Ep.280 – Racing on a Tiny Scale: The Legacy of Micro Machines

In 1991, Micro Machines turned kitchen tables, school desks, and pool halls into racetracks, proving that racing games did not need realism to be unforgettable. This week, we explore how Galoob’s tiny toy cars became a cultural phenomenon and how Codemasters adapted that spirit into one of the most inventive multiplayer games of the 1990s. We trace the game’s unusual development, from reverse engineering the NES without Nintendo’s blessing to shipping cartridges with built in hardware fixes to solve last minute bugs. Our conversation follows the series expansion through Turbo Tournament, the J Cart, and the leap into 3D, while also reflecting on why the games outlasted the toys themselves. Join us as we race across breakfast tables and relive Micro Machines on today’s trip down Memory Card Lane.

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