is a

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competiti ...

racing video game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic rac ...

developed and published by

Nintendo is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade playing cards ...

. In Japan, it was released for the

Famicom The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit Third generation of video game consoles, third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redes ...

in 1984 and then ported to arcades as ''Vs. Excitebike'' for the

Nintendo Vs. System The is an arcade system developed and produced by Nintendo from 1984 to 1990. It is based on most of the same hardware as the Family Computer (Famicom), later released as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Most of its games are conversio ...

later that year. In North America, it was initially released for arcades in 1985 and then as a

launch game This list includes terms used in video games and the video game industry, as well as slang used by players. 0–9 A ...

for the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...

later that year, becoming one of the best selling games on the console. It is the first game in the ''Excite'' series. Designed and directed by

Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer, producer and game director at Nintendo, where he serves as one of its representative directors. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential designers in the history of video games, he ...

, the smooth side-scrolling

game engine A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games and generally includes relevant libraries and support programs. The "engine" terminology is similar to the term "software engine" used in the software ...

his team developed for ''Excitebike'' was later used to develop ''

Super Mario Bros. is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The successor to the 1983 arcade game '' Mario Bros.'' and the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series, it was first released in 1985 for ...

'' (1985), which had the effect of

Mario is a character (arts), character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in ...

smoothly accelerating from a walk to a run, rather than move at a constant speed. ''Excitebike'' was a critical and commercial success. It spawned several sequels and has been re-released multiple times onto other Nintendo platforms, such the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, ...

and

Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. ...

Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, U ...

s, and

Nintendo Switch Online Nintendo Switch Online (NSO) is an online subscription service for the Nintendo Switch video game console. Nintendo Switch Online features include online multiplayer, cloud saving, voice chat via a smartphone app, access to a library of Ninte ...

Gameplay

''Excitebike'' is a side-scrolling racing game in which the player takes control of a

racer. The two gameplay modes are Selection A as a solo race run, and Selection B against computer-controlled opponents. The objective of the game is to finish in third place or higher in a preliminary race to qualify for the Excitebike championship race. The A button accelerates the bike, and the B button activates a turbo boost that enhances the bike's speed, but overheats the engine if it is used for too long, forcing an immobile cooldown period. The engine's temperature can be reset by driving over arrows located along the course. The player can use the directional pad to shift between lanes, and to shift the racer's balance midair after a jump. Landing squarely on both wheels allows the racer to maintain momentum, but an uneven landing will result in a loss of speed or a crash. Design Mode allows players to create tracks using 19 types of hurdles, with options to save and load created tracks for the

Famicom Data Recorder Famicom Data Recorder (HVC-008) is a compact cassette tape data interface introduced in 1984, for the Famicom which had been introduced in 1983. It is compatible with four Famicom games, for saving user-generated content to tapes. As Nintendo's fi ...

tape drive A tape drive is a data storage device that reads and writes data on a magnetic tape. Magnetic tape data storage is typically used for offline, archival data storage. Tape media generally has a favorable unit cost and a long archival stability. ...

, which was unreleased outside Japan.

Other releases

''Vs. Excitebike''

There are two enhanced versions, both titled ''Vs. Excitebike''. The first version was released on VS. UniSystem for arcades in 1984, after the Famicom release. It is similar to its Famicom Disk System counterpart, though this version lacks the Design option, has three difficulty levels, and has other minor differences. The second was released for the

Famicom Disk System The commonly shortened to the Famicom Disk System or just Disk System, is a peripheral for Nintendo's Family Computer home video game console, released only in Japan on February 21, 1986. It uses proprietary floppy disks called "Disk Cards" for ...

peripheral in 1988. The graphics and core gameplay are still the same, and the FDS version has several distinctive features that the NES and arcade versions lack: * "Vs. Excite" mode puts two players competing against each other. The options include the maximum number of rounds to play, the track, and the number of laps. * The music is completely different; none of the songs from the original game are present, and it has a gameplay theme. The music is composed by Soyo Oka. * The "Original Excite" mode is based on the main mode of the arcade version, with minor differences such as a different color palette. * Its writable disk format can save created tracks.

''Excitebike: Bun Bun Mario Battle Stadium''

also known as ''Mario Excite Bike'' or ''BS Excitebike'', is for the Japan-only

Satellaview The is a satellite modem peripheral produced by Nintendo for the Super Famicom in 1995. Containing 1 megabyte of ROM space and an additional 512 kB of RAM, Satellaview allowed players to download games, magazines, and other media through sate ...

peripheral for

Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South ...

. As a remake of ''Excitebike'', the human racers have been replaced by

Luigi is a fictional character featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario, Nintendo's masc ...

Princess Peach is a fictional character in Nintendo's ''Mario'' franchise, created by Shigeru Miyamoto and introduced in the 1985 original '' Super Mario Bros.'' installment. She is the princess regnant and ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, where she resides ...

Wario is a fictional character in Nintendo's ''Mario'' series, designed as an arch-rival to Mario. He first appeared in the 1992 Game Boy game '' Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins'' as the main antagonist and final boss. His name is a portmanteau ...

Toad Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scient ...

, and some of

Bowser , or King Koopa, is a fictional character, the primary antagonist in Nintendo's ''Mario'' franchise, and the arch-nemesis of Mario. In Japan, the character bears the title of . Bowser is the leader of the turtle-like Koopa race. Despite the ...

Koopa Troopas Koopa Troopas, known in Japan as , are fictional footsoldiers of the turtle-like Koopa race from the ''Mario'' media franchise. They are commonly referred to generically as Koopas, a race that includes Bowser, King of the Koopas, the Koopaling ...

. The concept was unchanged except for a "SUPER" mode where the player has unlimited turbo, and coins spread across the courses to increase top speed.

Re-releases

''Excitebike'' was added to the European

Wii Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Un ...

on February 16, 2007, the same day its spiritual successor, ''

Excite Truck is a racing video game developed by Nintendo and Monster Games and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It features malleable environments and tilt-based controls. The game was one of the Wii launch titles in North America. It is the third main g ...

'', was released there. The game was later added to the North American

on March 19. It was re-released in North America for the

Wii U Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Un ...

on April 26, 2013. ''3D Classics: Excitebike'' was released on the

Nintendo 3DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generati ...

as a

launch game This list includes terms used in video games and the video game industry, as well as slang used by players. 0–9 A ...

for the Nintendo eShop in

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

; the game was initially offered for free for a period but then was sold at £5.40 / €6.00 for European markets and $5.99 in the US. It features 3D stereoscopic support and analog control support. This release was featured among other games from the

and

Super NES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in ...

to be released for the 3DS on a tech demo called ''Classic Games'' at

E3 2010 The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010 (E3 2010) was the 16th E3 held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. It began on June 14, 2010, and ended on June 17, 2010, with 45,600 total attendees. Ther ...

. It allows the player to save up to 32 custom created tracks that can be played in either 2D or 3D. It is one of 30 in the NES Classic Edition and Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System released by Nintendo on November 11, 2016. ''Excitebike'' was released on the

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a tablet that can either be docked for use as a home console or used as a portable device, making it a ...

in the

Nintendo eShop The Nintendo eShop is a digital distribution service powered by the Nintendo Network for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, and by a dedicated online infrastructure for the Nintendo Switch. Launched in June 2011 on the Nintendo 3DS, the eShop was e ...

on September 21, 2018, by

Hamster Corporation is a Japanese video game publisher, with office located in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan. The game division of Toshiba-EMI Limited spun off Hamster Corporation in November 1999. On the Japanese PlayStation Store, more than 200 titles are distri ...

as part of the ''

Arcade Archives is a series of emulated arcade games from the late 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and Nintendo Switch, published by Hamster Corporation. A sub-series called is focused on rereleasing Neo Ge ...

'' series.

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''VS. Excitebike'' on its January 15, 1985, issue as the fifth most-successful table arcade unit of the month. In North America, the game was number 13 on the ''RePlay'' arcade software charts in December 1985. It ended the year as America's second highest-grossing arcade system game of 1985, below Nintendo's '' Hogan's Alley''. The game has received generally positive reviews.

Allgame RhythmOne , previously known as Blinkx, and also known as RhythmOne Group, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel. Blinkx was founded in 2004, went publ ...

gave ''Excitebike'' its highest possible rating of five stars. The review referred to the game as a "staple of any NES collection", praising its graphics as cute and its control as simple that still require strategy to apply properly. The review noted the design mode, as "the first of its kind in a console game, and greatly extends the life of the title by featuring 19 different components you can piece together to build your own course". IGN praised the NES version in 2007: "One of the original NES games, ''Excitebike'' was one hell of a ride 23 years ago and it still is today." IGN praised it as "ridiculously addictive" and that it "proves video games don't need to have flashy graphics or complex AI to actually be fun. Sure, there are other racing games out there today, hundreds of them. This one may not necessarily be better than the recent stuff, but it's unique, addictive, and demonstrates what gaming is really about". IGN ranked Excitebike as the 14th best NES game.

GamesRadar ''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites '' Total Film'', '' SFX'', '' Edge'' and '' Comput ...

ranked it as the 12th best game on the NES Classic Edition, saying that it has aged well with "a great sense of speed while driving and an excellent sense of balance while jumping and landing".

Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 ...

ranked the game 44 on its top 100 games of all time.

Kotaku ''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier. Histor ...

editor

Jason Schreier Jason Schreier (born May 10, 1987) is a journalist and author who primarily covers the video game industry. He worked as a news reporter for ''Kotaku'' from 2011 to 2020 and was recognized for several investigative stories, particularly on the ...

ranked it as the worst game on the NES Classic Edition, calling it "a truly awful video game" but with no explanation.

Legacy

The side-scrolling gameplay of ''Excitebike'' was key to the development of ''

'' (1985). The same Miyamoto-led team that developed ''Excitebike'' went on to develop a 1985 NES port of side-scrolling

beat 'em up The beat 'em up (also known as brawler and, in some markets, beat 'em all) is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in scrolling, two-dimensional (2D) leve ...

arcade game '' Kung-Fu Master'' (1984) called ''Kung Fu''. Miyamoto's team used the technical knowledge they had gained from working on both side-scrollers to further advance the platforming " athletic game" genre they had created with ''

Donkey Kong is a video game franchise created by Shigeru Miyamoto and owned by Nintendo. It follows the adventures of a gorilla named Donkey Kong (character), Donkey Kong and his clan of other Ape, apes and monkeys. The franchise primarily consists of plat ...

'' (1981) and were key steps towards Miyamoto's vision of an expansive side-scrolling platformer. While working on ''Excitebike'' and ''Kung Fu'', he devised the concept of a platformer in which the player can "strategize while scrolling sideways" over long distances, and has colorful backgrounds rather than black. ''Super Mario Bros.'' utilized the fast scrolling

Miyamoto's team had originally developed for ''Excitebike'', which allowed

to smoothly

accelerate In mechanics, acceleration is the rate of change of the velocity of an object with respect to time. Accelerations are vector quantities (in that they have magnitude and direction). The orientation of an object's acceleration is given by t ...

from a walk to a run, rather than move at a constant speed like in earlier platformers. ''Excitebike'' spawned several sequels, including ''

Excitebike 64 is a video game published by Nintendo and developed by Left Field Productions. It was released for the Nintendo 64 on April 30, 2000 in North America, June 23 in Japan, and June 8, 2001, in Europe. It is the second installment in the ''Excite' ...

'' (2000), ''

'' (2006), '' Excitebots: Trick Racing'' (2009), and the

WiiWare WiiWare was a service that allowed Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications could only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii ...

game '' Excitebike: World Rally'' (2009). An ''Excitebike''-themed track is

downloadable content Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enabli ...

in ''

Mario Kart 8 is a 2014 kart racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. It features the ''Mario Kart'' series' game mechanics, in which players drive go-karts using ''Mario'' franchise characters in various race formats. Items placed a ...

'' and is available by default in ''Mario Kart 8 Deluxe''. A group of Excitebike racers cameo as an Assist Trophy in ''

Super Smash Bros. Brawl ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'' is a 2008 crossover fighting video game developed by Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Wii. The third installment in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, it was announced at a pre-E3 2005 press conferenc ...

''.

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{Main franchises by Nintendo 1984 video games Arcade video games Famicom Disk System games Game Boy Advance games Mario racing games Motorcycle video games NEC PC-8801 games Nintendo 3DS eShop games Nintendo arcade games Nintendo games Nintendo franchises Nintendo Entertainment System games Nintendo Research & Development 1 games Nintendo Switch Online NES games Nintendo Switch games Nintendo Vs. Series games Off-road racing video games PlayChoice-10 games Racing video games Sharp X1 games Video games developed in Japan Virtual Console games Virtual Console games for Wii U Multiplayer and single-player video games Video games designed by Shigeru Miyamoto Video games directed by Shigeru Miyamoto Video games produced by Shigeru Miyamoto Video games scored by Akito Nakatsuka Video games scored by Soyo Oka Video games with user-generated gameplay content Hamster Corporation games