User:TheJoebro64/drafts/DKRacing

Donkey Kong Racing, later known as Sabreman Stampede, was a racing game developed by Rare between 2001 and 2005. Players partook in races riding animals and could switch animals mid-race. The initial incarnation, developed for the GameCube, was a sequel to Diddy Kong Racing (1997) and featured characters from Rare and Nintendo's Donkey Kong franchise. Following Microsoft's acquisition of Rare in 2002, it was moved to the Xbox, retooled to use the Ultimate Play the Game property Sabreman, and became an open-world game with Tamagotchi-style animal nurturing. Development had shifted to the Xbox 360 by the time Rare confirmed the game's cancellation in 2007.

Gameplay
Donkey Kong Racing, later known as Sabreman Stampede, was a racing game in which the player partook in races across tropical landscapes. It was envisioned as the sequel to Rare's Nintendo 64 game Diddy Kong Racing (1997), but differed in that did not feature kart racing. Rather, players rode animals and could swap between different species mid-race. Smaller animals were easier to control, while bigger ones could plow through obstacles. The player upgraded their animals by collecting food and other items and trained them to compete with other species. The Sabreman Stampede iteration, which was more of an adventure game and featured open-world design, emphasized nurturing the player's animals, similar to the Tamagotchi.

The playable cast of the Donkey Kong Racing incarnation comprised several characters from Rare and Nintendo's Donkey Kong games. Known characters included Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Tiny Kong, Kiddy Kong, Taj the Genie, Cranky Kong, and Lanky Kong, while rideable animals included Rambi the Rhino, Enguarde the Swordfish, and Ellie the Elephant. Meanwhile, the Sabreman Stampede incarnation starred Sabreman, the protagonist of the game Sabre Wulf (1984) developed by Rare's predecessor Ultimate Play the Game. IGN speculated that the racetracks would feature branching paths that required players to strategize with their chosen routes and animals.

Development

 * https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2014/02/month_of_kong_whatever_happened_to_donkey_kong_racing
 * http://www.destructoid.com/rare-designer-talks-canceled-donkey-kong-racing-271313.phtml
 * https://www.polygon.com/2014/3/4/5469290/donkey-kong-racing-became-a-cute-version-of-gta-before-cancellation
 * https://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2014/11/01/learn-how-the-cancelled-donkey-kong-racing-turned-into-the-cancelled-sabreman-stampede.aspx
 * https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/07/11/donkey-kong-racing-hi-res-movie-gamecube

reportedly canceled in 2005

confirmed canceled in 2007 Scribes