How Super Mario Kart and dance music created WipEout

The latest issue of Retro Gamer celebrates Sony’s long-running WipEout series, from the original PlayStation release through to its recent outing on mobile phones.

“Nick Burcombe used to play Mario Kart while listening to really loud dance music, and he thought how ace it would be to develop a game that put those two things together,” Nicky Place told us.

Nicky worked as an artist on the first three WipEout games and she discusses those early PlayStation hits alongside the likes of Rob Francis, David Jefferies and Karl Jones, who have all been involved in the series as well. The 12-page article is a fascinating look at the popular franchise and concludes with the recent mobile release, WipeOut Rush, which was overseen by Amuzo Games’ Nick Roberts.

Nick explains the icy reception the game initially received, but also how it leans heavily on the early games because the team was able to “sift through the assets of all the big PlayStation WipEout games”. The end result is an essential read for anyone that is a fan of the series.

Other highlights of Retro Gamer 233 include a look at the arcade classics Donkey Kong 3, Bubble Symphony and Major Havoc, how the Oliver twins used a skiing holiday to make a brand-new budget game and the challenges Shaun Southern and Andrew Morris faced when they made a sequel to Super Cars II.

Retro Gamer 233 is in shops now.