Formula One Racing Games Exclusive To PS2

Thanks to GameSpot for posting a story indicating that Sony have exclusively licensed the Formula One racing license for the next 4 years. There's some additional information via the press release hosted at GameSpyDaily, including info on the Formula One 2003 title for Playstation 2, to be released in Europe next month - is this now the biggest worldwide sport to have an exclusive game license?

Comments

PSP, PS3

[MBCook]

It's not stated in the article but I assume they are allowed to make games for Sony's SPS (their portable) and the PS3 (which should be introduced within the next four years too). Does anyone know if either are covered, or is this truly PS2 exclusive? I would assume not.

Re:PSP, PS3

[Anonymous Coward]

Also the PSX (PS2.5 basiclly)

An opinion on racing games.

[bkedelen]

As a hardcore gamer, I have always found that the best part of racing games is a feeling of liberation. Because of that, I feel that racing game developers in general should focus not on making games more realistic, but on making them less realistic, open-ended, and with wildness packed into every crack. I loved GTA not for the realism of the driving experience, but because I could jump over a bay when the dishes are piling up in the sink. I am much more interested in Midnight than I am in anything Formula 1 related or otherwise grounded in reality!

Re:An opinion on racing games.

[PainKilleR-CE]

As a hardcore gamer, I have always found that the best part of racing games is a feeling of liberation. Because of that, I feel that racing game developers in general should focus not on making games more realistic, but on making them less realistic, open-ended, and with wildness packed into every crack

It has nothing to do with being a hardcore gamer, and everything to do with the type of racing games you like. Some people like hardcore racing sims, tweaking every little thing on the car and having everything look and feel like they think it does in real life, or GT (which is different in that there's no crash damage). Other people like the more arcade-like games, or GTA.

That's why both types of games are available. Personally, I like GT3, but I think it has more to do with the ability to tweak the cars and get more cars than the driving part of it. OTOH, I also thoroughly enjoyed Mario Kart on the SNES, and like driving around in GTA3/VC doing whatever comes to mind. I won't touch 99% of the arcade racers, though.

Re:An opinion on racing games.

[bkedelen]

You are absolutely right. I think I misrepresented my opinion. I was in fact attempting to suggest my preference, not condemn the opinions of those who enjoy more simulation-oriented driving games. I do, however, believe that there is more profit to be made (and more fun for me to have) in making unrealistic (fantastic?) racing games than in spending money to license the name of a real racing franchise and then simulating it. As a wise man once said: "If I wanted real life, I would go back to work."

Re:An opinion on racing games.

[Grand]

I guess im the opposite, I like the realism. I cant stand playing games where the physics are not realistic (espicially in driving games). But I will agree to the open endedness of GTA. I always hated racing games that had timers or checkpoints. I always wanted to explore stuff in the game but couldnt. Now if only the people that worked on GT and the people that worked on GTA got together. I would really like a driving simulator that you could just do what ever the hell you wanted to.

Re:An opinion on racing games.

[PainKilleR-CE]

You are absolutely right. I think I misrepresented my opinion. I was in fact attempting to suggest my preference, not condemn the opinions of those who enjoy more simulation-oriented driving games.

I probably misread it slightly, as well. My main point was that being a 'hardcore gamer' is pretty much meaningless in terms of racing game preferences. The most hardcore gamers in the world are probably the guys that play ultra-realistic flight sims or massive turn-based games via email anyway. Some of those people can be freakishly obsessive about their games ;)

I do, however, believe that there is more profit to be made (and more fun for me to have) in making unrealistic (fantastic?) racing games than in spending money to license the name of a real racing franchise and then simulating it.

According to actual sales data, the most profit in racing games is made by being the developers and publishers of the GT series. The least money is most likely made by whoever holds the F1 license. The Nascar license tends to do well in the US, but probably doesn't do so well elsewhere. The arcade games seem to be a pretty tight market to be in (since the best selling games in that market don't really make the best-selling lists very often and probably don't outsell all other games in the category for very long), and the more unusual racing games tend to come along fairly rarely. The only one I can think of recently that did pretty well would probably be something like Twisted Metal, assuming you don't count GTA.

Personally, I think GT3 is more of an addictive style of gameplay for me than anything else. They could trash most of the realism and I'd probably still like it, as long as the ability to make plenty of upgrades to each car was available and the game had tons of locations and cars. I liked Project Gotham Racing, too, but I didn't play it nearly as long because there weren't many cars and locations, and you couldn't upgrade the cars in any way.

Lately the most important thing for me has become a combination of gameplay and the amount of time it can keep me playing. I don't think I'll ever knowingly buy another game like Max Payne that I can blow through in 6-8 hours and then never care less about playing again. Luckily, I bought that one from a friend for $20 after making sure my system didn't show the same problems with it that his did.

Re:An opinion on racing games.

[zero_offset]

I liked Project Gotham Racing, too, but I didn't play it nearly as long because there weren't many cars and locations

29 cars is pretty good, especially when you consider the quality of the 3D models and the fact that they all handle and perform very differently (e.g. they aren't just skins over a small handful of performance characteristics). As for locations, there are about 200 tracks in the game -- granted, they're all set in 15 or 20 areas of only 4 cities, but that's still a lot of variety.

I would think increasing realism is detrimental to sales mainly because cars are somewhat difficult to drive properly at speed. I like Gotham because I can use real-world braking and cornering techniques to improve my time and speed. Most people, though, just wouldn't know what to do.

I'm on the fence about upgrades. Generally their impact is blown way out of proportion to their real-life counterparts, which to me makes it less fun to pick and choose among your options. If everything is flat-out awesome, then it's just a matter of trying to collect as many of them as you can.

Re:An opinion on racing games.

[PainKilleR-CE]

I would think increasing realism is detrimental to sales mainly because cars are somewhat difficult to drive properly at speed. I like Gotham because I can use real-world braking and cornering techniques to improve my time and speed. Most people, though, just wouldn't know what to do.

The biggest problem I have with most racing games is that they (including GT3 and Project Gotham) tend to overdo the types of handling problems associated with rear-wheel drive, and also tend to give all of the cars unrealistic acceleration and speed characteristics. If I can pick cars that I've actually driven in real life in the game, it should handle like those cars. Of course, I understand that the cars handle differently at 150-200 mph, but the majority of tracks in both games that I race them on rarely get higher than 80-100 mph.

I'm on the fence about upgrades. Generally their impact is blown way out of proportion to their real-life counterparts, which to me makes it less fun to pick and choose among your options. If everything is flat-out awesome, then it's just a matter of trying to collect as many of them as you can.

I agree on that point. I'd rather have the impact be a little more realistic. For instance, opening up the exhaust and intake on a car that is already pretty much optimized should negatively impact the performance, until the engine is upgraded in some way so that it needs the increased air flow. Of course, this would have to be indicated visually so that you know it's going to do that beforehand, otherwise people would get a bit irritated that they spent X number of points/money and made their car worse. The point is simply that in reality I'm not limited to the car that I picked up off the lot, and people racing cars certainly aren't leaving them completely stock (even in 'stock car' racing, in which cars are basically nothing like what they're supposed to represent in many cases (ie Nascar)).

Re:An opinion on racing games.

[ichimunki]

I like a little bit of both. Personally I much prefer games like Driver2 or the F1 series where the cars can get damaged or wear out-- but the more open nature of a game like Driver is nice, I agree. That's my biggest complaint with Gran Turismo, full contact racing should beat the car into unusability. Anyway... with F1 you do have the freedom to turn the car around and drive the wrong way-- try barreling head-on into 30 oncoming cars all going 200 mph in real life someday. ;)

Re: F1 popularity in the US

[DrWho520]

Clearly, in the US, which is the biggest gaming market in the world, the most popular form of racing is either NASCAR or illegal street racing. Deffinatley not F1. Days of Thunder was much more popular than Driven. Of course that might have something to do with the acting...and the writing...and the plot.

I guess this F1 license just doesn't seem as much of a coup to me as, say, the NBA license. I mean, that's like ABC gloating over exclusive MLS rights...woo-hoo!

so what?

[gl4ss]

it wouldnt be the first time the cars are just 'formulas' and just happen to look a bit like f1- cars.

the f1 tracks are getting boring anyways :).

Playstation, huh?

[Spudley]

Playstation, huh? hehehe. Microsoft blew that one big time! :-D

Re: F1 popularity in the US

[Lars T.]

Days of Thunder was also more popular than Driven here in Germany - and that had nothing to do with the mostly unknown NASCAR vs. big-time F1.

Re: F1 popularity in the US

[Textbook Error]

F1 is like soccer - it's absolutely massive everywhere but the US, and the US equivalents are pretty much ignored everywhere else.

The US may/may not be the single biggest market in the world, but realistically it's just one of the top three territories for videogames (North America, Europe, and Asia). Games that sell well in the US (e.g., Madden) can easily bomb everywhere else (e.g., Madden) - games that sell well everywhere need to hit at least 2 of the 3 big markets.

there is a "bigger" license.

[jayoyayo]

is this now the biggest worldwide sport to have an exclusive game license?

No. Electronic Arts holds the exclusive FIFA license. Other companies can get a FIFAPro license which does not even come close to the all encompassing license that EA currently holds. I can't recall off-the-top how many teams are in a FIFAPro license but i know its merely a smattering.

Its a shame too, because Winning Eleven 6 by Konami is clearly the best futbol game on the market right now. Actually, I shouldn't say its a shame, because Konami thankfully put in the option to change player and team names which is quite a brilliant way to skirt around not having a full license.

Re: F1 popularity in the US

[Anonymous Coward]

I just wanted to mention that "Driven" took place on the CART circuit, not F1. To people who know the difference, this does matter.

GREAT.

[Cyclone66]

So I can drive around a course and not pass anyone for 60 laps just like in real life! (There were less than 10 passes in the last grand prix not including passing during pit stops).

Re:GREAT.

[vraxoin]

Yeah, it's getting pretty bad when "dot racing" at at other sports events or soft drink racing at the movie theater is more suspenseful and exciting than an F1 Gran Prix.

Re:GREAT.

[Anonymous Coward]

Go Sprite!

Re:GREAT.

[forwhomthebelltrolls]

There were less than 10 passes in the last grand prix not including passing during pit stops

How did you work that out? Kimi Raikkonen started from the pits in 20th place and managed to climb up to 6th position, only to drop back down to 10th before re-gaining his 6th position for the finish. That is at least 22 passes (for and against) only one driver, and many other drivers made many passes during the race.

F1 isn't just about speed and overtaking, it's also about strategy. I personally thought that the race at the weekend was one of the best so far this season, because the first four to finish were so close together.

Re: F1 popularity in the US

[macdaddy357]

F1 ain't got no popularity here in the US of A 'Cuz it's too complimicated, and half the time they's goin' slow. Our ideal of car racin' is NASCAR. Mash down on the loud pedal an' turn left. Yeehah!

3 is in heaven, 24 can go to hell!

Re: F1 popularity in the US -- Thank God !

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm a huge fan of F1 and am gratefull that it has a limited popularity in the US. Currently the coverage on SpeedTV is an enthusiasts dream: live coverage of both qualifying sessions, good pre-race, excellent commentary and even the post race interviews. Last year ABC got their hands on a few of the races and it was just dreadfull: tape delayed races, horrible commentary (Jason Priestly??), local affiliate interruptions...

I am surprised

[Zugok]

Bernie Ecclestone who handles the marketing and money side of F1 thinks, breaths and lives money. I would have thought that he would have gone with Microsoft on this one.

How well would a Formula1 game be? Well I have been watching Formula for only 3 years and I assue the Formula 1 games would basically cars from the current/previous season, and guess what. Formula 1 is dead boring these days. The regulations on tyres, aerodynamics and fobiding ground effects make for unexciting viewing for much of the time. So if a sim was to be as real as possible, it's going to be damn hard to pass other cars if you are usingf a mid field car. Don't get me wrong, there are some exciting manoevuers in Formula 1 but not enough.

MotoGP3 on the other hand, well Namco did a really good job of that!

Terrible News

[bryhhh]

As a non ps2 owning F1 fan, this is terrible news. The previous games released by EA have been superb on all platforms. I'm certainly not going to purchase a ps2 just for this game, in fact I doubt I will ever buy one now.

Re:Terrible News

[arb]

The previous games released by EA have been superb on all platforms.

Bah! Rubbish!

The GameCube port was attrocious - long load-times, poor controls, handling of the cars was so-so, graphics were kinda okay but not great, etc.

Re: F1 popularity in the US

[PainKilleR-CE]

I prefer street races to the oval tracks, but I still don't want to watch a bunch of F1/CART style cars any more than I want to watch a bunch of cars turn around an oval all day.

Re: F1 popularity in the US

[redplasticcup]

I know I shouldn't bother, but what the hell. Definitely. The base is "finite" as in "with limits." add a "de" and a "ly" and you get definitely. Back on topic, does this mean EA can't make an F1 game anymore? I suppose I should go RTFA.

F1 and Other such news

[mixMastaT]

As someone who has driven race cars (F2000,CART,Karts), I have acutally driven a couple of these tracks and do find them to be well represented in the EA games. This particular game looks to do the newer changes at Melborne justice. Though if you watch the reviewer play the game he obviously has never played a single F1 game in his life as he doesn't even know his breaking zones.

As for realism. It is hard to simulate racing perfectly. In fact I have found that driving the real cars is much easier then playing the games do to the feedback a car gives you in the form of gforces. However, those of you who would rather watch 3-wide NASCAR should play NASCAR games. No sweat off of my back. And those of you who prefer making one great pass during a 73 lap race play the F1 titles. I like realism in my games as it does much for me in the way of finding my apex in a particular turn. They are simply two different forms of racing but they are both fun for their own reasons.

Happy racing!
M

References:

Gordon/Montoya Trading Paint - Speed channel.
F1 driving school: http://www.agsformule1.com/uk/stage_ags/stage_ags. htm
www.driving101.com
www.bobearlracing.com

Bad for mods

[Bana]

I also am a fan of EAs F1 and F1 in general and I would like to point out that this will probably be detrimental to the face of the modding community that follows F1 2002. If you doubt the existence of this mod community look at for example the high quality work of Simbin gtr.kickassgamers.com it is almost better than the original game itself and much more fun for the friendly competition (more forgiving for bumps and missed braking zones)

Re:I am surprised - Why Ecclestone & co chose

[securitas]

Bernie Ecclestone who handles the marketing and money side of F1 thinks, breaths and lives money. I would have thought that he would have gone with Microsoft on this one.

Ecclestone does think, breathe and live money, which is why he went with Sony. All he had to do was take a look at the number of PS2s sold and looked at the number of Xboxes sold and the answer is an obvious one. Sony's larger installed base = more users = more sales. The math is simple.