The wait is getting closer to being over. I know that I’ve been waiting for the Ride video game to release for quite some time now. So now with March 20 drawing closer and closer, you can bet that I’m pretty excited about it. Turns out, we all have ever more reason to get geeked up about Ride’s release. If you decide to pre-order the game, you stand to receive two free downloadable packs - Yamaha->ke301 2015 Bike Models pack and the Yamaha Historical Bikes pack - that will add a slew of Yamaha motorcycles to your garage. Oh, and these Yamaha bikes include the new YZF-R1 and the YZF-R1M.

Excited yet?

For those who aren’t familiar with Ride, you’d be wise to get yourselves acquainted with it. It’s essentially the motorcycle-equivalent of some of the more heralded car racing video game titles out there like Gran Turismo and Forza. It’s got up to 100 real-world motorcycles, though it’s not yet clear how many bikes will come with the game itself and how many will be available as downloadable content.

In addition to the YZF-R1 and the YZF-R1M, the Yamaha 2015 Bike Models pack comes with the 2015 YZF-R6. Meanwhile, the Yamaha Historical Bikes pack nets you the 1998 and 2012 R1 and the 1998 YZF-R7. IN case you don’t pre-order the game before of its March 20 launch, you can still avail of the two packs independently. But why waste your money on that when you can get them just be pre-ordering the title.

Ride can be played on a number of video game platforms, including the Xbox One, Xbox 360, Playstation3, Playstation4 and PC.

Click past the jump to read more about Ride's March 20 launch.

Why it matters

I know that it's often hard to drop the controllers when you're getting your Gran Turismo or Forza Horizon juices going. But you might need to do it because I'm talking about a motorcycle game here that's probably going to change your gaming habits.

I'm excited for Ride to arrive because it's a fresh change from what I'm used to playing on my PlayStation 4. Believe me when I tell you that I've pored over and gone through Gran Turismo 6 like nobody's business. I've been on 10-hour sessions playing that game and to be honest, I don't regret any part of it. GT6 is just that awesome.

But every so often, I think that a change of direction is in order. That's what my mindset is ahead of the release of Ride. I'll pre-order it (you all should, too), play it, and probably spend far too much time on it than I should.

But such is the life of a gamer and a pretty hardcore one at that. Besides, it's not like I play anything else other than as many racing games I could get my hands on. Ride will be the latest and I'm confident that it won't be the last bike racing game I'll buy.