Shinra

Physical version and then we talk.

Switch has long-since reached saturation point for RPGs. They take up so much time too - not sure how anyone can get through more than two or three a year.

This would be a Megaton announcement for sure. So many people want it. Nintendo would be mad not to make it happen!

I'm not into all that tat/merchandise. Just want a physical cartridge and a manual if possible.

Looking forward to this. Indie games tend not to have a huge amount of staying power for me, but I will see about giving this a go when it comes out physically. Horizon Chase Turbo was fun but extremely limited in terms of its gameplay. Absolutely no subtlety or depth in its handling model. With the interesting control scheme in this game, I hope that it fares better in my estimations.

Thanks for this - I won't be buying it now.

Disappointing as I was looking forward to this since it was announced. I really like racing games and the thought of having a high quality handheld racer like this is very tempting.

This whole culture of low-res visuals on a hi-res screen is very frustrating these days. Not sure if it's Nintendo's fault for having low-performance hardware, budget restraints imposed by the publishers on the developers, laziness or the fact that the original engine just isn't optimised for Switch, who knows? Possibly a bit of all of these factors. The bottom line is that I'll buy it for the Xbox for less than half the price and play it on the TV if I feel the urge at some point.

The hope for a decent triple-A real-world arcade racer on Switch continues... Would have begrudgingly paid the high price if it was crisp, fast and smooth is handheld.

I'm waiting to hear how sharp it looks in handheld mode before buying.

Looks like a 3D version of Theatrhythm. Not sure what to think....

A new Pokémon Pinball would make my year! The GBA version is one of my all-time favourite video games (and I don't even like pinball in general)

Are people not getting just a little bit tired of these types of games?

No word on a physical release on any format?

All I'm looking for is a physical Switch arcade racer that runs smooth and in 720p in handheld, with the entire game on the cartridge. Not much to ask - if Burnout or Hot Shots can provide this experience then I'll buy it, but otherwise I won't.

I will buy it if it's 720p in handheld. Otherwise, it's pointless for me to spend so much on it - the Xbox version is less than half the price.

Day 1 purchase for me.

@Dringo

I didn't play Excite Truck unfortunately. Along with Excitebots, these are the last Nintendo-published racing games I can think of outside Mario Kart.

I think I was put-off by the apparent brevity of the experience. I really should go and get a copy as I have an urge to try it out over the years. A new iteration would be marvellous.

I'm sure it's lot of fun but it's not what I want to play right now - a good portable racing game. Fingers crossed for Burnout running nicely in handheld mode!

Interesting!

Finally Switch is getting some more racing game momentum. I enjoyed the first Gear Club for a while - it scratched an itch. I didn't get the second one as it didn't progress the formula from what I read of it. This sounds far more interesting. For one. it has a proper Time Attack mode - for some reason, this simple but highly rewarding way of playing driving games is often absent in modern releases. Second, the 'tracks' aspect is welcomed. Whilst point-to-point is fine, it can often be difficult to gauge 'where you are' in a race.

Looking forward to this now.

Looks great and excited to purchase this - hope this is physical too.

@beazlen1

We need to make that happen! Sounds incredible!

Wouldn't it be great to get some sort of online campaign up and running to get Nintedno's attention to make a new Wave Race/1080/Excite game?

@GrailUK

Nintendo does not apply that logic to Mario Kart, New Super Mario Bros., Pokémon, Animal Crossing, Pikmin or Zelda. Not every game they produce is revolutionary or even innovative. If they applied that logic that you speak of to all their game series and only released games that were completely new we'd not be enjoying Smash Bros. Ultimate, Xenoblade 2, Mario Tennis or many other titles right now.

It's 19 years since the last Wave Race. There's nothing stopping Nintendo in theory from making a sequel - even if it's very similar to the previous entries. And the fans would lap it up - no pun intended!

@Krull

True, but Switch players have many RPGs choices as it is, but few quality racing games to pick from. The library on Switch should be little more balanced in my view so that everyone is catered for, not just RPG fans.

Yeah, just made an account in order to reply to this article.

What is clear is that there is huge pent-up demand amongst Nintendo's vast international fanbase for new games in this loose collection of games. If the next Nintendo Direct started with a trailer for a stunning, modern blue skies watery Wave Race people would go nuts. For me it would be a 'megaton' out of all proportion.

The Switch library is great, don't get me wrong, but there is a gap for high-production value knockabout arcade racing games like these. A new Ridge Racer, exclusive to the Switch, would also be very welcome.

Nintendo can very frustrating. They have so many wonderful intellectual properties that fans want to revisit. I can't help but think that they are missing opportunities to collaborate with developers around the world on their franchises.

I remember thinking that after Steep was cancelled on Switch that the assets could have been repurposed into a new 1080 Snowboarding game. Perhaps the open-world design of Steep just couldn't work on Switch, so why not get the developers to put the engine they had created or optimised to good use with a new version or even a remake of the original N64 classic?

I can't recall the last non-Mario Kart racing game that Nintendo has developed or published. Excite Truck, a launch window title for the Wii, is the last I can think of. Such a strange state of affairs - Mario Kart is their best selling game, so why not expand the genre? Like, why not make a new Diddy Kong Racing? People clearly love fun racers.

I suspect that they probably have been working on something in the past. Star Fox Grand Prix sounded great, in theory, and it may very well have been Retro's mystery game. Perhaps it got cancelled in the end - something was going on there. If I recall correctly, Criterion were considering a new F-Zero collaboration with Nintendo at the beginning of the last decade, but it sadly fell through.

Nintendo has faced development challenges in recent times, with many of their studios having to help each other out. I'm not sure why Nintendo has so many issues with implementing online, finishing games, producing HD titles. A company with as much money as they have should not be short of a bob or two when it comes to developing games.

Only time will tell if we see these games return. What is clear is the Nintendo that produced them in the first place is not the same company today. I feel Nintendo is a smaller developer in some ways. Development studies are probably bigger than ever, but output is much less than it once was.

I'll finish this near-essay by stating that 1080 Snowboarding is my all time favourite game. I decided recently that I, in fact, do prefer it to Ocarina of Time, which has been my No. 1 choice for twenty years. 1080 is a near perfectly designed snowboarding experience and remains a job to play to this day. I am also partial to Wave Race Blue Storm - it too holds up and plays beautifully, with some astounding visual effects and contains a myriad of sheer 'fun' moments.

I hope we see these titles re-emerge in the not too distant future.