Why Wipeout?

In 1996 Sony was pushing the PlayStation console up into the adult market and Wipeout was cool to play. It had crashing techno tunes and nailed the “just one more go” addiction cycle. Play it with mates after the club. Play it with Sunday dub. Close the curtains, tea and a packet of custard creams. No shame to race the day away.

In 2025, playing in a browser ffs, you see the low poly count through the textures. The learning curve is a brick wall. Gaining outsider cool by promoting drug use? Nah. Pit lane babes, so last century.

And yet. The ships still bob beguilingly on the start line, your heart still races when the circuit drops out below you, the on-board computer announces “missile” and you imitate it for the thousandth time as you get away with another over cooked corner. “Hey, hey, hey“.

They are writing books about it. The lore is strong in this one. Wipeout is a cultural aritfact