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Ford launches its own esports virtual racing teams
Ford plans to launch its own esports virtual racing teams. Under the name Fordzilla, the company will recruit top esports drivers for teams in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. The company will also invite star players to form a European team with select members from each national team.
'Forza Street' is a free-to-play racer for PC and mobile
Microsoft has released a free-to-play Forza game on Windows 10, and it'll be available on iOS and Android later this year. As such, Forza Street will be the first entry in the series to hit platforms other than PC or Xbox.
Forza Horizon 2 review: Fetch the Bentley, we're going for a drive
Forza Horizon 2 is the kind of racing game that expands the idea of 'simulation' to include less material, more ambiguous parts of driving. What it feels like to zoom along the breezy coast in a lovely LaFerrari. The cringe of your beastly Nissan GT-R scraping through a tight turn in the castle town of San Giovanni. Inhaling for your Ford Raptor as it squeezes through a green gauntlet of fir trees. Oh, and what it's like being a rich generi-dude who identifies every techno song on the radio as an 'anthem.'
Forza Horizon 2 rewards series loyalty with sweet rides
Experienced Forza players will hit the ground running in Forza Horizon 2 this month, as Turn 10 Studios will carry on with the series' loyalty program introduced last year. Announced just over a year ago, Forza Rewards hands the keys to some sweet digital vehicles to players that raced in past entries in the series, and the upcoming game will offer up to five cars to returning drivers. Forza Rewards gives players points based on their in-game actions, starting with Forza 2 on. Earning points for owning a large number of cars in Forza 5, for example, will add to players' point totals and increase their reward level tier. Upon starting Forza Horizon 2 for the first time, tier two and above loyalty program participants will receive one car right away, depending on their reward tier. The five in-game cars include the 2011 BMW 1 Series M Coupe (Tier 2), the 2013 Viper GTS (Tier 3), the 2015 Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 (Tier 4), the 2014 Local Motors Rally Fighter (Tier 5) and the 2013 McLaren P1 (Tier 6). Forza Horizon 2 will launch on September 30 for Xbox One and Xbox 360. Microsoft also issued a launch trailer for the game today, found after the break. [Image: Microsoft]
Nurburgring circuit coming to Forza 5 as free content today
The Nurburgring is coming as free downloadable content to Forza Motorsport 5, and it's available starting today. The introduction of the famous German motorsport circuit was announced at Microsoft's E3 presser, where the publisher also showcased the next Forza entry on Xbox One, Forza Horizon 2, which hits the system on September 30. [Image: Microsoft]
Forza 5: Racing Game of the Year edition debuting next month
An enhanced, DLC-bundled retail version of Xbox One racer Forza Motorsport 5 will launch next month, developer Turn 10 Studios told IGN today. Forza Motorsport 5: Racing Game of the Year features 18 tracks and 10 additional vehicles previously featured in April's Top Gear Car Pack. News of Forza 5's re-release follows up on the recent unveiling of Forza Horizon 2, an open-world driving game premiering this fall for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Forza Motorsport 5: Racing Game of the Year will hit store shelves worldwide on July 22. [Image: Microsoft]
Forza 5 expands its Car Pass with two more monthly packs
Forza Motorsport series developer Turn 10 Studios plans to expand its Forza Motorsport 5 Car Pass DLC offerings with two more monthly car packs in addition to the 70 cars currently available for pass buyers. Both the June and July packs will be released for free to Car Pass owners, bumping the $49.99 package's roster up to 90 playable cars. Turn 10 previously planned to wrap up its Car Pass content with this month's release of the Meguiar's Car Pack. The next Forza Motorsport 5 Car Pack will launch on Friday, May 30. [Image: Microsoft]
Forza 5 lets you race The Stig's Digital Cousin in new Top Gear DLC
Some say he invented the Internet, and that his laugh produces glass-shattering soundwaves. All we know is he's not The Stig - but he is The Stig's Digital Cousin, and a challenge against him is coming to Forza Motorsport 5. A new Top Gear-themed DLC pack is racing toward the Xbox One-exclusive game, and it includes not only a challenge in which players get to face off against The Stig's Digital Cousin for prizes, but 10 new cars, including an Xbox One-themed 2013 Holden Commodore VF. You can see the full list of vehicles included in the Top Gear Car Pack after the break. Though each of the 10 cars included can be purchased a la carte, you'll need the pack if you want to take on Top Gear's famous masked man in the official challenge. It's available now for $9.99. Those who complete the challenge will receive an in-game credit reward, while those in the top 10 for the challenge will receive additional prizes. The number one driver against The Stig's Digital Cousin will win a special Stig Prize Pack from Top Gear. And don't worry, it won't take you long to get into the driver's seat and onto the asphalt. Dan Greenawalt, creative director at Forza series developer Turn 10 Studios, recently announced that cars bought as DLC - such as those included in the Top Gear Car Pack - no longer need to be purchased with in-game credits after their pack's installation. Instead, cars can be added to a player's garage immediately. Greenawalt wrote that this applies to both current and future DLC purchases. [Image: Microsoft Studios]
Microsoft: More than a third of Xbox One owners bought Forza 5
A new Microsoft press release suggests Forza 5 is an Xbox One million-seller (rather than a million-shipper). According to the big M, more than a third of Xbox One owners purchased Turn 10's racer, and we already know the Xbox One notched 3 million sales by the close of 2013. When we input all that in to the Joystiq Supercomputer 6000, it beeps and whirs that Forza 5 sold at least a million units. So why didn't Microsoft just say that? We stress "at least," because Microsoft stipulates its info is based on February 2014 sales data, and that hasn't been released yet. So the number of Xbox One sales should be a fair bit greater now, and in turn the third of owners who bought Forza 5. We'll have to wait for less cryptic press releases to confirm any of that, though. The news revs in alongside new DLC for the game, including the free Road America pack that adds themed events to the Career and Rivals modes. Owners of the game's Car Pass are also getting a new five-car Road America selection, supplementary to the previously announced six monthly packs.
Forza Motorsport 5 gets three free Hondas in Legends pack
Though Forza Motorsport 5 is an undeniably brazen example of modern microtransactions, developer Turn 10 does occasionally offer new content to players free of charge. For example, the new Honda Legends Car Pack. Created to celebrate the real-world unveiling of Honda's 2014 Civic Si, the Honda Legends Car Pack includes three cars: the aforementioned Civic, the 1984 Honda Civic CRX Mugen and the 1994 Honda Prelude Si. "All three of these cars represent the excitement and pure driving spirit that embodies Honda cars," says the Pack's description on the official Forza 5 website. Acquiring the Honda Legends Car Pack is as easy as finding and downloading the DLC on the Xbox One marketplace. As is standard for Forza 5 DLC, this will introduce the three cars into the game's dealership, where they can be purchased using your race winnings or by exchanging real-world cash for the requisite number of tokens. Still, it's free to get the pack inside the dealership. [Image: Turn 10 Studios]
Forza Horizon down to $15 in Xbox Countdown to 2014 sale
The Xbox One may have a brand new entry in the series, but there's still a recent-and-decent Forza on the 360. What's more, you can grab it off Games on Demand for half-price, because today's Xbox daily deal is all about Forza Horizon. The Turn 10 Studios racer is down to $15 for one day only, as is its season pass which grants access to six DLC car packs and five exclusive cars. The Forza Horizon deal is part of Xbox's Countdown to 2014 sale, and while it's good for today and today only, there are plenty of other games staying discounted throughout the week.
Microsoft: Over 50 million hours logged on Xbox Ones since launch
In the realm of esoteric statistics, Microsoft announced that over 50 million hours in "games and entertainment" have been logged on Xbox One systems since it launched on November 22. The console manufacturer added that over 415 million Gamerscore points were unlocked via achievements on the system. Microsoft also noted a few other in-game milestones achieved in individual Xbox One games, such as the number of miles driven in Forza 5 globally (90 million), zombies killed in Dead Rising 3 (three billion), combos achieved in Killer Instinct (150 million) and enemies defeated in Ryse: Son of Rome (186 million). By comparison, EA announced that over 140 million gameplay minutes were logged in its games on PS4 in the console's opening five days. To add to today's numbers, Sony announced that global PS4 sales exceed 2.1 million, though we're not certain how that translates to hours spent or zombies destroyed or how close that is to the moon when you stack them all, etc.
Director defends Forza 5's slender structure
While the past few Forza Motorsport entries have offered players new packs of additional cars long after each game's debut, Forza 5 takes things to a whole new level. Our largely positive review described the game as enjoyable but anemic, but Forza creative director Dan Greenawalt stands by the team's design choices. In a Shacknews interview, Greenawalt was asked why so much content appears to be missing from Forza 5 while developer Turn 10 Studios continues to promote upcoming DLC additions that should flesh out the racing simulation. "Forza Motorsport 5 is actually the largest racing game ever delivered at the launch of a console, by a long shot," Greenawalt states. "In fact, it would be huge even by second holiday standards. As mentioned above, it is bigger than Forza 2, which was delivered a year and half after the launch of the Xbox 360. It also has more car diversity than any previous Forza Motorsport; by including open wheel race cars and track toys like the KTM X-Bow and the Ariel Atom on top of the diversity that took us years to build up across multiple iterations on the Xbox 360. "Moreover, we've defined an uncompromised quality bar for new generation racing games in both car and track detail and immersion - all while, delivering unprecedented size," Greenawalt says. "Regarding DLC, we have found that 10 cars a month is the fastest we could create "just in time" content. Just like in Forza Motorsport 4, we are planning to add as many as 10 cars a month to Forza Motorsport 5. It takes more than six months to build every car. Delivering cars in monthly packs allows us to keep the game new and fresh for those that are interested." When asked why Forza 5 is missing the iconic Nürburgring track, Greenawalt explains that the new graphics engine in Forza 5 necessitates that all tracks be rebuilt from scratch. While other famed racetracks like Spa were able to make an appearance in Forza 5, there just wasn't time to reproduce the lengthy, complex Nürburgring for the new engine, so instead of porting low-resolution content from Forza 4, the team opted to leave the track absent. "Expect more news on tracks in Forza Motorsport 5 in the near future," Greenawalt added.
Every car in Forza 5 is half off this weekend, credit payout increasing in December
Turn 10 Studios is discounting every car in Forza Motorsport 5 by 50 percent from Friday, November 29 through Sunday, December 1 following community feedback for the game. The developer is also offering VIP members the 2013 Lotus E21 grand prix car for free and the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO for those that already purchased the E21. Turn 10 is also changing the game's economy by "dramatically increasing the credit payout available to all Forza players" in the month of December through its Forza Rewards loyalty program. The developer notes that the higher a player's tier level is before Sunday, the better the rewards will be, so those that spend extra time in Forza 5 in the coming days will see a nicer payout next month. Additionally, the developer admitted that the 1,250 in-game credits packed with the limited edition version of the game isn't enough to buy any car in the game as advertised. To make up for it, limited edition owners will soon be able to download an on-disc car of their choice for free. Owners of the LaFerrari launch car pack or the Forza 5 car pass will also receive the 2013 LaFerrari for free.
Forza Motorsport 5's 'Drivatar' system fine-tunes the competition
While the Forza series has gotten really good at customizing a player's personal experience based on their driving knowhow, it hasn't made as much progress in terms of fine-tuning the computer-controlled competitors on the track. Forza Motorsport 5 aims to fix this with Drivatar – a type of learning AI system that governs every AI racer in the game. Drivatar, a system powered by the cloud and fueled by the habits and behaviors of Forza 5 players, is something developer Turn 10 Studios hopes will make racing in Forza 5 more dynamic, unpredictable and true to life.
Four new Forza Motorsport 5 rides revealed
Developer Turn 10 has revealed four new fresh whips from the Forza Motorsport 5 roster this week: the 2012 Nissan GT-R Black Edition (above), 1967 Lamborghini Miura P400, 2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Series, and the 2007 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. Microsoft's flagship racing franchise launches alongside the Xbox One on November 22.
Forza 5 director on Day 1 download: 'It depends on what you define as finishing'
According to a previous report, to complete the career mode in Forza Motorsport 5 players will need a Day 1 download. That's based on prior comments made by Turn 10 Studios Creative Director Dan Greenawalt, who happens to be here at Gamescom. We are too, so we caught up with Greenawalt and asked him to clarify just how much players would miss out on without the Day 1 data. "What it comes down to, Forza Motorsport 4 came on two discs, right? So on Disc 1 did you have all the content? Were you able to finish the game?" Greenawalt asked, the answers to those questions being no and yes respectively. "Could you drive all the cars? No, you couldn't," he continued. "Could you drive all the tracks? No, because there were tracks that were Day 1 DLC on Forza 4. So when you say 'Do you have all the content?' - well no you don't, just like Disc 1 of Forza 4 did not, and if you had no internet connection for Forza 4 you didn't get all the content because tracks are downloaded in Forza 4. Could you finish the game? Well, you could get to Level 999, you could race a lot of cars." "So it depends on what you define as finishing. Are you defining it as I raced every track that I deserve because I don't have to pay for these? You're not [paying for these], because you [already] paid for it; if you download it, it's free. So [the reason] you're not playing all this stuff is because you didn't download it; the same thing as Forza 4. If you define finishing as you can level up, you can earn money, you can buy cars, and you can play for 400 hours, yeah, you can do all that." Greenawalt said he understands it's confusing, and until he actually announces the track list, it's not going to be as clear. Hopefully it will be crystal when the game arrives on retail shelves alongside the Xbox One, which will happen sometime in November.
Forza 5 Limited Edition is $80, available for pre-order
Forza Motorsport 5 has a special Limited Edition version that is available for pre-order now for $80, Microsoft announced. The special edition includes a five car pack with the 2011 Audi RS 3 Sportback, 2012 Aston Martin Vanquish, 2013 Ford M Shelby Mustang GT500, 2013 McLaren P1 and the 2013 SRT Viper GTS. Limited Edition owners also gain VIP membership, which grants access to exclusive multiplayer events, "2x player reward acceleration" and yet another five-car pack, which includes the 1965 Shelby Cobra 427 S/C , 1987 RUF CTR Yellowbird, 1991 Mazda #55 787B, 2011 Ford F150 SVT Raptor and the 2011 Bugatti Veyron Super Sport. The Forza 5 Limited Edition pack includes window decals and $10 worth of car tokens for use in the game. Those that opt for the $60 Day One Edition of the game will receive a three-car pack, which includes the 2010 Audi TT RS Coupe, 2013 Ford Focus ST and 2011 Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera cars. Limited Edition owners also receive those three cars when Forza 5 launches this November on Xbox One.
Forza 5 has a mandatory day one download [update: 'not the plan']
Update: Speaking with IGN again, Turn 10's Dan Greenwalt altered his previous statement to now say the requirement of a connection to Xbox Live before playing is "not the plan." However, when or if the game requires an internet connection for single-player content is still not clear. We've contacted Microsoft for further clarification. Xbox One launch game Forza Motorsport 5 requires a one-time download before it can be played. Speaking to IGN, Turn 10 Studios head Dan Greenawalt said "required" content including the cloud-based Drivatar system won't be included on disc because of the game's production schedule, but clarified Forza 5 otherwise remains playable offline. "So when you first boot up the game, we're going to ask you to log in," Greenawalt told IGN. "And when you log in you're going to get the Drivatars and you're also going to get a whole bunch of content: tracks and cars. Our production schedule is such that we are putting them in as late as possible and that means making them free as downloadable content on Day One. [But] that is required content to play the game. "We basically have designed the game to work with all that content no matter how late [it's] coming in, in order to make the biggest game possible." Greenawalt added players should be able to play while the download's occurring, similar to how the Xbox One lets users play games mid-download. The news follow's Microsoft's dramatic reversal on the system's online stipulations, which formerly required players to connect online every 24 hours. Greenawalt argued the decision to include a mandatory download will ensure a bigger, better Forza 5 when it hits retail shelves alongside the Xbox One. "We're not making a launch game. We're making Forza 5, at launch," he said.
Seen@E3: A McLaren P1 (for real this time)
Earlier this week, we posted a photograph of two McLaren supercars. We mistakenly thought they were the McLaren P1, the car that Microsoft used to promote Forza Motorsport 5 during its E3 press event. They were, in fact, McLaren MP4-12Cs. It was an egregious error, and for that we apologize. Imagine our surprise, though, when we spotted a genuine McLaren P1 at Microsoft's E3 booth today. To make up for our mistake, we took lots of pictures and a nice video. We showed it to Jordan Mallory, Joystiq's senior car enthusiast, and this time he died. Just straight-up died.%Gallery-191298%
