Donkey Kong Racing

Donkey Kong Racing was a canceled Donkey Kong racing game for the Nintendo GameCube. It 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 late 2002) made in anticipation of 2001 ended up being the only media shown to the public.

Despite being presented at Space World 2001, the game was not featured in the Nintendo Space World 2001 Official Guidebook.

Sometime in 2002, Rare decided to present only Star Fox Adventures at E3 2002. This decision was most likely in response to a private agreement with, who would later purchase Rare 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 officially canceled along with Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers in August 2002, one month before Microsoft's acquisition of Rare on September 24, 2002, which caused the latter company to lose the rights to Donkey Kong games. It remained in the lineup of upcoming games in Nintendo Power until issue 162 (November 2002), when it was delisted for future issues.

After the buyout, the game was heavily reworked as , which was planned for an Xbox 360 release. However, this iteration, too, ended up being canceled due to a lack of focus and Rare's unfamiliarity with the hardware. 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, 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.