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Codemasters snags Formula 1 licence News

PC DS Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 Wii
News by Robert Purchese

9 May, 2008

Codemasters has picked up the rights to the Formula 1 licence that Sony used to command.

Its internal Race Driver: GRID team will set to work on creating games based on the IP for multiple platforms, with the first titles expected next year.

Central to the master plan is harnessing the online community in something called Formula 1 Online, as well as putting all the real-life drivers, courses, teams and cars in.

"As a world-leading creator of driving games, this alliance with Formula 1 is the jewel in Codemasters' racing crown and creates an undisputed segment champion," said Codemasters trouser-wearer Rod Cousens.

"Formula 1 has gone with the best, the segment leader. It has gone to the home of the EGO Engine for quality; it has gone to the company that can host Formula 1 Online, to the company that is streaking away from the pack."

Both Sony Europe and Codemasters were unable to shed any more light on the deal.

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Comments: 1-50 of 66 in total | next 50 »

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BadBoyBonner
09/05/08 @ 09:16
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Excellent news - as far as the rendering goes (Grid looks very nice and gives a good sensation of speed) - hope the driving technique of F1 is handled well.
Darren
09/05/08 @ 09:17
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I'm actually excited about this... it'll be great to see what a new development team can come up with after years of Sony-made games. That it will use the NEON engine which DiRT and GRID use is even better.
FlamingCarrot
09/05/08 @ 09:18
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Fantastic news! It will never hit the GP4 / Geoff Crammond heights IMHO but great news for F1 fans.
dieseljunkie
09/05/08 @ 09:18
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I would have preferred Polyphony Digital for the Formula 1 license. Maybe in a year or two, when GT5 is out and damge and weather models implemented, they will be able to do a proper Formula 1 game. Would be a dream come true.
Beano
09/05/08 @ 09:20
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Great news :)

Hopefully they will make it 60fps and a more sim orientended racer than DIRT and GRID. I don't want a arcade Formula 1 racing game.

At least the franchise is in the hands of talented developers and not back to EA Sports :)
Edited 1 times, most recently on 09/05/08 @ 10:21
FlamingCarrot
09/05/08 @ 09:20
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Polyphony would make it too clinical. GT5 is technically excellent but is totally without a soul. Now Grand Prix Legends had the works...
Cloudane
09/05/08 @ 09:20
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After a decent first attempt on the PlayStation 3 with F1 Championship, I had kind of hoped that another one would be in the pipeline but this is good news for multi-format owners.
aldo_14
09/05/08 @ 09:22
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"Formula 1 has gone with the best, the segment leader. It has gone to the home of the EGO Engine for quality; it has gone to the company that can host Formula 1 Online, to the company that is streaking away from the pack. It has gone to the company that offered to meet the price of Max Mosleys 5 stripper weekend."
kiroquai
09/05/08 @ 09:25
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I'm almost enthused... problem is, I've just tried the Race: Grid demo and the handling on that is still the same classic Codies balance of being too twitchy on turn-in and too floaty for the rest of the corner. The most important thing about an F1 game is decent handling so I hope they get it right!
Edited 1 times, most recently on 09/05/08 @ 10:26
bad09
09/05/08 @ 09:26
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Nice I like F1 racers, and I have to say Grid is pretty good Codemasters. Your F1 game will never beat Nigel Mansell's Grand Prix though.......

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=cITHSHT_YRw
MKorkia
09/05/08 @ 09:27
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This truly is great news!

Codemasters have made very good racing games in the past, so maybe new F1 game(s) will be more approachable than F1 Championship Edition was.
Darren
09/05/08 @ 09:28
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In all the excitement I'd forgotten that the 360 will also get this game as well as PS3 owners and that has to be the best news of all really. :D
Der_tolle_Emil
09/05/08 @ 09:30
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Well finally! I have become a big F1 fan watching pretty much every race nowadays but there aren't any good F1 games (on the 360). Might be the next best thing after Forza 2 for my wheel.
Steroyd
09/05/08 @ 09:32
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As long as EA don't touch it with a ten foot barge pole. :)
JonFE
09/05/08 @ 09:32
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That's great news for x360 F1 fans, because an independent developer is the only way we'll get to experience a licensed F1 game - assuming Codies release an x360 version as well; while Sony held the license we were basically screwed :)
mossychops001
09/05/08 @ 09:33
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Vroom by Lankhor, the best F1 game ever!
FlamingCarrot
09/05/08 @ 09:33
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There haven't been any good F1 games for years. At least Codemasters have made some excellent racing games. I still think TOCA2 was a benchmark when it came to racing sims.
viper_h
09/05/08 @ 09:34
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yay for 360!
Dizzy
09/05/08 @ 09:36
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Good news... Codies have a good basis for this.
FlamingCarrot
09/05/08 @ 09:37
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Ayrtons Senna's Super Monaco GP?

Vroom was so fast in its day..
mossychops001
09/05/08 @ 09:43
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Its good news it going multiplatform, but lets not forget the good work the SCEE Liverpool Studios has done...

It’s also Sad that Bernie Ecclestone is such a short arsed money grabbing Twat.
FlamingCarrot
09/05/08 @ 09:45
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Talking of Mosley this is good

http://www.sniffpetrol.com/2008/04/04/mo...
alimokrane
09/05/08 @ 09:49
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Wow Codemasters is really going at it in terms of racing games. they acquired the Sega Rally studio, now the formula one license .... I bet MS or Sony will be going after the compnay pretty soon!
bad09
09/05/08 @ 09:49
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"but lets not forget the good work the SCEE Liverpool Studios has done..."

+1. not long had PS3 but the F1 demo was one I was impressed with still need to get the game though, but with PGR4, GTp, Grid, Ferrari Challenge.....so many racers!!!!!
MrMarbles
09/05/08 @ 09:52
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I look forward to the American commentary.
Valver
09/05/08 @ 09:54
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For gods sake PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't make the F1 cars pivot from the middle, like pretty much every other damn driving game you've released has :(
Edited 1 times, most recently on 09/05/08 @ 10:55
oreillymj
09/05/08 @ 09:56
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Hopefully we'll have a game with SPA Francorchamps. The best track in F1 has been missing for some time. I'm going to the race there this year ;-)

Playing GRID last night makes me optimistic about this title.

Sony did a good job, but it was getting stale.


Looks like Bernie is in the process of playing musical chairs with all his licensees and watching the money roll in.
mossychops001
09/05/08 @ 09:57
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Glad EA did not get it. But didn't they do a deal with Lewis Hamition to do a F1 game anyway?
oreillymj
09/05/08 @ 09:59
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Vroom by Lankhor, the best F1 game ever! ++

BTW - The codies do a great job on RWD cars. The Mustang with no TC is twitchy bastard at times.
monkie_king
09/05/08 @ 10:04
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I was just playing Vroom a few weeks ago. It's still fast, but not so pretty. I'd forgotten that great thing where you rear-end someone at speed and go flying up and over them.
Beano
09/05/08 @ 10:07
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"but lets not forget the good work the SCEE Liverpool Studios has done..."

I agree. The PS3 game was exellent. May not have next-gen flashy graphics, but it's was smooth, solid 60fps and great gameplay. Had hoped Liverpool Studios would follow it up with a more fleshed out version, but at least Codemasters got the license and not EA :)


"I look forward to the American commentary."

Nooo... don't even joke about that :(
Edited 1 times, most recently on 09/05/08 @ 11:17
Eighthours
09/05/08 @ 10:09
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Great news, imo.
Beano
09/05/08 @ 10:13
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I wonder what the title will be... Formula One: POLE? ;)
steoc4
09/05/08 @ 10:26
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Studio Liverpool's last F1 game was far better than anything Codemasters have produced on current consoles so I'd have preferred to see them to continue building on that.

That said, a fresh approach might rejuvinate things and given that F1 isn't popular in the US they may not make it awful and dumbed down and they may go back to their TOCA roots.
HyperShadow
09/05/08 @ 10:27
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Awesome news.

I thought Codies had sorted the centre pivoting with Colin Macrae 04? Not that it matters though, centre pivoting forced me to in-car or roll bar cameras where it doesn't matter and the experience is just as awesome.
mcmonkeyplc
09/05/08 @ 10:33
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Sega LOL
themorganator
09/05/08 @ 10:54
#37
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@Valver

"For gods sake PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't make the F1 cars pivot from the middle, like pretty much every other damn driving game you've released has :("

I couldn't agree more.
Dop
09/05/08 @ 10:56
#38
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Dear Codemasters.
Hire Geoff Crammond.

His F1 games on the PC were easily the best F1 games I ever played.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 09/05/08 @ 12:18
secret_player
09/05/08 @ 10:57
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the centre pivoting thing is just a myth, it only looks like it due to the way the chase cam works
kungphu
09/05/08 @ 11:10
#40
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I think F1:CE was easily the best F1 game studio Liverpool made, it was a shame that they wont be able to make more.

I hope codies don't make the F1 game arcady like they have done with GRID,
Ruruja
09/05/08 @ 11:11
#41
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"Fantastic news! It will never hit the GP4 / Geoff Crammond heights IMHO but great news for F1 fans."

And that's what upset me most. Would have preferred a different company myself but at least it should be out for the 360.
secombe
09/05/08 @ 11:22
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Maybe they will do as well with this as they have with their BTCC licence...

...oh, hang on.

It would have been more fun if Simbin had got the licence, you could get achievement points if you actually ever managed to complete a single lap :)
Edited 1 times, most recently on 09/05/08 @ 12:24
McLovin85
09/05/08 @ 11:22
#43
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Studio Liverpool created an awesome F1 last year and i was hoping that they would create the next one.

I just played the GRID demo on PSN and it sucks ass, it doesn't feel realistic in anyway at all. if it is trying to be arcarde like then it is also failing that too, it's just plain awful.
ligurmatic
09/05/08 @ 11:44
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The Americans don't give two hoots about F1, so hopefully Codemasters will realise this and make the game for the actual audience and not ruin it in the hopes of gaining more sales.
BadBoyBonner
09/05/08 @ 12:22
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Except it probably won't be called F1 Racing. Will probably be called something like Race Driver: Griddle - "the racings so hot, it'll leave you with scorch marks - Griddle from Codemasters coming this fall!"

Glad Polyphony didn't get the license - otherwise we'd have been waiting 4 years for a demo we had to pay for and 6 years for the actual game! lol

Beano
09/05/08 @ 12:31
#46
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LOL!

anyway ... the F1 game will be called Formula 1 Racing : POLE or something semi-lame like that - remember I called it :)
Edited 1 times, most recently on 09/05/08 @ 13:31
jordan98
09/05/08 @ 12:38
#47
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At last! The future of F1 games has been resolved! Personally I'm sad that Studio Liverpool were not able to continue from the superb F1:CE, but at least they showed the potential and I hope Codemasters use that as a template.

The problem Codemasters face though is that F1 is often seen as a niche market. F1 games traditionally do bad in reviews because they are usually reviewed by numpty's that do not understand the sport - I saw countless reviews of 70%-odd for F1CE, which had an F1 fan reviewed it to would have got 85%-90% easy!

Really excited by this. Deforming tyre barriers (Dirt and Grid do...!), 2009 stats, updated quali rules, NIGHT racing (that should look rather good!), return of Spa-Francorchamps, supposedly 20 races next year, so, at least 20 tracks... Bring it on!
Agent_Llama
09/05/08 @ 12:43
#48
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Generally good news - would have preferred it to have gone back to Bizarre or to Polyphony I think but overall happy. Would have been nice to see another Studio Liverpool version as Championship Edition was their best F1 game by a mile, and last season was brilliant, *so* deserving of a game.
Feanor
09/05/08 @ 12:53
#49
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"the centre pivoting thing is just a myth, it only looks like it due to the way the chase cam works"

Uh oh, this debate is only slightly less heated than discussions about abortion.
TheEnd
09/05/08 @ 13:11
#50
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Codies?

Oh dear.

There goes any chance of a good F1 game.

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