The creator of Sega Rally and Ridge Racer, Kenji Sasaki, has criticized modern racing games. According to him, they are full of cumbersome menus and simulations that kill the fun. His proposal, 4PGP, promises to recover the instant excitement of 90s arcades, appealing to those seeking simplicity without instruction manuals. However, this critique hides a commercial strategy more than a real need of the genre.
4PGP simplifies physics and online modes to reduce costs đī¸
The development of 4PGP seems to be based on an economic premise: eliminating complexity avoids investing in realistic physics, damage systems, and complex multiplayer modes. Sasaki justifies this absence as a return to the essentials, but in reality, it is a production cut. While titles like Forza or Gran Turismo invest millions in simulations, his game opts for the basics. The menus he criticizes are often the gateway to deep content that is conspicuously absent here.
The 90s arcade worked in bars, not in your living room đšī¸
Sasaki's trick is to sell you a trip to the past that doesn't exist. Putting a coin in a noisy machine with friends around is not the same as sitting alone in front of the TV with a controller. The 40-year-old citizen will buy 4PGP out of fondness for their youth, but will leave it after two hours wondering why it doesn't load a saved game. Nostalgia is a profitable business, but the simple fun of the 90s had its social context. Without it, it's just a simplistic game.