Forza Motorsport 3 dated for US

By Robert Purchese Published 28 July, 2009

Xbox 360 exclusive for October.

Microsoft has given Forza Motorsport 3 a North American release date of 27th October. Confirmation of a European date hopefully isn't too far behind.

A quick glance around shows local retailers GAME, Play and Amazon reckon 23rd October as the European date. HMV, however, claims the game will arrive on 30th October.

Those dates coincide with the Eurogamer Expo 2009, by the way, which takes place in Leeds and London this year. Coo. Amazing.

Developer Turn 10 thinks Forza Motorsport 3 is "the best simulator on any console". E3 footage was convincing, but Turn 10 needs to pull out the stops as racing behemoth Gran Turismo 5 also finally wheels out of the garage this winter. Probably.

Head over to our Forza Motorsport 3 gamepage for all out coverage so far.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (36) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Mortey #1 3 years ago

    As above but with added Yay!

  • Darren #2 3 years ago

    I must confess that I'm looking forward to this as the true sequel to Forza on the Xbox even though I found the first 360 sequel somewhat dull. That was only because it recycled about 75% of the content from the original though which meant the game felt overfamiliar just a few hours into it. I'm hoping this new game has lots of new tracks... please!

    I'm a little disappointed though that the game will still only have 8 car races though. That's a bit behind what other current gen games have such as PGR 4, Race Driver GRID (I know, neither are simulations), Race Pro (uber-crap game though) and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. I appreciate that it's quality not quantity that counts in a race, i.e. the A.I. is decent and competitive, but even so when you consider the original Xbox game had the same 8 car races it's a little surprising that the car count hasn't increased like it did for Gran Turismo for example.

  • Teamallstar #3 3 years ago

    This is going to be a very expensive autumn! Halo in September, cod in November and now forza in October!

  • altitude2k #4 3 years ago

    @Teamallstar

    Thank your lucky stars that Bioshock 2 has been pushed back!

  • mkreku #5 3 years ago

    I think me and Teamallstar must be polar opposites of each other or something. I look forward to Borderlands, Divinity 2 and Risen..

  • huckan #6 3 years ago

    I hope the missus likes Forza because at this rate that's what she'll be getting for her birthday!

  • bad09 #7 3 years ago

    I have a couple of Top Gear Driving anthems albums are ready and waiting!

    I think it's high time for a wheel, not had one this gen (well except for the one that came with my new DC).

  • coomber #8 3 years ago

    mkreku +1 for being the only person other than me looking forward to Divinity 2!

  • Power_n_Glory #9 3 years ago

    I don't think the Xbox can handle more cars on the road to be honest. I don't think they've even included a weather effects system either and that's disappointing. They had weather effects in PGR4 and that worked well. Looked really good in the dashboard mode with the windscreen wipers going. I think PGR4 maxed out the disc capacity for the xbox so I doubt they'd be able to do weather effects for Forza. Forza's already coming on 2 disks.

  • altitude2k #10 3 years ago

    @Power_n_Glory

    It's true they had weather effects in PGR4 and more vehicles too if I recall....but they weren't making the damn tyres bend into corners in PGR4!!

  • Raz76 #11 3 years ago

    Grid had over 20 cars on the track. Of course it didn't have an advanced physics engine but saying that the 360 can't "handle" more than 8 cars is wrong.

  • WinterSnowblind #12 3 years ago

    The UK date likely won't be too far off the US, probably the 29th/30th.

    I'm very interested in a lot of the new featuers here, I suck at simulations but things like the rewind feature sound great and I love the costumisation aspects, so I might give it a try.. Doubt I'll spend the £55 for the collectors edition though, as awesome as that looks.

  • davisorle #13 3 years ago

    " behemoth " the GT 5 as most of Sony's titles due to the period of time they need to be developed? like some other title they were demoing in videos claiming in game for about 5 years or 6 before they released it this year? lol

    @Power_n_Glory
    Do you even know what you are talking about? But then again you could be right. A blizzard in a nextgen weathersystem might need at least half a BR disk right? lmao you tard.

    Im not into racing games but im a sucker for the looks and new techs in games so ill buy to check it out and play till i get bored like most games of the kind.. At least this and a Dirt is a must i guess. ;)

  • T4RG4 #14 3 years ago

    Will buy this of course but...

    It really does not appear to contain the things I'd hope they'd have by now. Better AI (anything would be better than the two previous titles and they talk of improvements but I simply think it talk), weather (come on for christs sake! its 2009), more than 8 cars... Formula One will have 26 cars next season.

    Cockpits look nice, but take a lot of screen space.

    You can now roll cars... not sure it adds all that much tbh but any addition is welcome.

  • Milk #15 3 years ago

    Is jealous that Forza has a release date

    /kicks polyphony

  • Power_n_Glory #16 3 years ago

    A game with less detail could probably handle more cars but Forza 3 is a beast. Grid doesn't even compare with Forza on the amount of time spent modelling the cars. Grid has about 30 to 40 cars to choose from but Forza 2 had over 300. Forza 3 will have over 400 and more tracks so I'm not surprised about the game having to ship on 2 disks.

    Don't be offended if I say the Xbox probably won't be able to handle more cars on the road. It's just a guess and no I'm not a a PS3 owner. I'm actually wondering if the new Dirt game will have weather effects. It should if it's a rally game. I'm just a little disappointed that they haven't included these effects in all driving games. I thought PGR4 was excellent because of the weather effects, and dashboard view. I'm happy Forza has the dashboard view but the weather system is still missing. Imagine Forza with rain effects and having to change tires at the cockpit.

  • Darren #17 3 years ago

    So Forza 3 won't even have any weather effects either? Damn, that's another disappointment. So while the graphics have substantially improved over the weak ones of Forza 2, almost nothing else has been added to the actual racing then apart from some physics tweaks? I've heard that this game doesn't even feature night-time races either (unlike the original) which is going to make the 24 Hour Le Mans event an interesting sight to behold (a 24 hour day... literally!). :/

    Still looking forward to the game for the new tracks and my preferred dashboard view but it's beginning to sound like it's less featured packed than I thought...
    Edited by 1 at 28/07/09 @ 12:27

  • Power_n_Glory #18 3 years ago

    Correction. 'Smart' people with cash are waiting to play GT! lol

  • JensonJet #19 3 years ago

    While I'd also like weather and night racing I'm not surprised they won't feature in Forza 3. As people correctly refer to this game as a simulator, how many gamers actually played Forza2 in it's most sim-like guise? Online at least, barely anyone was able to race competitively without one or two driver aids on. Add a wet track to a fast car without traction and ABS, and the number of gamers capable of racing competitively would be practically inexistent. Or at worst, they'd stick with the extremely slow cars (As, Bs, and lower).

    With regards the amount of tracks people are expecting with Forza 3, don't forget that Forza has a habit of referring to three variations of the same track as THREE tracks! Until you see the names of each individual driveable track, to save from disappointment, you'd probably be better off assuming there's about a third to half the amount that official figures suggest. Apart from the stupid snakey test tracks, I don't think they'll be many more than 25 different racetracks (each with several variations – opposite way around, long version, short version, etc).

  • Darren #20 3 years ago

    To be honest, I wish Turn 10 had done a Polyphony Digital and delayed Forza 3 to include weather and day/night races at least because they can really alter the feel of a track giving the impression of having more.

    Although it is nowhere near release yet it sounds like Gran Turismo 5 will be a huge step over and above the previous PS2 games in terms of features. It even manages to run at pseudo-1080p at 60 fps (seeing as GT5 Prologue does), promises damage modelling and packs in more cars on-screen (check out the NASCAR footage in the trailer). I'm not saying it'll be the better game - personally I find the A.I. in Gran Turismo extremely bland and boring - just that if you're going to do a next-gen sequel then you need to pack it with features that make it stand out from the previous games.

    It was that lack of ambition that made Forza 2 such a crushing disappointment for me; it was just a lazy remake of the original with bland visuals running at 60 fps with marginally better physics and handling. I do think that Forza 3 will be better based on what I've seen from E3 but it doesn't sound like the game I was quite expecting really. It's the only game I'll be buying for my Xbox 360 this autumn so it had better be bloody good! Don't let me down, Turn 10!

  • WinterSnowblind #21 3 years ago

    @Sniper_Fox
    What exactly does it offer that you feel makes GT5 much better?

    Like I said, I'm not a massive fan of simulations, but I have always prefered the Forza series, as it gives more options for those of us who suck to actually play it, without dumbing down the game for the pro's. I know GT5 has a lot more cars, but Forza easily has far more tweaking and customisation options for them.

    Feel free to convince me, but drop the fanboy BS.

  • Teamallstar #22 3 years ago

    @Sniper

    You have clearly never played Forza or anything outside of your Bull Sh** PS3.

    I have a PS3 with GT Prologue. They both pale into insignificance when placed next to Forza. It isn't even a contest.

    I think that GT is for the stupid idiots who know nothing outside of their Playstation bubble!

    Edited by 1 at 28/07/09 @ 13:55

  • Beano #23 3 years ago

    I played Forza 2 (and loved it) and am looking forward to Forza 3 also.. but GT is also great and like it a lot.

    Polyphony Digital really should get their act togeter before Forza pissed to much over them :)

  • Power_n_Glory #24 3 years ago

    I find GT boring. The AI is boring and it takes too long to earn credit so you can get a new car. You have to keep doing the same races over and over again to earn credits to tune up your car or buy a new. It gets repetitive. Same AI, same cars, same race series. I get bored of it quickly. With Forza, you earn loads of credits after each race and after each series they give you a different car so you can go and compete in different races like muscle car events, classics, FWD events...etc. You have the choice to drive in different cars, different race events all the time so it doesn't get boring.

    Haven't played GT since GT2 but after spending all my credits on kitting up my first car, I couldn't be bothered to spend that same amount of time earning credits to do a second car. It's too repetitive. Maybe things have changed since GT3 and will change on the new one.

  • Toothball #25 3 years ago

    I think I'm looking forward to this. I enjoyed Forza 2 quite a lot, as it turned out it contained most of what I had been looking for in Gotham. Also it'll mean I break out my wheel again, which hasn't seen so much use recently.

  • Raz76 #26 3 years ago

    Night driving and weather effects would be nice but I can see how it can be very hard to implement in a physics heavy game like Forza. We still have to see any evidence of how it will work in GT5, if at all , so it's hardly a fair comparison at this point. If having 16 cars on track requires the god awful stacked starts of GT5 Prologue, I hope they stay with 8.

  • Darren #27 3 years ago

    Fair point, Raz76.

    I mean Gran Turismo 5 is many months away from release and we know from Gran Turismo 4 that Polyphony Digital have a habit of announcing features and withdrawing them late into development, e.g. GT4's online mode! Who's to say that weather won't be dropped from GT5 too? It is perhaps unfair to compare Forza 3 with, what is really, a rival's spec sheet.

  • ronuds #28 3 years ago

    This'll probably be the 1st racer I've bought this gen. Looking excellent!

    I'm actually happy there's no weather or night races. Only makes games like this, which can be frustrating as it is, a further pain in my arse.

  • CHAZBIGPOTATO #29 3 years ago

    I love the Audi R8

  • JensonJet #30 3 years ago

    Sniper_Fox
    "Forza is and always will be the poor mans GT. 360 owners will lap it up as they know no better, like a dog that chases its own tail or runs out in front of a car. The smart people with cash play GT"

    Big statement from probably a small boy. Please explain how you came to these conclusions. I'm baffled as to how a console who's only into it's second generation could possibly have more 'tail chasing dogs' of owners compared to a system that's had many millions more owners and is in it's third generation. Surely the Playstation owners are much more likely to have bought the machine purely because they owned one or both of the previous incarnations. I really want to know what actually makes a GT gamer 'smart' and a Forza gamer not.

  • Raz76 #31 3 years ago

    @ Darren

    Both features were at least conspicuously absent from the trailer you mentioned, so who knows. But, anyway, if we can't get the next-gen we'd love, we have to love the one we have ;).

  • IronCladChicken #32 3 years ago

    @Power_n_Glory
    Correction. 'Smart' people with cash are STILL waiting to play GT :)

  • bad09 #33 3 years ago

    OK got the wheel coming. Guess I need re-invest in a few driving games until F3 hits £30 (out of protest to the 50 notes RRP thing).

  • j1m.ch053n #34 3 years ago

    I really want this but im not paying £50 for it.

  • HiredMan #35 3 years ago

    I must have Sniper_Fox on ignore. Sweet.

  • T4RG4 #36 3 years ago

    Forza2 was the first game, on console, that really convinced me that great handling racing games can make their way onto console. I've put many, many hours into online races and love the handling.

    GT was great, in it's time. Things have moved on, considerably.