No matter if you are a Sith Lord, Jedi or a simple Gungan: you love podracing. And you can also cruise through the virtual Tatooine.
Photo credit: LucasArts
The most successful sci-fi racing game
LucasArts published Star Wars Episode I: Racer in 1999 for PC, Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast. The galactic hype surrounding George Lucas’ Star Wars franchise fueled the popularity of the title.
Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace and its racing game were released on the same date, and the legendary movie catapulted the sales numbers of its racing game. Over 3 million copies were sold worldwide – an achievement that was worth an entry in Guinness World Records as best-selling sci-fi racing game.
The rise of Star Wars racing
With this immense success story, LucasArt went for a revival of the game and released a remastered edition for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch early in 2020. But the “Star Wars” letters on the packaging were not the only selling point. There has been a myriad of racing games, but with podracing, the player had the chance to choose something different from a normal car and go for a cruise in an environment other than the usual everyday roads.
A new hope for sci-fi racers?
The original title had great potential for extra content, which unfortunately was not implemented in the remake. While there are plenty of routes on eight different planets, a dedicated track editor to create your own circuits is missing. A great online mode to compete against others is also lacking. If these were implemented, they could form a completely new podracing game with the potential to be even more fun than its predecessor.
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