New Ridge Racer trademarks filed by Bandai Namco

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiidge Raaaaaaaaaaaacer.

Sorry, just had to get that out of my system…

Bandai Namco has been busy within some litigation admin, filing trademarks for Ridge Racer, which will surely get fans wrapped with anticipation.

The recent requests have been uncovered thanks to some superb sleuthing by the Japanese video game news website Gematsu.

Rave Racer (a Ridge Racer arcade cabinet spin-off), Ace Driver (a single-seater arcade game from 1994) and Victory Lap (a sequel to Ace Driver) were also part of the trademark applications.

Does this guarantee a new Ridge Racer game? No, absolutely not. Does it mean that someone, somewhere, within Bandai Namco is thinking about Ridge Racer? Yes.

You can never rely on trademark requests resulting in a finished product, but we would desperately love new racing games from the Japanese gaming giant. We reckon the market is ripe for an arcade racing revival, even if it’s just a collection of remastered Namco classics.

It’s been five years since the last Ridge Racer game, and that was the mobile app Ridge Racer Draw & Drift, sadly. The last console and PC Ridge Racer was the much-maligned Ridge Racer Unbounded, which aimed to reinvent the franchise and was developed by Bugbear Entertainment before it moved on to Wreckfest.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on this without getting too carried away. In the meantime, we’re off to set a hot lap around Seaside Route 765.