Now is a great time for PlayStation to revisit Need For Speed ​​Competitor

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The racing game genre has ironically slowed down in recent years. Although franchises love Need for Speed and Grand Tourism are still regularly released and successful, gradually becoming more niche over time. But the racing scene is still full of potential, and Sony was once exciting Driving club might be a shot in the arm.




Although it suffers from the same problems of stagnation as other major racing franchises, Driving club has a few key elements that help it stand out. A game that takes more of an arcade approach with its mechanics Need for Speedplayers race in different locations around the world, just like the competition. However, the online club aspect is what made it truly unique: players could form clubs with others, and the collective efforts of each club member would affect progression, prestige and ranking. This made the online side of the game attractive to many players, and its core gameplay was supported by a strong physics engine, exciting game modes and better visual effects that still impress today. Unfortunately, the game's servers were shut down in 2020, making online play impossible.


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Why PlayStation should revive Driveclub

Driveclub can be a compelling contributor to Need for Speed

Now, as for many years, Grand Tourism is PlayStation's flagship racing franchise. There is a good reason for this: Grand Tourism consistently reaches and even surpasses the bar of high quality, offering impressive specifications and visuals along with exciting online and offline game modes. But Grand Tourism leans a little further towards the simulation end of the arcade simulation continuum that racing games lean on. It's still accessible, sure, but the realism and depth slightly outweighs the satisfying mechanics, controls, and physics.


On the contrary, Driving club is further on the arcade end of the continuum. Although post-launch updates for Driving club added more simulation-style features and options, the game's physics and controls favor fun and accessibility over realism. Therefore, Driving club can be compared with Need for Speedor even Forza Horizonbecause it has some wiggle room for those looking for a driving simulator while still putting fun and simple controls front and center. The PlayStation seemingly contains all its racing eggs in the Grand Tourism basket, maybe it would be wise to diversify by bringing back the signature arcade race and offering something new.

What a modern Driveclub could look like

Sony shuts down Driving club developer Evolution Studios back in 2016, so any potential revival of the IP would have to happen without his involvement. This is obviously unfortunate because, despite the launch issues, Driving club has established Evolution Studios as a more than capable developer with the talent, experience and creativity to run a serious racing competitor.


But looking ahead, Sony certainly doesn't want the first studios to take over Driving club license. Perhaps the most obvious pool to use would be Polyphony Digital, the developers Grand Tourism; Perhaps Sony could split off some of that team to work on a new one Driving clubusing this studio's considerable experience in racing games for a unique take on the genre. Given Polyphony's years of experience in online racing, it's not hard to see how its developers could bring it to life Driving clubmulti-user network ecosystem.

Whichever studio grabs the IP in this hypothetical scenario, it's fair to say Driving club deserves a second chance. It's always sad to see a game shut down prematurely, but Driving clubA tragically short life is especially disappointing given how promising it was. Sony needs to do one more thing by strengthening its presence in the racing genre.

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