Star Wars Episode I: Racer

Star Wars Episode I: Racer
Cover for Star Wars: Episode I: Racer. The title is prominently featured across the top. Below, three podracers compete on a desert planet, with Anakin Skywalker's podracer prominently featured.
Cover art
Developer(s)LucasArts
Publisher(s)LucasArts
Nintendo (GBC)
Aspyr (2020 ports)
THQ Nordic (Playstation 4 and Switch retail)[5]
Designer(s)Jon Knoles
Eric Johnston
Brett Tosti
Programmer(s)Eric Johnston
Mark Blattel
Darren Johnson
Platform(s)
ReleaseWindows
  • NA: May 18, 1999
  • EU: June 4, 1999
Nintendo 64
  • NA: May 18, 1999
  • EU: June 4, 1999
  • JP: July 21, 1999
Game Boy Color
Macintosh
Dreamcast
  • NA: April 3, 2000[4]
  • EU: July 28, 2000
Switch, PlayStation 4
  • WW: June 23, 2020
Xbox One
  • WW: October 27, 2020
Genre(s)Racing
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer

Star Wars Episode I: Racer is a 1999 racing video game based on the podracing sequence in the film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. The game features all of the racers and race course on Tatooine from The Phantom Menace. It adds several new courses, on Tatooine and various planets. It has several single player modes, including a tournament mode. The format of multiplayer mode varies by platform. Jake Lloyd and Lewis MacLeod, who portrayed Anakin Skywalker and Sebulba in The Phantom Menace, reprise their film roles in the game.

Episode I: Racer received generally positive reviews from critics. Several major media outlets listed it as one of the top Star Wars video games. As of 2011, the game holds the Guinness record as the best-selling sci-fi racing game, with worldwide sales of 3.12 million units, followed by series like Wipeout and F-Zero.[6] Two podracing games were released later. Star Wars: Racer Arcade, an arcade game featuring many similar tracks and characters, was released in 2000. A sequel, Star Wars Racer Revenge was released in 2002 for the PlayStation 2.

Twenty years after the release of the game, it received an HD re-release for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in June 2020. It was later released on Xbox One in October 2020.

  1. ^ "Star Wars: Episode I: Racer [GBC]". IGN. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  2. ^ "GB Station - Release Dates". November 28, 1999. Archived from the original on November 28, 1999. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  3. ^ Deniz, Tuncer (December 7, 1999). "Star Wars: Racer Goes Gold". Inside Mac Games. Archived from the original on July 16, 2001. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  4. ^ "Star Wars: Episode I Racer". sega.com. Archived from the original on October 27, 2000. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  5. ^ "Star Wars Racer and Commando Combo". THQ Nordic. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  6. ^ Guinness World Records 2011 - Gamer's Edition. Guinness World Records Ltd. 2010. p. 76. ISBN 978-1-4053-6546-8.