Bizarre's Blur skids to 2010 News

Good news. There are already too many driving games that I would like to buy right now. Blur was not one of them. Shifting the release and working on it some more might change that.

They could also do with more time to improve the way the game is being presented, getting a lot of negative coverage even from PGR fans, not that I blame them, the idea of racing with weapons isn't exactly mindblowing, and is divisive in the games it does feature in (Wipeout) also Split Second appears more interesting so far.

mental note to myself: this is activision - don't buy full price.

which would have been a shame should I have had the hardware to play it... quite look forward to how this turns out.

A delay this close to release is not a good sign (today is the 21st September - the game was due to be released on 6th November - that's only 6 weeks from this Friday).

I have a bad feeling about this one.....

The games world needs a few more arcade racers rather than po-faced 'simulators'.
The prospect of Blur vs Split Second will give both devs an incentive to polish their games so they shine. Bring it on I say but let's hope Blur is more than just Wipeout with cars.

Damn it, I wanted an arcadey racing game this side of the year, probably won't even play the multiplayer. I'll probably just wait for split/second, which looks a ton better.

@thebodypopper Um there are far more arcade than sim racers about these days.

The whole multiplayer excuse is probably just that. The real reason is more likely to do with Forza 3/GT5's releases or other small, insignificant titles like, oh, Modern Warfare 2?

Next to shift, GT5, DIRT, Forza 3, etc

Thta's probably the smart thing to do, especially since it still doesn't look that hot next to all the neon.

The E3 build didnt look too special and I would imagine it would have got destroyed in this years market because of Forza/GT and NFS Shift. No major loss, but scheduling against Split/Second would be suicide since its going to be one of the major games of next year, even with Baron Von Kottick funding them.

Looked like it wasn't ready for primetime tbh.

@Genghis

I'm surprised they releasing at all. Doesn't seem like a milkable enough franchise.

@Vertical Stand

Really? I mean arcade as in pre-Paradise Burnout not arcade as in 'ooh, Dirt 2 handles a bit too arcadey for my liking'.
Care to name a few?

Sounds like the Iraq inquest report but about racing games, name some arcade games but not this and this and this and this...

Apart from GT5/Forza I can't see why anyone would buy an arcaderacer for 60 bucks. I just bought Paradise and Motorstorm 2 this year for 40 euro's combined. It'[s one genre where graphics and features already have hit ceilings of a sortThey will last me until Shift or something like it hits 20.

and nothing at all to do with Dirt 2, NFS: Shift and Forza 3 all releasing in the space of a few months then..

@Vertical Stand

Not really - I'm just scratching my head as how I could have missed all those OTT racing games that have apparently come our recently. Apart from Motorstorm, and Motorstorm PSP thingy, and, er, Pure which was bikes not cars...
[adopts Paxman voice] Just answer the question man! Or are you an MP? ;-)

@Genghis

I agree. I still don't see the point in asking the same price for something like Katamari and Fallout 3. But that's why I buy the latter fullpriced and the former when it hits the bins.

wipeouts anti-grav, futuristic style suits weapons. mario karts cartoon, non-serious stance suits weapons.

in my opinion, this does not. performance cars firing missiles??

@bodypopper no point as you've already decided what is and what isn't the 'correct' answer.

@menage putting aside Katamari as isn't the best example, but in a way isn't that part of the problem that gamers and the industry have yet to resolve, its either full price or classics/platinum which is reserved for the best selling games, where do the other games fit in?

It also doesn't help that people decide certain games, usually safer big budget ones are worth full price while smaller (not indie, mean medium sized games) without the same production values or more leftfield offerings are perceived to have less value. The end result is fewer sales for those devs trying something new, or for those doing things without a brand, like Blur (if it were called PGR5 it would sell more even if it were the exact same game) tighter margins per sale equals more need for high price among those who are buying, especially when online sites undercut RRP prices dramatically anyway.

If anything its the big blockbusters that could cost less, as more people buy them on release, especially something that will sell huge amounts like Modern Warfare has been doing for two years, which is why MW2 pricing is about greed.

@eurogamer- hey guys the link in the article is directing back to the homepage. Just thought I'd let ye know

Having played both games recently I was pretty shocked to find that Disney's Split/Second racing game was faaar more exciting and original feeling to play than Blur.

@vertyical stand

True. I won't say it's an easy solution. But taking a rehashed gameconcept with dozens of sequels and only marginal updates and having the guts to ask 60 bucks for it is pretty lame imo. I won't say the game isn't good by itself, but the amount of funds it took to create said game can't be the same as some other more original or fresher titles. The price should reflect that in some way. I know it's not possible to make a perfect calculation for it, and it's certainly not based on playing time (subjective). But asking 50-60 bucks for every game is just ludicrous.

Digital distrubution games at least have a better reflection at times.

TBH i think the racing genre is way overcrowded this winter, ive already bought NFS shift ,dirt2 and theres forza2/gt5 to come. BLUR does look like a good change from the standard formula but with MW2 as well, i think its sales would have been poor even if it scored 10 out of 10 in every games mag/site. a QUESTION will there ever be another project gotham game and who owns the rights to the gotham name? anyone know?

Given that the game features razzing round a fictionalised East London, do you think we could persuade them to lift a few features from Carmageddon for the Shoreditch sections while they're at it?

@menage I agree about Katamari Forever, already said it elsewhere but I'd have rather seen an HD version of the original on PSN title rather than trying to mix and match and repackage it as a boxed game would've be preferable, could always make the new ideas and levels DLC for those interested.

But with the cynical way digital games and DLC are being priced means we still need a medium tier pricing model to emerge (with development budgets to match) on the market and for more gamers to support those games in the middle on release date - the ones that aren't quirky indie titles but are not massive productions.

Poor Bizarre... PGR4 was lovely and now are facing against monsters such as Forza3 and GT5 on their own (Microsoft really gave them a hand, my 360 was bundled with PGR4, a game I wouldn't have bought otherwise).

I think DLC games have been pretty reasonable so far (bar a few exceptions). Sure they're becoming more expensive, but they're also becoming better. Just look at Wipeout or Shadow Complex.

Good decision. I'm a big admirer of Bizarre Creation's games and rate PGR 4 as one of the finest racing games ever but Blur, what I've seen of it, wasn't looking that great and faced stiff competition from other pre-Christmas titles. I think delaying the game for improvements will ensure that the game is not only better but, with a decent launch window, stand out more from the ten million other games coming out over the next three months, all of which will be demanding our attention and money.

@ Alkeno

MS was the reason Bizarre left them and allowed themselves to be bought by Activision. They werent happy with MS demanding PGR4 ahead of schedule and so close to Halo 3. When the sales of it were quite dismal, they pretty much said "We are done with PGR and Microsoft" and left.

At the same time, that was the worst move they could make cause if Blur flops, they are f***ed 3 ways from Sunday and will be making James Bond racers and GeoWars updates every 3 months till the end of time. Someone should smack Chudley over the head and ask why on earth he would even consider hoping into bed with Baron Von Kottick when he knows if Blur flops(And my god is it teetering on the edge of flop valley where Bionic Commando fell), the entire company is finished creatively.