Ridge Racer Unbounded

[Dyne]

For PS3, 360 and PC.

Namco has announced a brand new multiplatform Ridge Racer game, due out next year for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Little is known about Ridge Racer Unbounded. A teaser trailer, which does not contain gameplay footage, is available to view below.

It's in development at Bugbear Entertainment, the Finnish developer behind the FlatOut series and 2007 PSP game SEGA Rally.

The trailer shows a car driving through steamy urban streets at night. A woman leaves, walks through steam, and enters another car. She then drives straight into a taxi, knocking it flying, before tearing off. We're getting a Need for Speed vibe, with some open world destruction thrown in for good measure.

"We are all aware of what its concept is," was all Ridge Racer 3D game director Masamichi Yamazaki would offer Eurogamer when quizzed in San Francisco this week. "But we're not the spokesperson for that title. All the Ridge Racers have their own concepts and target audiences. That is a very different Ridge Racer from this [Ridge Racer 3DS] one.

"This one is a more rightful successor of the series."

Ridge Racer 7 was a PlayStation 3 exclusive that launched alongside the console in 2006, although it didn't hit Europe until 2007.

Not sure how to link Eurogamers videos. It looks like it's getting too far away from what the original concept is but I'll take a wait and see approach.

[Yoshi]

Why the fuck would Namco farm our Ridge Racer? Farm out trash like Tekken for Christ's sake.

[Dyne]

I figured/hoped you'd be one of the first to chime in. I don't get why they'd go all pre-NFS Hot Pursuit style with this one when NFS recently did a 180 (got back to just racing) and is selling pretty damn good. Granted there isn't any gameplay shown but there's definitely an urban NFS Undergound type of look to it.

[Diff-chan]

It kind of sucks to see Japanese publishers seemingly internalize the idea that Japanese development is "dead" and as such it is preferable to find some third rate Western studios to take a giant dump on revered franchises. I don't like Ridge Racer but fans (sup isamu) deserve better.

[bVork]

I liked the FlatOut games so I'll be interested to see where Bugbear takes the series.

[epmode]

Trailer: http://www.ign.com/videos/2011/02/04...=99683&show=HD

It's *incredible*

I thought I knew what it was like for a developer to shit on its own fanbase to appeal to a new demographic. Then I saw this.

[A Robot Bit Me]

...That?

[epmode]

Sure!

[bVork]

Wow. I can't think of a better way to get Ridge Racer fans (are there really that many left?) angry. I'm interested, but I suspect the ensuing shitstorm will be even more entertaining than the final product.

[A Robot Bit Me]

Seems innocuous enough to me. I don't like the direction it's heading either, but I don't think it's freak out time yet.