Horse racing is a spectacular sport to watch, the animal equivalent of a Formula 1 race. The best-trained Thoroughbreds thunder around the track, jumping fences or speeding down the straight after jostling at the final bend. The whole scenario lends itself to video game animation.
This thrill-seeker experience might be ripe for the gaming industry if the demographics appealed more to modern digital natives. The majority of horse racing fans who follow the betting odds are a little more mature in years than typical iGamers. Therefore, developers have not concentrated on taking the segment forward.
Retro Horse Racing Games
The genre was more popular in the late 90s and early Millennium, which spawned several memorable titles. The Gallop Racer series coincided with the early PlayStation consoles.
The game was an arcade-style race game mixed with strategy in that the player could buy, train and breed horses. It was probably perfect for the time and developed the mechanics of the gameplay as the later editions improved certain elements.
Stakes Winner preceded that and was well-received. Although it was a 2-D game, the vibrant graphics and gameplay caught on 30 years ago. It wasn’t just random either as the strengths and weaknesses of horses were factored in. The joy of the joystick was truly here, and the game was often seen in many arcades. This really was the time when the quality was in the whiplash of fast controls and great fun.
Horse racing titles kept up with the disparate nature of titles in the 1990s as home consoles combined with local arcades to provide entertainment. When the market matured and the demand was for better graphics and more detailed gameplay and scenarios, it felt like the horse had bolted from the game stables.
Horse Games Often Lack Quality
There have been some recent developments that are trying to get the player to go back to the well. However, many efforts have not reached the Triple A standard that is necessary to push forward in such a competitive environment. Phar Lap was a case in point. Horse racing, by design, has a certain limitation in its gameplay if done badly. If the road to each racecourse and the color of each race is dull and repetitive, then there’s nothing to elevate the experience.
The problem with horse racing games has often been the detail and design Graphics often look like they are from a Nintendo DS. What really needs to happen is to harness the technology of the Metaverse and rewire the thinking behind the equine sector digitally. The games need to look like they are from 2025 rather than the early 2000s. Horses have been popular in non-racing titles like Red Dead Redemption, so the potential is there.
VR Games Make Inroads
There are glimmers of light. Rival Stars Horse Racing has achieved more than 10 million downloads on the Play Store, Apple Store and consoles,
cutting through the market resistance.
The game is more immersive, putting that unique element of a race festival with idiosyncratic commentary. It’s as if the player is there, competing for a real prize to complete a classic win. There needs to be more of this.
This kind of game is a much deeper experience than outrunning other horses in a field, and it has a family legacy element. It comes with a good soundtrack, very passable graphics, and it can be played on a smartphone. These elements are changing gameplay and can appeal to a wider audience than the normal racing crowd. It is all about customization as well, a crucial element in today’s gamification market.
The recent release of Rival Star’s VR version could be the future of such success. Sitting in the comfort of the home and getting to view things from a closer reality is what can drive audiences to challenges that were too niche before. The scope of 21st-century horse racing experiences could integrate VR headsets that would bring the heady pounding of a horse or jockey to life.
The connection of the social community is a key driver in the gaming market now. Multiplayer modes and competing against other players in horse racing epics can bring this to fruition in the future.
The horse racing gaming element is an underdeveloped concept at the moment, despite the genuine thrill of the social interaction on real festival days. Future games need to appeal to a bigger audience, with emphasis on horse care, a genuine narrative, and providing more realism. Horse racing themes play easily into online slots and iGaming because of the fast pace.
Now they need to make the video player get back in the saddle.