Crash Team Racing is a kart racer developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It came out in North America on 19 October 1999 and in Europe in December 1999. It is the fourth Crash Bandicoot game and the last one Naughty Dog made: Jason Rubin directed it and Evan Wells designed it.
Development took about eight months, with a budget of $2.4 million and a team of 16 to 18 people. The engine was built while Crash Bandicoot: Warped was still in production, and an early prototype recreated Diddy Kong Racing's Crescent Island to check that a kart racer could work on the PlayStation. The finished game has five modes, fifteen characters (eight available at first) and races for up to four players with a multitap.
Japan received the game on 16 December 1999 as Crash Bandicoot Racing. In 2019 Beenox released the remaster Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled for Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.12
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Crash Team Racing | PlayStation | Oct 19, 1999 | Sony Computer Entertainment | 1 |
| NA | Crash Team RacingGreatest Hits budget reissue | PlayStation | 2000 | Sony Computer Entertainment | 1 |
| JP | クラッシュ・バンディクーレーシングKurasshu Bandikū Rēshingu | PlayStation | Dec 16, 1999 | Sony Computer Entertainment | 2 |
| EU | Crash Team Racing | PlayStation | December 1999 | Sony Computer Entertainment | 1 |
| EU | Crash Team RacingPlatinum budget reissue | PlayStation | Jan 12, 2001 | Sony Computer Entertainment | 1 |
Also known as: クラッシュ・バンディクーレーシング JP2Crash Bandicoot Racing JP3
Box art by region
NA Crash Team Racing
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: Wikipedia.
Version differences
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TextPlayStation (EU)
The European release adds a main-menu language option: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Dutch.3
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AudioPlayStation (JP)
The Japanese version is built on the European one but has its own intro with an announcer, different music and theme songs, a new logo, and Ripper Roo speaking Japanese.3
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GameplayPlayStation (JP)
In the Japanese version the turbo counter is on by default (elsewhere it needs a cheat code), and Arcade tracks are rated with one to five Wumpa icons.3
Translations
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Spanish Official
Sony Computer Entertainment1999PlayStation · European versionReleased · complete
Spanish is one of six languages selectable in the European release.3
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Japanese Official
Sony Computer Entertainment1999PlayStation · Japanese versionReleased · complete
The Japanese release has Japanese text and voices, with Kappei Yamaguchi as Crash.2
Reception
Crash Team Racing scores 88/100 on Metacritic. It sold 1.9 million copies in the United States and more than 300,000 in Japan, and it was nominated for Console Racing Game of the Year at the 3rd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards.1
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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