Donkey Kong Racing

Donkey Kong Racing was a canceled Donkey Kong racing game for the Nintendo GameCube which would have served as a loose follow-up to Diddy Kong Racing.

History
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 2001 ended up being the only media shown to the public.

Sometime in 2002, Rare decided to only present Star Fox Adventures at E3 2002. This decision was most likely in response to a private agreement with, who would later purchase them in 2002 just after the publication of Star Fox Adventures. Donkey Kong Racing and Rare's other titles from E3 2001 were either privately canceled, put on hold, or ported to the or. The game was unfinished before Nintendo sold their share of Rare Ltd. to Microsoft, and canceled along with Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers in August 2002, one month before Microsoft's acquisition of Rare, which caused the latter company to lose the rights to Donkey Kong games.

After the buyout, the game was heavily reworked as  which was planned for an Xbox 360 release. However, this iteration also ended up being canceled. A Donkey Kong-themed racing game would eventually be released on the Wii in 2007, Donkey Kong Barrel Blast.

Features
Confirmed characters in the game included Donkey Kong, Tiny Kong, Diddy Kong, Taj the Genie, and Kiddy Kong (with an internal render also featuring Lanky Kong and Cranky Kong). Rideable creatures seen were Rambi in varying sizes and colors, Enguarde in varying colors, Ellie, and Zinger. Creatures implied to be rideable in group shots include Expresso, Chomps, Necky, and Army.

According to the Space World press release, the game would have featured the ability to "upgrade" the animal rides by collecting food and prizes during the races. Multiplayer for up to four players was planned, as were "real-world phenomena" happening during the races, such as swaying trees and fading sunlight. The player could switch between animals during the races and the rider could fall from its ride, forcing it to run on foot to catch up with the animal.

The slogan for Donkey Kong Racing is "LET'S RIDE" as it is seen at the end of the trailer.