Donkey Kong Racing was a planned follow-up to the Nintendo 64 game, Diddy Kong Racing. It was planned to be released in 2002 (specific date unspecified).
Goal of the game[]
The game was first announced at E3 2001, with a pre-rendered trailer showing the game's concept. However, the trailer and a press release (which stated that the game was set for release in 2002) made in anticipation of Space World 2001 ended up being the only public media shown for the game, as Rare was purchased by Microsoft in 2002, which caused the company to lose the rights to the Donkey Kong franchise's characters, before the game's completion. The game was considered canceled due to the buyout and a lack of information for several years, as well as the fact that it was going to be released for the Nintendo GameCube; unlike Diddy Kong Pilot and Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers, however, Donkey Kong Racing was never formally confirmed as such. A Donkey Kong-themed racing game was eventually released as Donkey Kong Barrel Blast.
After the buyout, the game was heavily reworked to be Sabreman Stampede and set for release on the Xbox 360. However, this iteration of the game also ended up being canceled.
Why It's Cancelled[]
- The company Rareware was bought out by Microsoft for $375 Million. This caused Rareware to lose all the rights to the Donkey Kong franchise, which went back to Nintendo, and then to Retro Studios.
Result:[]
5 years later, Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast would be released for the Wii, on June 28, 2007. The game recieved mixed reviews from players.