Speed Racer
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A live-action 'Speed Racer' series is headed to Apple TV+
Apple has given the green light to a live-action Speed Racer series for Apple TV+, both Variety and Deadline are reporting.
Report: Samurai Pizza Cats, Speed Racer once considered for Tatsunoko vs. Capcom
Even though Tatsunoko vs. Capcom is already bordering on the legal limits of how many characters are simultaneously allowed in a single game, Capcom thought about adding others. We all knew (and are very depressed about) the almost-inclusion of Phoenix Wright, but according to a web chat with producer Ryota Niitsuma (via Siliconera) the Samurai Pizza Cats were once considered for the game. "We at Capcom too, wanted to see the Samurai Pizza Cats in the game. We were in discussion with Tatsunoko Productions to try to get them in the game. It went right up the last minute, but it didn't go through," revealed Niitsuma. It didn't end there, either -- Capcom even considered putting in Speed Racer. Niitsuma commented that the hurdle with him was putting his race car into the game, something we find a bit odd considering the game has characters who are far larger and comprised of far more complicated mechanical parts than a stinkin' race car! In other news: Joystiq finally has a Samurai Pizza Cats tag. May it console you in your time of need.
Wii's first force feedback wheel looks great, seems pointless
Yes, pointless.As much as we love our Wii, it's not exactly creaking under the weight of great racing titles. There's Game Night favorite Mario Kart Wii, which is really fun, but that already comes with its own wheel, which works surprisingly well. And after that, we have (in order of GameRankings.com score) Excite Truck, MX vs. ATV Untamed, Speed Racer, and Cars, followed by fourteen other depressing drives.None of which is intended as a slur on Logitech's new force feedback wheel for the Wii, which actually looks and sounds excellent. Releasing in November for $99.99 (!), the Logitech Speed Force Wireless features built-in gas and brake controls, a comfy-looking expandable lap rest, a wireless USB receiver and, naturally, full force feedback.It is almost certainly the best possible way to play Cruis'n, GT Pro Series, and Wacky Races: Crash & Dash.%Gallery-30186%[Via press release]
Summer movies raise demand for associated classic games
Summer blockbusters aren't just good for propping up the sales of crappy new movie-based games ... it turns out they're also good for pumping up the prices of crappy old games based on the same characters. For proof, look no further than the always interesting Video Game Price Charts blog, which shows a distinct and recent uptick in the selling prices for older games based on the Speed Racer, Iron Man and Indiana Jones franchises. Never mind that these games aren't directly related to the new movies, or that the games are universally awful (well, almost) -- once that old clunker of a game gets attached to a hot new movie, the asking price can get inflated by up to 170%.We can almost see the logic behind the increased demand, from the average consumer's perspective. After all, why waste $50 on the crappy new Iron Man game that junior is begging for when you can pick up a crappy old Iron Man game for half the price (even after accounting for the recent uptick). The little punk won't know the difference anyway, and the game will get him out of your hair so you can get back to having an affair with the pool boy. It's win-win!
Wii's Sunday bargain bin
We love Sundays, as there are always new game sales to look forward to. Luckily, this week there are some sweet deals on a few Wii titles. Scouring through the ad listings at Cheap Ass Gamer, the ones we found of interest include: Okami for $29.99 at Best Buy Boom Blox with a free $10 gift card at Circuit City and Target Speed Racer for $29.99 at Target Keep in mind that while Circuit City offers its deals online, Best Buy and Target's are brick and mortar only. Also, Target deals vary by region, so the ones above may or may not apply to stores near you.[Via CAG]Read: Best Buy ad with Okami for $29.99Read: Boom Blox with free $10 gift card at Circuit City
DS releases for the week of May 5th
This week is certainly interesting, if not packed with releases. Here in the U.S., we get our hands on Nintendo's answer to the DS crossword title, and our pals in Europe will be spending a little quality time with that ace attorney Apollo Justice. Japan, however, is taking a holiday. Brain Voyage Crosswords DS Speed Racer Travel past the jump to see what's cooking in the rest of the major markets.
Speed Racer videos show cars chasin' after someone
Barring those ridiculously annoying mid-race voice-overs from your competing racers, we still like what we're seeing from Speed Racer. Originally, we thought the roads looked too narrow to pass anyone, but it seems like you can also flip over other racers (which is pretty sweet). We're also still insanely curious about the music. Considering the game's F-Zero and Wipeout influences, it has a lot to live up to in terms of soundtrack.We've embedded another video below that was labeled as a "Stunt Gameplay" trailer, which shows the player (in Racer X's car?) tossing other racers of the way, among other things.
He's a demon on USB
Are you likely to be spending some money at Target in the near future? Then you might as well head on over there sometime soon and pick up this Speed Racer-themed gift card (which you can use later to buy what you actually wanted in the first place). Even if you're not interested at all in the upcoming game (or movie), you'll still land yourself the free mini USB 2.0 Flash drive that comes with it. The drive only holds 62.8 MB worth of stuff, but should that bother you, you're missing the key word here -- free.Initially, 51.6 MB will be taken up by promotional Speed Racer goodies, but that stuff can always be deleted. Those of you who are looking forward to seeing the Mach 5 in action soon enough, though, might enjoy some of the extras provided. According to GamerTell, the drive includes: Five coloring book-style pages featuring the Mach 5 and Racer X's car (PDF file) A coupon for $1 off a Speed Racer Powerburst racer and $3 off a Speed Racer Powerburst figure-8 track set (PDF file) Two Speed Racer desktop wallpapers A Speed Racer family movie (MOV and WMV files) A special code for the Wii version of the video game (we wonder what that will do/unlock?) Due to the nature of the internet, we're sure you'll be able to find the game code without buying the Flash drive-bundled gift card. Still, we recommend getting one of these pseudo-free sticks if Target is one of your regular stomping grounds.
Adventure's waiting just ahead in Speed Racer
MTV Multiplayer has some exclusive gameplay footage of the upcoming Speed Racer game (embedded above), and we're actually more impressed than we thought we'd be. We do, however, have some complaints: The constant barrage of comments from the other racers -- is that really necessary? It might be fine at first, but we can foresee our patience wearing thin if that continues throughout the whole game. The tracks look a little on the dull side. Where's the music? Obviously the actual game will have it, we just wish we could've gotten a taste of it in the gameplay video. Since we haven't heard any news of an F-Zero title heading to the Wii, though, this seems like the next best thing. We definitely don't get the sense of polish and utter awesomeness that F-Zero games tend to bestow upon us, but considering this is a license-based game that's being targeted to kids, Speed Racer isn't looking too bad.(Note: MTV's videos are region-locked, unfortunately, so we're sorry if those of you outside of the U.S. can't watch it!)
See Speed Racer Wii in action
Like (we'd wager) most of you, when we first saw the Wachowski Bros. take on Speed Racer, we thought, "Hey, that looks like a video game!" So, imagine our surprise when we saw the video game take on the Wachowskis' take on Speed Racer (courtesy of MTV Multiplayer) and said, "Hey, that looks like a rental at best!"OK, so, to be more diplomatic, we think the stylized look is actually kind of cool and a smart way to get around the Wii's comparatively diminutive processing power. But are non-animated pictures really going to take up 1/4 of the screen and yell at you every three seconds? Like, really?(In a related note, check out the picture we put after the break. We know John Goodman plays Speed's dad, but was Speed's dad an Italian plumber?)
Free Speed Racer, AvP and Air Force downloads
It's that time once again when United States Xbox Live members get to switch up their gamer picture and theme looks for free with the release of a handful of new downloads. Available for download off of the XBLM right this moment (like we said, only for the U.S. Live members among us) are free Speed Racer (gamer pictures and a theme), Aliens vs Predator - Requiem (gamer pictures and a theme) and US Air Force (gamer picture and a theme) downloads. You can check out previews of all the gamer pictures over at MyGamerCard.net's GamerPic Scout or just blindly download away. And in all honesty, we recommend blindly downloading things off of the XBLM anyway. Read - Free Alien vs Predator downloads Read - Free Speed Racer and US Air Force downloads
He's Speed Racer and he drives real fast
Drives real fast -- he's gonna last. New screens of the Speed Racer movie tie-in game (which looks more like F-Zero Wipeout than anything else), revealing pretty much the same kind of roller-coaster-like tracks we've seen in the Wii version. We aren't sure what's going to happen on (the rest of) the touch screen -- will there be a steering controller, Ridge Racer/Indianapolis 500 Legends style? Warner Bros. Interactive is hiding that particular detail carefully, going so far as to release screenshots like the one seen here with part of the bottom screen visible.The screenshots also reveal that "car-fu" is really the name the producers have given to the racing action, in this case seemingly some kind of car-to-car combat. We thought -- and hoped -- that it was just an informal term for some kind of especially acrobatic racing.
Speed Racer ... you know, for kids
If you spent your days as a youngin' watching cartoons, you're probably familiar with Speed Racer. Yet, most fans of the series are all grown up now, considering that it aired over a decade ago. (Yes, Speed Racer X was around more recently, but that doesn't count since it got yanked after only a few episodes.)That's why we were kind of baffled after watching this interview with the game's producer, Jeff Nachbaur. Nachbaur explains that the target audience for the upcoming Speed Racer title is 8-12 year olds, so the developers focused most of the game's testing on them. He also mentions that kids will love the roller coaster-esque tracks, in case you weren't sure that this game was made for kids. While we can definitely see those in a young age group becoming enamored with the new movie (which is what this game is based on), what about the gaggle of oldschool Speed Racer fans (like this blogger)? Will we enjoy it, too?Perhaps -- after all, Mario Kart is an all-ages racer -- but the constant emphasis on this being a kids game has us a little less excited.[Via GoNintendo]
Speed Racer and the Wii Wheel
When you think of the Wii Wheel, obviously the first thing that comes to mind is Mario Kart. Whether it's a gimmick peripheral or whether it will actually make the experience more fun will be determined in a month from now. Yet, there are other racing games on the market for the Wii, and some of them will surely utilize the Wii Wheel and take it into consideration during development. Take, for example, Speed Racer. After Nintendo announced the peripheral at last year's E3, WB Games approached the company so that they could test it out with Speed Racer. In an interview with MTV Multiplayer's Tracey John, Jeff Nachbaur of WB Games stated that it took some tweaking to make sure that players wouldn't oversteer with the wheel. After a lot of testing, though, he says that they've managed to get it just right.Nachbaur also said that the Wii Wheel doesn't add much of a difference in gameplay, but most testers enjoyed playing the game with the wheel rather than with just the Wiimote alone. So, if you like racing games, you can at least rest assured knowing that the Wii Wheel won't be some peripheral that you chuck away and forget about once your done playing Mario Kart -- assuming, of course, that you'll ever be done playing Mario Kart.
Speed Racing ain't what it used to be ...
Gone are the days when racing with speed was the sport of gentlemen who would kindly wave over merging motorists and never dare dream of taking their hands away from the 2 and 10 positions. Instead, people now speed race for money ... or darker reasons. For money.Look, we dig the new car and we'll hold our breath on the ridiculous "stuntin' it up" gameplay stuff we're probably looking at, but what is the deal with the monotone, Colbert-like narrator (sans all of the intended wackiness)? That we just can't abide by.[Thanks, Chris!]
Speed Racer's Mach 5 comes to life
Sorry K.I.T.T., you had a nice run there, but we're pretty certain the newly created Mach 5 could destroy you in the quarter mile. As the crew readies for the Speed Racer-inspired motion picture to land in May 2008, this blast from the animated past has finally become a reality, and it even parked for a photograph and an unveiling ceremony, too. The sparkly white ride sports a blinding red interior, stripped down dashboard, push button start, and a hint of nostalgia to boot. We know, next May is a long ways off, but feel free to click through and see the presentation of the tangible Mach 5 in all of its glory -- now go, Speed Racer, go.[Via CNET]
