Project-Gotham-Racing
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PGR screenshot used to promote PS3 ... again
For the second time this year, an image from Bizarre Creations' Microsoft exclusive Project Gotham Racing series found its way into a Sony promotion. On a Spanish internet ad for both Kia Motors and the PlayStation 3, a virtual Kia car with a PGR license plate could be clearly observed in a scene where the virtual and real car kept fading into one another. Though it has since been fixed, CVG managed to capture the incident.Previously, a PGR3 render had been used by Sony to promote Gran Turismo: HD on Sony's official PSP Connect site. As CVG suggested, we don't blame Sony for this ad blunder -- more likely the err came from Kia's camp. Shame on Kia, though, for realizing that this image obviously isn't "True HD"; that should've been the first red flag that something is amiss.
Dj vu: PGR3 image used to promote Sony
Back in January Xbox 360 Fanboys everywhere erupted with laughter when Sony accidentally used an image from Project Gotham Racing 3 to promote Gran Turismo HD. Well, it's happened again, though Sony likely isn't at fault. A KIA website ad used an image of a car from PGR3 which alternated with the real version the same car. Making this even funnier is the Playstation 3 branding all over the screen. As CVG notes, it was more likely someone at KIA who made the mistake, not Sony. Still, the irony of using an Xbox 360 game to promote the graphical realism of the PS3 is just too good. The ad has since been changed, but you can see the offending image (including the telltale license plate) above.[Via CVG]
Video: PGR4 new features, dynamic weather, and vehicles
New details regarding Bizarre Creations' upcoming Kudos-centric racer Project Gotham Racing 4, have hit the internets. That being said, they are very similar to previous reports from some European magazines. We've seen these bullet points before, and they're all good, from fist pumping to dynamic weather AI, loyal fanbases through your career, and refined Kudos system. Still, the video looks hot, and the game is excessively pretty. So with all the racing news today, are you tempted to get the wheel so you can tailspin in the snow of Shanghai for massive damage Kudos?[Video via Xboxygen. Thanks, gaetge]
New PGR4 features and info revealed
Xboxic got their hands on a Polish magazine with new Project Gotham Racing 4 pics and details. Some of the new features that the busy bees over at Bizarre Creations are implementing include vehicle models using 70 to 100 thousand polygons, improved spectators on the track, 200+ courses, and better physics in online matches to avoid turning the game into Burnout. Other cool tidbits include that the AI you race against have character, with their own styles and personality, a revamped career mode, as well as you create your driver, specifying nationality etc. For the complete list, click the "Read" link. So, is PGR4 shaping up alright in light of the new info?
Burn rubber on your cell with PGR Mobile
We just received word that Xbox's beloved racing franchise Project Gotham Racing will be coming to a cell phone near you. Developed by Glu Mobile, Project Gotham Racing Mobile is setting out to be the best racing game ever! For a cell phone of course. The kudos system is still in place as well as multiple vehicles, online leaderboards and unlockable preview content for PGR4. But there is one major problem ... it's a cell phone game. We aren't cell phone game aficionados, but we know that the controls on cells are a tad limited and are the main reason why we aren't hardcore cell phone gamers. Here's to you PGR for going where few have succeeded and possibly slapping on a "I'm whoring my franchise out" sticker on your rear bumper. We only kid, because we love you PGR. Full press release after the break.
EA to publish Bizarre's new XBLA game
EA's first downloadable console title will be Boom Boom Rocket, a new rhythm game from the geometric warmongers at Bizarre Creations. The game sees players traveling through a 3D cityscape and launching rockets to the beat of the music -- the more accurate you are, the more spectacular the resulting fireworks become. Gamedaily Biz reports that Boom Boom Rocket should arrive on Xbox Live Arcade in Spring.Chip Lange, EA's vice president of online commerce, feels they've crashed the party at the opportune moment. "Now feels like the right time. Across EA there's been a lot of internal excitement about Arcade and we're at a point where we can dedicate resources to building Arcade games. We're very excited to be entering this space. This is a great way to develop new IP and work with small development teams internally and externally to build a casual, fun game experience." Originally thought up by EA's own Pogo casual games team, the game should be a welcome addition to the XBLA lineup, especially given the grievous lack of any other rhythm games. The fireworks in Boom Boom Rocket will be accompanied by ten original tunes from Ian Livingstone -- we certainly hope he's familiar with synesthesia.
X06 announcements crammed into a single post
Microsoft's X06 event started off in a thunderous explosion of news, with pieces of informative debris raining down upon the unshielded denizens of the internet since yesterday. If you're feeling clueless or overwhelmed, allow us to subject you to a helpful hail of bullet points: Peter Jackson reveals a new partnership with Microsoft Game Studios. The king of the rings and his newly established Wingnut Interactive studio will work on an original property for the Xbox 360, as well as an unnamed Halo title. One can only hope that the crappy-game-based-on-a-movie and the crappy-movie-based-on-a-game curses cancel each other out when it comes time to play Peter Jackson's Halo: The Game of the Movie of the Game. A new RTS, Halo Wars, is unveiled. Set in a time before the first Halo, the real-time strategy game is being developed exclusively for the Xbox 360 by Ensemble Studios. Many confused pundits take the opportunity to point out that the Xbox 360 does not have a keyboard or a mouse. Grand Theft Auto IV will have two "epic" downloadable episodes exclusively on Xbox 360. Rockstar and Take-Two promise that the new episodes will provide "hours" of new gameplay and will be available "just months" after the game's October 2007 release. The vague wording of the announcement fails to rule out the possibility that the PS3 could receive different downloadable episodes of its own. The next Splinter Cell game is console-exclusive to the Xbox 360 -- meaning handhelds and the PC are still fair game. Fewer people are upset by this than those who realize Splinter Cell: Double Agent isn't available on anything yet. Bioshock is exclusive to Xbox 360 and Windows when it releases "next Spring". The wording of the press release says nothing of the game should it release during any other season following Spring. Of course, nobody likes waiting ... Project Gotham Racing 4 is coming. And the surprise hit gamers with all the force of a linen sheet flapping in the wind. Rare is working on a new Banjo-Kazooie game. Presumably, players are still keen on collecting all the coins, apples, music notes, beans, feathers, diamonds, pearls, potions, rings, blocks, wrenches and / or yams mysteriously floating around the finely rendered landscape. Marvel Universe Online is announced for the Xbox 360 and Windows Vista. It's being developed by the folks behind City of Heroes -- perhaps you remember Marvel suing them for creating tools that allowed people to venture online as, err, Marvel characters. Doom and Sensible World of Soccer join the Xbox Live Arcade lineup. The classic first-person shooter was already available yesterday for 800 points ($10). The Amiga footie title has not been given a release date yet, though the press release insists on using the word "soon." The Xbox 360 HD-DVD costs $199.99 in North America and €199.99/£129.99 in the UK, France and Germany. It arrives in mid-November and will include the Xbox 360's Universal Media Remote and the HD-DVD version of Peter Jackson's King Kong. And with that, the circle is complete. Congrats, scavenger hunter, you've found the secret c o d e good for one free copy of B A N K S H O T B I L L I A R D S 2: PRF4Q W798V G7JX9 2RX2W VT94G (Contest ran on 12/30/2006. The code has been redeemed.)
New Xbox 360 bundle hits UK tomorrow
Console bundles are often reviled during a system's launch period, as they make it practically impossible to leave the store solely with the item you wanted to purchase in the first place. A less bungled bundle, like the £299.99 Xbox 360 package launching in the UK tomorrow, comes several months after launch and doesn't deluge you with a bunch of games, accessories and HD televisions that you weren't quite ready to spend money on yet. Eurogamer reports that the deal in question includes 2 wireless controllers, a copy of Project Gotham Racing 3 and, quite generously, a Premium Xbox 360 as well. How efficient can a bundle be at swaying your interest? Does the higher price tag or the lack of choice make it less appealing to those in the know? See also: TGS: Blue Dragon hits Japan this holiday (along with a matching bundle) Microsoft to launch Xbox 360 Core in Japan
Did Peugeot leak the PGR4 release date? Doubtful.
A design contest from French automaker Peugeot has spawned some massive speculation on the future release date of Project Gotham Racing 4. According to the rules, any contest winner will have his or her concept car included in PGR4, " exclusively on Xbox 360 that will be released towards the end of 2007 or first half of 2008."Would any of this be surprising? The last three PGR games were all released two years apart (2001, 2003, and 2005) -- thus, by induction, 2007 would be the release date for the third sequel. Also, developer Bizarre Creations has worked exclusively with Microsoft for the last four years, and the entire PGR series has been Xbox-exclusive.This "leak" is probably nothing more than an educated guess. The existence of Project Gotham Racing 4, a sequel to three critically-acclaimed racing games, is about as surprising as the existence of gravity (hey, it's only a theory). A 2007 / early 2008 release would put Bizarre right on track. However, don't hold the developer accountable if they miss a deadline set by an unrelated, outside party.In other news, sources tell us PGR4 will include some fast cars and "race tracks." It is unconfirmed whether or not J Allard will make an appearance.See Also:A look at 7-11's potential Wii slip-up[via Euro Gamer]
Scramble delayed, have some UNO instead
Scramble, Konami's arcade shooter that was slated to hit Xbox Live Arcade today, has been delayed. According to the press release that arrived in our inbox, the game hit some bumps during the certification process. As such, the boys in Redmond are giving it an extra week to iron out the kinks. So, whatever will we do with our empty Wednesday? Grab the new PGR3 theme deck for UNO, of course! Depending on who you ask, it might actually be more exciting than Scramble.Anybody grab the deck yet? Any spiffy cards?
PGR3 photo mode is Live
Like driving spiffy cars? Fancy yourself to be a talented photographer? Then put those talents to use in Project Gotham 3's new photo upload feature! All you need is Xbox Live, PGR3 and a Passport account. The overall process is simple, just take a picture in the game, upload it, head over to the PGR3 website, sign in, and share your photos. Hit the read link for more detailed instructions. Now somebody post some kuh-razy photos in the comments section.
A Bungie with business sense would make Halo 4 and 5 and...
Recently there have been some rumblings that Bungie won't make another Halo game after Halo 3 which appear to be centered around a statement that Marty O'Donnell made in an interview with the BBC. In this interview, Marty says, "We all want Halo to be the great ending to an epic trilogy. We look at what Peter Jackson did with the Lord of the Rings films - which each film bettering the previous one and that is what we are aiming for." Does that mean we won't be seeing another Halo game in the future? To people who understand that making video games is a business, the rumors (which are already half-disproved) that Bungie would end the Halo franchise anytime soon are ridiculous. The first two Halo games combined have sold 14.3 million units. That puts the Halo franchise within the top 30 best-selling game franchises of all time. Without Halo, Microsoft might as well not have bothered with the Xbox; Halo and Halo 2 sold more units than the next six best selling games on the Xbox combined (if you're wondering, these games are Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, Fable, GTA: Double Pack, Project Gotham Racing, and Need for Speed: Underground 2). With a Halo movie on the way, and the facts that Halo 2 sold more units than the first and is still the #1 game played on Xbox Live under Bungie's belt, it wouldn't be wrong to say that the Halo franchise is increasing in popularity. The bottom line is that Bungie and Microsoft would have to be stupid to end their most lucrative franchise ever after #3. We don't claim to have any insider information, we don't dispute Marty's statement and we don't deny the possibility that Bungie will create new franchises, but based on pure business logic we'd expect to see at least another two games based on the Halo universe. From a business perspective, for Bungie to dump the Halo franchise after 3 would be sheer stupidity. [Source for sales figures, Image from 1001 Fonts]
More cars pull into PGR3's garage [Update 1]
According to the lads at the UK's Official Xbox Magazine, Bizarre Creations is revving up 12 new absurdly beautiful cars for another Project Gotham Racing 3 download (pictured car sadly not included). The Style Pack is likely to release for the princely sum of 400 Microsoft Points ($5), with individual car downloads looking to set you back 60 (75c) points each. The marvelous machines included in the pack are: 365 GTB4 ("Daytona") BMW M3 CSL BMW M6 BMW MINI COOPER S BMW Z8 Chrysler Firepower Concept Ferrari 430 Challenge Gumpert Apollo Coupe 4.2 V8 Mercedes CLK DTM AMG Pagani Zonda F RUF R.K. Spyder Vanwall GPR V12 As with the previous Speed Pack, one car -- the RUF R.K. Spyder -- will be available for free, no doubts as a means to lure you into shelling out your easily purchased points for the full roster. Not a terrible thing to be tricked into, we admit, but we'd rather be given the opportunity to download some more garages. As any playboy millionaire will be quick to remind you, there's not much point in owning a sports car if you're not able to show it off to your equally rich fake friends.[Update: Now with real currency!][Via CVG, thanks smellslikepie! Mmm...pie.]
Forza 2 jacks PGR3 technology
As much as we'd like to envision Microsoft programmers bursting into the UK offices of Bizarre Games, waving oversized pistols around and demanding that employees dump their precious code onto an external hard drive, the word "sharing" is the one used to describe the technology deal between the Project Gotham Racing 3 developer and the Forza Motorsport 2 team. In an Xbox World Australia love letter interview, lead designer Dan Greenawalt explains that the upcoming Xbox 360 racing sim will include an online TV mode, much like the one found in PGR3. "In Forza Motorsport 2, you won't just be watching a bunch of Ferraris racing together. You'll be watching completely customized Ferraris racing in a simulation environment. The personality of the driver emerges in Forza Motorsport TV. Paint schemes and physics mastery add to the excitement and diversity of the 'telecasts'." Exciting news, certainly if you've discovered that watching is the best part of playing a game.All joking aside, it is heartening to see PGR3's solid online implementation finding its way into another flagship franchise. Greenawalt goes on to highlight the game's 60 frames-per-second graphical glory, its more nuanced Drivatar AI system and a photo mode that -- get this -- may allow you to share your virtual snaps with friends. Let's hope Microsoft remembers to share that marvelous technology with the Project Gotham team. Well, maybe not all joking then.[Via Eurogamer]
Bizarre experiments underway -- PGR4 "looking good," but needs more smoke
Bizarre's Ben Ward and Gareth Wilson recently sat down with OXM to talk about the possibility of Project Gotham Racing 4. And while the duo would not confirm the game was officially underway, Ward admitted that the team has "already done some experiments and things are looking good..." Wilson added that the team was confident they'd be able to "push the [Xbox 360] graphics a lot harder" a second time around.During development of PGR3, Bizarre kept finding ways to do things better, but it was too late in the development cycle to re-code (the game had to be ready by the 360 launch). If and when PGR4 becomes a reality, the team expects to implement these superior techniques in order to boost the game's speed and of course, add more smoke. "I always want more smoke," says Wilson.
Last minute holiday shopping?
There's always DVD's, CD's and videogames. So what might you pick up today that would look great on the screen of the HDTV owner in your life? I've got a few ideas.DVD's - The Island - I know I know, nobody went to see it at the theaters, let me tell you, I think they made a mistake. It was a great summer action flick and will make for a great winter action flick to watch inside while it snows. The sets and the special effects had me thinking this may be my first Blu-ray/HD-DVD purchase when I originally saw it in the theater, since neither of them made it this year I'll have to settle for regular DVD quality upconverted. Oh yeah, and Scarlett Johansen? Incredibly easy on the eyes.
