Well, this is suprising.

According to a press conference Namco Bandai held yesterday, Ridge Racer for the PS Vita will only contain 3 tracks (6 if you count the reversed versions of these tracks) and 5 cars. It was also confirmed that the game will only run at 30 FPS due to the focus on detail. 

To make matters worse, all three of the tracks (Harborline 765, Highland Cliffs, and Southbay Docks) are taken from past Ridge Racer games. No new tracks whatsoever. DLC is confirmed for the game, but details will be shared in December.

This comes as a surpise, but the pain is slightly eased due the game carrying a price tag of ¥3,980, which is lower than most Vita games which are priced at ¥5,980.  There's also a downloadable version of the game that's priced at ¥3,580. That is, unless you pick it up before March 31st, where the downloadable version will cost only ¥2,980.

According to Namco Bandai, the game has a lower price point so it can get more players to keep the "Planetary League" mode active. In it, online players are divided into 4 camps, Circle, Triangle, X, and Square. Everyday, new team battle missions are sent out. By the end of the month, the game server's determine each team's rank based off the points earned from each mission.

Sure, the original Ridge Racer for the PS1 only had one, single track (2 if you counted the detours), but for a system that claims to have near-PS3 power, it's pretty sad. Ridge Racer: Accelerated for the iPhone has 8 tracks (+3 DLC tracks) and Ridge Racer 3D for the 3DS has 16 tracks. Both of these games also feature several more cars than 5. 

Now, my game designer mindset wants to think "quality over quantity", but it seems that's not the case here. Lowering the price point  just to get more people playing doesn't exactly scream "confidence" in a product.