'll be the Limited Run Wii U game? Joking aside, we haven't heard much about that in awhile either...
So basically, this article is about getting attention for his new game then? What a shame, but hey, I already gave up on this game anyway, like I did with Redout as well...
@PixelStef Switch can't handle Reddout, it's a little bit sketchy here and there on PS4. it's that simple.
Yeah this game looked incredible and i was behind it from the start. It's never going to see the light of day, if it was it would of happened already it's that simple. Or at least we wopuld of had updates. There is a far better 90's arcade racer coming soon that will eclipse this.
@YANDMAN yeah well it was not me who said it would ever run on switch
That's a shame, I actually think about this game often and wondered if I had somehow missed the release or something. It's a shame.
This is exactly the game for me and I'm gutted it's not coming out. Also contacted Nicalis and received no response.
A real shame.
By the way, it makes me think about 80s Overdrive, which I've seen discounted several times on 3DS... but I held off because they said they wanted to port it to other systems. At least that's what I read in NL's feature about it. But there haven't been any news. Does anybody know anything about it?
As far as I have heard this is due to Nicalis and their VERY shady business practises. Essentially stole the game from Pelikan13.
@GrizzledVeteran Racing Apex is still very much alive, they went off the grid to crack on with the game, they are now very much active on their pages again.
@YANDMAN Glad to hear. I'm very much looking forward to it again, and am happy I was wrong about it being vaporware!
I backed this game when the Kickstarter was still alive and the future for the game was bright and promising.
The heated discussions in the KS comments section were quite something back in the day and I was one of the early lucky ones who got the full refund, so I have no unsettled business with the Greek developer. He even paid the exact full amount back so I think he was on the losing end in a way because he did not get the full pledge from me since Kickstarter itself takes a cut of the pledge. I believe not every backer got their refund, and in Kickstarter sense he wouldn't have needed to refund anybody, because KS is not preordering, it is investing to a project that might exist someday.
I was surprised Nicalis took the publishing role at first because I knew that would mean there are troubles ahead. Nicalis has been absolutely lousy publisher who often forgot that Europe exists and only released games in North America. For example Cave Story 3D that still has a page in 3DS eShop but was never released here digitally, still says coming soon in the shop page. It only had a super limited physical release.
Well, Nicalis bought the game ip and resources in the end from Pelikan13 and this game has been shown in some form in some American game conventions, but I have still never seen anything else than still images of it, no gameplay footage from it's new name when it was with Nicalis. We have the clips from the era when Pelikan13 was still making it
I doubt it will ever come to Switch or any other platform and there will be no need for it once M2 and Sega releases Virtua Racing and Daytona on Switch.
One interesting aspect of this development history is that Pelikan13 apologized in a way for messing up this game, he gave years ago for free to the backers of 90's Arcade Racer a Steam key for The Takeover.
Pelikan may have tried to achieve too much as a one man team, but I still think the death kiss was when Tyrone Rodriguez and his Nicalis joined the project.
@GrizzledVeteran Trust me i felt the same after five months of silence.
i cannot understand companies. There is a console with players DYING to play good racing games, and noone cares to make some!!! There are only 2 racing games (Gears Club Unlimited and V rally) which both of them look... mediocre.
Come on Developers!!!
I not only backed the game but gave extra money for my logo to appear on cars and billboards in the game. I'm waiting to see if they make it into the game before claiming I'm scammed (if the game ever comes out).
Game looks good. On another note i didn’t realise Daytona was coming to Switch..
As someone who Kickstarted this way back when, I'm still hopeful it will EVER come out on Switch, though at least Horizon Chase Turbo scratches the retro racer itch, even if a different one
Still eagerly waiting. This game will be instantly sopped up by parched fans clinging for signs of life in the eshop's current dessert-dry offerings in the arcade racing game department.
In the 18xx's: Ive got a gold mine to sell you
..... just give me some cash
Early 19xx I've got a bridge to sell you
.... just give me some cash
today 2019 I've got a game to make for you
.... just give me some cash
Same con different generation & suckers
How does one get a game this complete....and not release it?
They have renamed the game. Says 2019 release.
https://www.nicalis.com/games/90ssupergp
Almost 4 years later and I'm still waiting for this darn game lol.
Tap here to load 63 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...