The majority of these releases really won't be seeing the light of day until the spring season, so maybe in a way, I'm using the term "upcoming" a bit loosely. Actually, this section is made up of the racing games that seem to have a rather solid and firm release schedule. In other words, the developer gave a date of release. Now, as you may know, games DO get delayed (the sad truth of GT4 thus far), so these release dates should not be taken as the gospel. So, without any further delay, let's get into the games!

Ridge Racers

Publisher : Namco
Platform : PSP
Racing Type : Arcade
Release Date : March

The release of the PSP is soon approaching, and the new handheld already has a couple of raing games ready for it's lauch. The first racing game is pretty much manditory for any new Sony system, and that is Namco's Ridge Racers. Basically taking a few tracks from each Ridge Racer title, and throwing them in into one "new" game, and including a new set of cars and one new feature: boosting.

Ridge Racers is a decent looking game (at least by screenshots), looking fairly reminicent of Risge Racer V. But let's hope that there's a good deal of gameplay to back that up. Namco usually never lets us down with racing games in how they play, but how long they last. But seeing how this is a handheld title, the standards may be a bit different.

The game is slated for a March release, but it would be a safer bet to assume it will be there when the PSP finally has a concrete release date.

Wip3Out Pure

Publisher : Sony Computer Entertainment America
Platform : PSP
Racing Type : Futuristic
Release Date : March

Another racing title that is set to debut with the PSP is Wip3Out Pure, a new installment in the series that was seemed to have been forgotten. Not too much is known on how many courses or how many vehciles there are to choose from, but if you've played either Wip3Out 3 or Fusion, you may have an idea what to expect.

Graphically, Pure is looking a little bit on the plain side. The courses have a rather simple and clean look, and nothing has really been shown to be "eye-catching". It's almost like WO Fusion with less detail. But, there are just screen shots for now, and we won't know the whole story until the PSP is released.

NEXT!