Do you live somewhere so cold right now that you shiver at the thought of riding your bike? Wouldn’t it be great if instead you could ride a virtual motorcycle in a realistic simulator until things heat up? Well too bad, because this new game RIDE won’t be out until Spring of 2015 which to us seems like a bit of a missed opportunity.
Regardless, the game was actually announced back in October but today, major label Bandai Namco have annoucned that they will be the distrubtor for the game which will be released on XBOX One, Playstation 4, Xbox 360, Playsatoin 3 and PC. The game will feature over 100 bikes from a variety of manufacturers including Ducati, KTM, and Kawaaki.
Tracks will include a mixture of real and fictional circuits, both modern and historic, as well as street circuits. For those living in or near Las Vegas, you’ll get an early chance to sample the game this weekend at Sony’s “PlayStation Experience” (see here for details).
Below is the original press release from the games developers, Milestone and you can click here to read today’s press release from Bandai Namco.
Two wheels. Strings of code. Graphics assets. City tracks and racetracks. Speed. The roar of the engine. Elements that intertwine to form a coherent whole; particles charged with energy and fuelled with adrenaline combine to forge a new form of life. A primordial atomic element, the first stirrings of a revolution that will alter the concept of ‘motorcycle videogames’ forever: a revolution that will come to be known as RIDE.
Milestone’s development studios in Italy are back at work, doing what they do best. The developers are tearing up the rulebook and bringing a raft of new ideas to the table. These are the developers who have become synonymous with the world of virtual racing.
Created for the players and building on the experiences of the serried ranks of bike fans, the new IP offers players the chance to ride over 100 bikes, in 4 different categories – Superbikes, Supersports, Naked, and Historical Bikes – and take them hurtling at full speed over a huge variety of city, country and historic circuits from the world of motorcycling.
RIDE offers unprecedented levels of vehicle and rider customisation, presenting players with a vast array of options to keep gameplay fresh and exhilarating over the long term. The RIDE experience will accompany players and riders alike on the long road of the true motorcyclist.
“It is with great pleasure that we are able to publically announce our first proprietary IP: RIDE. Milestone has worked hard over the last few years to get to the position we are in today, where we can compete with the major companies in the international gaming scene on an equal footing. This was made possible with the help of the licensed games we develop and distribute worldwide. After more than 15 years of hard work, we felt the need to develop something that would bring together all our expertise and encapsulate the Milestone DNA with respect to the world of motorcycling,” said Marco Micallef, Director of Marketing and Sales. “As always throughout the history of the company,” he continued, “we have analysed what our international community of players have been asking us for and carried out internal research to find out how we could satisfy their demands in full. With RIDE, we’re confident that players and motorcycle enthusiasts the world over will feel the irresistible urge, pad clutched in hands, perched on the edge of the sofa, to physically lean into those corners as they speed along the tracks.”
RIDE is currently in development at the Milestone studios in Italy. It will be available in spring 2015 for Xbox One, Xbox 360, Windows PC®, Steam, PlayStation®3 and PlayStation®4.
Get Ready To RIDE - New Motorcycle Simulator
