Yeah that is certainly a problem. But I'd wager they'd be more likely to all in invest in Switch 2 and Mario Kart than Sonic Racing.
I don't think this game is in trouble with Mario Kart. CTR vs TSR were in direct competition with each other as multiplatform kart racers. CTR also looked like a far better game in every regard while TSR looked like a low budget title. TSR would have flopped even if CTR didn't exist anyways. That game was not cooking. Superstars vs Wonder was brought up as another comp earlier, but that game still ended up charting in the top 20 in North America despite far superior competition. If you can't get Mario Kart, Mario Kart at home is there. Unless Microsoft decides to shadow drop CTR:NF:Rekarted, I don't think CrossyRoads has much to worry. This game is probably coming out in November anyways. It'll be fine.
Actually after watching more gameplay of Mario Kart World I'm not sure I'm sold on its approach to driving to each course. Seems like it could be really tedious quickly. Reminds me of GTA5's filler, where it gets you to drive to missions to deliver exposition. The actual courses in Grand Prix are also pretty underwhelming when they actually get there too. I mean way too early to make judgements but I think Sonic Racing Crossworlds could potentially end up being a more solid traditional kart racer. Mario Kart Wonder has lots of characters and customisation though which is cool.
I'm pretty sure World will have a traditional mode. We need an answer to that Knockout Mode though. Should have a mode where we're just constantly shifting across all the tracks available until one remains.
I won't lie, my interest in Crossworlds has waned a little after seeing more of the new Mario Kart. I'm not getting a Switch 2 at launch though and I probably wasn't going to get Crossworlds at launch anyways but I'll still keep my eye on both. I'm thinking back to Team Sonic Racing where I only played that game for like a month and never touched it again after, meanwhile CTR NF and MK8 got a lot more mileage and lasted for years in my household lol. I'm glad to have played the beta for Crossworlds but if its problems aren't ironed out in the final release then I may just skip this one or wait until it goes on sale honestly. I don't know if the extreme gear will be enough to win me over (hey maybe SEGA will put Riders on Switch 2's Gamecube collection)
I was the first person in the thread to bring up mario kart, so I have a few more thoughts about it now after reading everything everyone has said. I think crossworlds might have a more than insignificant boost as the budget alternative to mario kart world. Tears of the kingdom seemed to sell fine at 70 dollars, so maybe I am wrong and that casual fans are willing to stomach higher prices for these big high profile releases, but 80-90 is a huge leap when 60 was the average. With that said, sonic has been on a huge hot streak recently with the success of the movies and frontiers, and I feel like settling for being the dollar store platformer series, even if a viable model, is not taking full advantage of their position. Especially since they've only just started to shake off the decade old image of being the jankier worse 3d platformer series compared to mario. I might be biased as a fanboy, but I do want them to at least try to make games equivalent in scope/creativity to what ninty was putting out on the wii. But oh my god I can't believe they put Cataquack in mario kart. They are really trying to get those 90 dollars from me... I'm a little sad that sonic hasn't been as nutso with it's rosters before, mostly sticking to the modern era principle cast. I'm over asking for modern mighty and ray, I want to play as the slicer from metropolis. Playable Rexon. That burger guy statue from adventure.
I feel it's worth noting that Mario Kart World is only $50 if you get it bundled with the Switch 2... which I think is what most people will buy. Mario Kart is a huge seller. I doubt many people would buy a Switch 2 and NOT want Mario Kart... So that $80 price-point isn't as big a deal as most people think it is for this particular title.
Another way of looking at it is Mario Kart World is a minimum of $500 USD. I've never been one to buy consoles at launch, so this is a hard sell. But then again, Switch was the first Nintendo home console to never receive a proper price cut. As for Crossworlds, marketing is probably not up to the task of keeping consumer interest on it. See Wonder vs Superstars. Best bet would be to wait until Christmas to start pushing after MKW eats all of summer and fall. Maybe even push to next year.
I think MKW eats the holiday season too. Like, Switch 1 released in March, but wasn't it still a huge seller during the holidays that year? Christmas is typically the time for big gifts, and at that price point, this is a big gift.
yeah price is a problem right now but the instant retailers put the Switch 2 (and possibly games) on sale for Black Friday/Cyber Monday/All of December, it's probably all going to sell very well
Windmill Isle's a neat addition. Also team mechanics are back? I wish the marketing team the best of luck, because Mario is going to continue to suck up all the air in the room.
The History of Sonic Racing. Video Length 3min. ... .. ... The nerve that keeps me sane from making my deep dives just exploded.
Wait is that Deep Woods/Shrouded Forest I see? Please- I need Black Knight to be relevant again, especially if there's 2 Secret Rings tracks
Hey, we finally got a look at extreme gears. You can customize them like the cars! It's a little hard to tell what they're like gameplay-wise from just this short footage, but it sure looks like Sonic does some sort of forward boost without any drift energy or powerup around 2:40. The physics are definitely just "car with a different model", though. Also RIP Sonic Rivals I guess. First the Sonic Channel timeline, and now this.
How much do you want to bet the only reason Rivals isn't in there is because they just couldn't record decent footage of it from a decent PSP emulator? Either that or... it's just a video flow thing. It's a lot easier to link the vehicles to the final product you're promoting and yes Sonic R is here because there is a vehicle or two but it's also so well known you kinda have to include it. Mind you, they could have just as easily done a 'history of Sonic Racing' and stuck to the Sumo games since it's literally just a psudo sequel to those over any other racing title.