POLL: Playtonic Kart Racer + Online Multiplayer

[Yavga]

The question on my mind is whether a Playtonic kart racer will be profitable. Mario Kart seems a bit untouchable; I cannot think of any other kart racer in recent years that can compete with it in terms of popularity.

I don't think anything can surpass Yooka-Laylee's hype and interest in the general public -- it was a revival of a genre by the veterans who essentially made the genre in the first place. The obvious next game would be a sequel to Yooka-Laylee, but I really don't think Playtonic will go down this route right away.

I guess it's quite hard for me to fully distinguish between what I selfishly want to play as a fan (kart racer), and what will work commercially for the company. Then again, maybe Playtonic shouldn't pay any interest to trends and simply make what they want to make!

Ah, yes... who can kick the Mario Kart franchise from its' throne... I guess a Diddy Kong Racing re-imagination can aim once again at 2 crowds in the same breath. Nostalgia and cartoony racers. Who made Diddy Kong Racing again?

Hahaha! I don't worry about the crowd at all. Throw in another Kickstarter if Yooka Laylee won't be a commercial succes to get the remaining funds. Win-win. I'd choose Diddy kong racing over Mario Kart in every aspect. I'm nostalgic for more than Yooka Laylee and to be honest... I'm a bit done with the mechanics from Mario Kart. DKR's speed pads gave me a way better feeling and felt like I had way more freedom.

[Rueckkoppler]

The question on my mind is whether a Playtonic kart racer will be profitable. Mario Kart seems a bit untouchable; I cannot think of any other kart racer in recent years that can compete with it in terms of popularity.

I don't think anything can surpass Yooka-Laylee's hype and interest in the general public -- it was a revival of a genre by the veterans who essentially made the genre in the first place. The obvious next game would be a sequel to Yooka-Laylee, but I really don't think Playtonic will go down this route right away.

I guess it's quite hard for me to fully distinguish between what I selfishly want to play as a fan (kart racer), and what will work commercially for the company. Then again, maybe Playtonic shouldn't pay any interest to trends and simply make what they want to make!

Ah, yes... who can kick the Mario Kart franchise from its' throne... I guess a Diddy Kong Racing re-imagination can aim once again at 2 crowds in the same breath. Nostalgia and cartoony racers. Who made Diddy Kong Racing again?

Hahaha! I don't worry about the crowd at all. Throw in another Kickstarter if Yooka Laylee won't be a commercial succes to get the remaining funds. Win-win. I'd choose Diddy kong racing over Mario Kart in every aspect. I'm nostalgic for more than Yooka Laylee and to be honest... I'm a bit done with the mechanics from Mario Kart. DKR's speed pads gave me a way better feeling and felt like I had way more freedom.

Agree with everything except the Kickstarter. Let's just say... let's hope not I'm looking forward to the time in which Playtonic just makes and releases games without any obligations. Kickstarter is always a pain for someone...

[bjaxx87]

Since so many are complaining about DKR's controls... Did you use A+B+R to take tight turns? Or just A+R? (Or just A? ) Ever since I got used to A+B+R I haven't had any trouble.

[Rueckkoppler]

Since so many are complaining about DKR's controls... Did you use A+B+R to take tight turns? Or just A+R? (Or just A? ) Ever since I got used to A+B+R I haven't had any trouble.

A (and R when I really tried). Yeah, probably did it wrong. But it's also a testament for a lack of intuition.

[Jinjo]

It's a no brainer to me. Not sure why it's even being discussed or polled. An online multiplayer would only enhance the game and if done well would be a serious boost to the game. We're not living in 1995 anymore.

[CyanideInsanity]

Online play would definitely be an important feature. Local play is great though often unused by me, and shouldn't be cursed to obscurity the way its been headed, but local and online play aren't mutually exclusive. A game whose focus is some kind of competitive play should try to add online today.

Though even more important they should try to do something innovative and not be just another party/kart racer. I've not played much of mk8 but the anti gravity seemed like a pretty cool idea, and sonic racing transformed did a pretty nice take on expanding the kind of idea that diddy kong racing and mk7 had with multiple vehicle and environment types. Though I honestly have no idea what they could do.

[ontels]

From my standpoint I would actually prefer it if online multiplayer wasn't a feature in such a tital.

My reasons being that I would never use it anyway as I am loath to pay a subscription to use the PS4's online multiplayer capabilities, because of that I would much rather the time and money that would go in to building such a feature instead go in to making other aspects of the game better.

[dotEXE]

I won't use the online multiplayer, but I WILL say...

If the game doesn't include it, it will be a major talking point in EVERY review.

[Scrubber]

To be honest I'd prefer 'The Fast and Furriest' from Rare than a playtonic Racer. We haven't known their characters long enough. I hope to see a decent roster of games and characters from them before they dive into party/racing titles.

[ontels]

Yeah I agree. As in I want as many 3D platformers as possible first!

[BanjoThreeie]

Yeah I agree. As in I want as many 3D platformers as possible first!

Yeah, we already have an overabundance of racing games right now. I want some more 3D platformers before they do anything else lol.

[Spydr Webz]

I would definitely buy a Kart Racer made by Playtonic featuring characters from Yooka-Laylee, as well as characters of potential future titles. And yes, online multiplayer is a must.

I do think, however, that Playtonic needs a couple more games under their belt in order to establish their universe a bit more. What sells Mario Kart games is not only the hectic multiplayer fun, but the CHARACTERS and the UNIVERSE itself. Introducing a Playtonic kart racer too early could mean that game is perceived by your average gamer as an off-brand wannabe Mario Kart.

Basically, I think it's important for Playtonic to build up their brand and form a strong identity before releasing a game like this.

[Alph]

I don't care about online, what I want is an adventure mode with a hub.

[Yavga]

I don't care about online, what I want is an adventure mode with a hub.

Well said sir.

[Rueckkoppler]

I don't care about online, what I want is an adventure mode with a hub.

If I had a choice, I'd choose the hub as well. But it's still worth a mention that nowadays, I play Mario Kart 8 mostly because of its online mode. Especially the 2-player split screen online is such a great mode to play occasionally. It greatly increased the replayability in my book.

[Damda]

they should cooperate with retro studios and finaly create the long awaited "Donkey Kong Racing".

pro:
-donkey kong is well known, and i think it would get more attention than yooka laylee. (sry yooka, sry laylee. )
-they should add yooka laylee characters - more people will be aware and curious of the actual "yooka laylee" game
-it would definitely sell well
-since mario kart 8 deluxe is not a real update for former wii u owners, it would be a nice alternative.
-the switch is lacking a donkey kong game
-racer with story mode (like lego racers 1&2) would be super awesome.
-online. if its affordable, for sure.

cons:
- since donkey kong is a nintendo only character, they will have to switch to a smaller niche. (pun intended)
- smaller market -> will make less money
- getting supported by nintendo won't be easy.
- donkey kong for all plattforms won't gonna happen. (just like banjo won't come back to nintendo)
(- actually don't know if xbox/ps4 players would even like a donkey kong racer. (that's somehow a consolracist statement. ) )
- making a new game will be very time consuming. so i guess it won't come till 2019. - who will finance this.^^

[EekumBokum202]

Absolutely, since I barely have any friends to play with near where I live. It's what made me keep coming back to Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 8!

Althought, would Yooka and Laylee be separate characters in that game, or would Laylee still ride Yooka on the kart?

[reversalmushroom]

I think it should have online multiplayer because it's a standard feature now, and it's to the point where it would be a huge black mark for it not to be in the game. Also, lots of people don't have people they can play with in their real lives. This can be their only. Also, online play is a blast.

But Playtonic making Donkey Kong Racing brings up an interesting point. When listening to interviews with the Playtonic people about forming Playtonic, I got the impression that they wanted to be free, to make the games that they wanted to make. So, wouldn't them making licensed games for other people undermine that and shackle them? I don't see them making licensed games, at least until it's so far down the line that they expand so much that they hire so many more people that they can make more than 1 game at a time, so they could still make their original games. I certainly don't see them becoming a 2nd party developer like Rare with Nintendo. I also don't see them making Donkey Kong Racing because...Yooka-Laylee can be sold on any platform they can put it on and isn't bound by copyrights to a platform. Donkey Kong Racing would only be able to be on Nintendo systems, so it would piss off Playtonic's fanbase, which comes from several different platforms, if Playtonic's next game when they can only make 1 at a time every few years could only be bought on 1 platform. That also limits how much money Playtonic can make, so from a business standpoint, I don't see them making licensed games shackled to 1 platform but games that can be sold on as many platforms as possible.

[FailureFactory]

I may be a minority, but I really don't care about a YL kart racer. I didn't feel all that much of a connection to YL's cast, and so right now I don't see what a YL racer could offer that Mario Kart doesn't have. I don't want to just assume that a Playtonic racer will automatically be as good as DKR.

[Scrubber]

I may be a minority, but I really don't care about a YL kart racer. I didn't feel all that much of a connection to YL's cast, and so right now I don't see what a YL racer could offer that Mario Kart doesn't have. I don't want to just assume that a Playtonic racer will automatically be as good as DKR.

I agree. Yooka Laylees cast of characters was weak. The NPCs were uninspired, forgettable and lacking in personality.