It's Hard To Believe These 10 Racing Games Are Now Over 15 Years Old

2016’s been pretty big year for racing games and it’s mad to think just how much they’ve evolved over the last decade and a half. Just thinking back at the gaming scene 15 years ago makes us feel pretty old
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Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec was the first of the franchise to be released for PlayStation 2 and was incredibly advanced for its time. After the huge success of the first two instalments, it was hardly surprising the game received critical acclaim and was a worldwide hit when it was released in April 2001.

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Colin McRae Rally has a special place in the hearts of many racing fans. The second game in the series is over 15 years old now. It was the last to be released for the original PlayStation and added new difficulty levels and game modes.

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Demolition Racer was the game you played in 1999 to get rid of anger and frustration. What better way to do so than to smash into rival cars in a bid to destroy them? It was released for PS1 and PC as a rival to the Demolition Derby series, which hit the scene a few years earlier.

4. Mario Kart: Super Circuit

It's Hard To Believe These 10 Racing Games Are Now Over 15 Years Old

This is the game that brought Mario Kart to the small screen. It was released in 2001 for Game Boy Advance, making it the grand old age of 15. Unsurprisingly it was a huge hit with gamers and reviewers, selling almost six million copies. Not bad at all.

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F1 games were so much simpler back in 2000, but just as much fun. F1 2000 was released for PS1, based off the exciting season – the start of Michael Schumacher and Ferrari’s run of dominance. It’s amazing to look back at the game and see how far racing titles like this one have come.

6. Midnight Club: Street Racing

Rockstar
Rockstar

We haven’t seen a Midnight Club game for a while now, but this is where the series all began. Released in 2000, gamers could race around London and New York, taking in a few familiar landmarks. It wasn’t the most popular racing game of its time but it developed quite a fanbase.

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Dreamcast title Sega GT was seen as a way of drawing some of the attention away from PlayStation and Gran Turismo. It was well received after its release in 2000, but didn’t match the success of GT.

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Remember this one? I certainly have fond memories of playing Porsche Unleashed when I was growing up. The game (the fifth in the Need for Speed series) is 16 years old now, which makes me feel pretty ancient. It remains unusual for focusing on just one manufacturer, so if you didn’t like Porsches it definitely wasn’t the game for you.

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Test Drive 6 was released in 1999, but its predecessor – which came out one year earlier – was deemed to be a better and more enjoyable game. It was never meant to be much more than an arcade racer but it did that pretty well.

10. Crash Team Racing

It's Hard To Believe These 10 Racing Games Are Now Over 15 Years Old

Mad, isn’t it? Crash Team Racing is 17 years old now. At the time it was a huge hit worldwide, bringing a Mario Kart-style game to the Crash Bandicoot franchise. According to the PlayStation magazine, it was “the game that made kart racing cool”. Quite a statement.

What other racing games recently turned 15? Let us know your favourites below!

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Comments

Poke

I think you’re forgetting this gem of a game!

10/23/2016 - 08:09 |
242 | 1
Anonymous

In reply to by Poke

when you love crash

10/23/2016 - 08:59 |
9 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Poke

The game that mustang drivers played as a kid xD

10/23/2016 - 10:18 |
37 | 13
Antiprius

In reply to by Poke

Maldonado Simulator basically

10/24/2016 - 02:03 |
14 | 0
Olds Alero

In reply to by Poke

YES

10/24/2016 - 02:35 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Poke

AYYY! THE GAME WHICH SPARKED EVERYTHING!

10/24/2016 - 03:36 |
0 | 0
240sx ftw

Oh the PlayStation loading screen brings back memories :)

10/23/2016 - 08:24 |
12 | 0

Good memories? :)

10/24/2016 - 15:29 |
0 | 0
iCypher(Joel Chan)

Yeah it is hard to believe these games are already 15 years old….Though in 2000-2001, I wasn’t even born yet.

10/23/2016 - 08:28 |
8 | 3

Why did this get downvoted? I see nothing wrong here…

10/23/2016 - 10:28 |
3 | 0

Here. Have an upvote!

10/24/2016 - 08:20 |
0 | 0
Whoami26

Ah cmr 2.0 and gt3 my childhood! These games got me into gaming too! I just love it how I was born a Petrograd which lead me to racing games which made me a gamer and then cars again played a role when I started watching initial d and became an otaku!

10/23/2016 - 08:39 |
3 | 1
Anonymous

I still play Mario Kart Super Circuit when I’m bored

10/23/2016 - 08:59 |
2 | 1
Jack Leslie

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Amazing

10/24/2016 - 15:30 |
0 | 0
Gerger B

“Grand old age of 15”

I’m 15 so does that mean I am also grand old?

10/23/2016 - 09:05 |
16 | 0

Yeah, and I’m almost 22, so I’m ancient

10/23/2016 - 12:23 |
13 | 0
LeloCro

CTR and NFS Porsche 2000 were the games i grew up with….MEMORIES

10/23/2016 - 09:13 |
8 | 0

I always used to play NFS Porsche at my grandparents, good memories

10/24/2016 - 15:29 |
1 | 0
Anonymous

Nope, I really can’t believe that F1 2000 - now in 2016 - is over 15 years old. That’s just… it absolutely blew my mind

10/23/2016 - 09:52 |
13 | 0
Jack Leslie

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

You’d never guess it, would you?

10/23/2016 - 12:23 |
7 | 0
A Fluffy Badger

CTR 2 please Sony!

10/23/2016 - 09:58 |
4 | 1

Needs to be better attempts than the nitro kart and tag team racing blunders. Was massively disappointed with those when they came out

10/23/2016 - 10:25 |
2 | 0
JDM Spirit Turkey

i think we forgot something :)

10/23/2016 - 10:01 |
44 | 1

I still enjoy playing the game from time to time… xD

10/23/2016 - 10:46 |
3 | 0

best game ever!!! but I liked more the original CARMAGEDON, that one was more bloody than the second one :D still have the CD of Carmagedon I and II :)

10/23/2016 - 15:16 |
0 | 0

I still have nightmares that I’m a pedestrian…

10/24/2016 - 15:45 |
0 | 0

I had the first and TDR2000 for PC. Hours spent playing the most ludicrous car game of All Time. Plus, those massive, maze-like levels. It was something special. They released a new one last year but it is still a tad buggy. Looks amazing however.

10/26/2016 - 05:43 |
0 | 0