GRID designed to break America

By Tom Bramwell Published 14 February, 2008

Apparently the yanks didn't like TOCA.

Codemasters' sexy new racing game Race Driver: GRID has been designed to appeal to American gamers who didn't 'get' TOCA, says chief games designer Ralph Fulton.

"We reached a stage with the TOCA franchise where we'd hit a ceiling with the number of people to whom we could sell that type of content. It certainly does not appeal broadly in the United States, hence unit sales in single digits for previous TOCA games over there," Fulton told Eurogamer.

"We make no bones about it, corporately, that we want to make the American market as important as our European market. If that sounds clinical, then I guess that's just the way the games industry is at the moment.

"But I don't think the people who traditionally love touring cars and open-wheel racing will be disappointed, because you can still do those things in this game as well. And we still use the AI and the physics which have made those games really successful," he added.

Race Driver GRID has invited comparison to the Project Gotham Racing series with its city-based race tracks and Fulton's professed desire to "make racing exciting again".

You can see how it's shaping up in our Race Driver: GRID first impressions, posted today, and our Race Driver: GRID screenshot gallery.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (25) Latest comment 4 years ago

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

  • Agent_Llama #1 4 years ago

    Hmm...

  • Darkedge #2 4 years ago

    All about breaking America? Oh Sh*t - irritating voiceovers ahoy :(

  • bad09 #3 4 years ago

    Well I hope the yanks like your game Codemasters, we liked TOCA not a cheap PGR ripp off!

  • effinjamie #4 4 years ago

    So another dilluted version of a great game franchise so the Yanks will buy it then just like Colin McRae.
    So expect Crazy Wacky Yank voice over to be constantly voicing drivel and racing Bin Wagons!

  • Agent_Llama #5 4 years ago

    Why is this a separate story? It's lifted directly from the other Race Driver: DUMBED DOWN article that just went up.

  • StevilKnevil #6 4 years ago

    Oh great, was looking forward to this....... Really wanted to se a "next gen" TOCA. Travis Pastran FTW!!!

    /sobs

  • DB2k #7 4 years ago

    Need for GRID: Paradise Gotham Race Driver

  • skillian #8 4 years ago

    Single digit sales? Wow.

  • lambtron #9 4 years ago

    "All about breaking America? Oh Sh*t - irritating voiceovers ahoy :("


    Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

  • chub #10 4 years ago

    So what's there to 'get' in TOCA? Is it that the tracks have both left and right turns?

  • GamerAddict #11 4 years ago

    I've done it, I've cracked the code................

    GRID = Gotham Really, In Disguise OR Gotham Racing In Disguise ;)
    Edited by 1 at 14/02/08 @ 15:53

  • YoJimbo #12 4 years ago

    lol

    For years codies have been trying to "crack" the American market, but have failed nearly every time. Its a tad worrying that they are now going to screw over the fans that have been enjoying TOCA and buying TOCA for the past few years by making it all N4S / PGR up to the max!!! ...just to try and crack that US market again :(

    Damn it, I simply cannot beat Gotham Really, In Disguise ;)

  • mingster #13 4 years ago

    single digits!!! The sold less than 10!! OMG

  • ruttyboy #14 4 years ago

    First Colin, now TOCA :( :( :(

  • Corben_Dallas #15 4 years ago

    Americans did'nt 'get' the Toca series............... because they are thick.

    Codies please do a Euro voice version or at least have the option to switch to a Euro voiceover.

    If Codies do a DJ Atomica style voice in their next racer I wont pick it up. (The stupid American voice in DIRT nearly ruined that game)
    Edited by 1 at 14/02/08 @ 18:00

  • DAN.E.B #16 4 years ago

    Yeah but the stupid buggies and all the other shit ruined it too!!!!
    the old colin RALLY games were brilliant so was TOCA, with a good racing wheel these games were amazing!
    oh well another good racing franchise gone.
    First TOCA then Colin then PGR then BURNOUT its getting to the point where i might as well bin my racing wheel!

  • Rodster #17 4 years ago

    Yeah they meant to say they're going to break America into tears with that shite. Damn it Codies give us all a proper Touring Car sim and quit making this crap. Some how me thinks this is just their version of Dead or Alive Extreme Volleyball. Then when they see we're not buying it they'll make a proper Toca game. I can only hope. :(

  • ozallez #18 4 years ago

    are these guys going into receivership or something? Betting the house on a US-orientated game, and potentially alienating their European market. Sad stuff, had heard the rumours bout this game. Seems its true
    Hope someone else steps up and takes on the tourers licenses - DTMs, Toca, V8 Supercars, WTCC - combine them all and the fans will come.

  • FooAtari #19 4 years ago

    "Well I hope the yanks like your game Codemasters, we liked TOCA not a cheap PGR ripp off!"

    +1

    Screw you codemasters. Used to love the TOCA and McRae games, Dirt wasn't that great and the last couple of Race Driver games were uninspired. Bring back the TOCA of old please when it was based on the BTCC...

  • Freek #20 4 years ago

    So basicly, Codemasters says to Europe: "Go f#ck yourself!" and Europe replies: "F@ck you too!".

  • Jo0j #21 4 years ago

    looks like I'm one of those "single digits" then. Do I get a complimentary copy of GRID when it hits? I still have the receipt.

    I have quite a few Brits on my friends list and they are really quite pleasant, intelligent individuals who always have something funny to say...none of this elitist BS some of you cheeky sods piss out from your fops here in the comments.

    I'm one of those rare Yanks who loves racing for "racing"-the never ending search for the perfect line, when man and machine work together to achieve a common goal-speed. Whether it be 2 wheels or 4 wheels, on-road or off, left turns, right turns, circles, hairpins, they're all good.

    TOCA was awesome, I'd rank it as one of the best racers ever, the Live implimentation was tits. IMO, the only reason it did poorly was just the reality of the industry. It was a lesser known 3rd party game that was up against a large number of racing titles...especially two big name 1st party heavy hitters, Forza and Gran Turismo. There really isn't anything you can "do", just try to make the best game you can, market the hell out of it, and hope for the best.

    P.S. wow, what's with all the "voiceover" nonsense?
    It's all relative (but not always the case)
    Brits hear Yank voice=irritating
    Yanks hear Brit voice=irritating *unless, of course, it comes from a woman. Beckinsale FTW ;)

    If it's that bloody important CodeMasters could always try some localization. I hear it works wonders.

    As for DJ Atomika(sic)? I was playing the demo for about five minutes when I suddenly felt the urge to punch him straight in the face. That annoyance is universal, doesn't matter what corner of the world you live in.

    Now if you'll excuse me...I gotz to go violently shootz me some big gunz at people before I get to de Nascar game so's I can drink me some watered down beers while the cars go 'round in circles.

    Cheers.




    Edited by 1 at 14/02/08 @ 22:49

  • SomaticSense #22 4 years ago

    Ooh, the Americans didn't 'get it'? Fuck em.

    I'm sorry, but CMR (r.i.p. Colin) was ruined due to all the pandering to the Yanks crap. I used to look forward to every TOCA and CMR game, now there's literally nothing from Codies that takes my interest in any form whatsoever, all because of their recent marketing strategies of alienating the core audience that made them. Codie$ can fuck off now as far as I'm concerned.

    R.I.P a true British/Euro gaming company.

  • TurboBailey #23 4 years ago

    Ive bought nearly all the Toca Series (apart from Toca 2) and i LOVE THEM.
    British racing heaven.
    Maybe im getting old, but dumbing it down to appeal to the mass market might fracture the fan base this game has in europe.
    America "dont get" TOCA because it is something different in a saturated market.

    You dont cut off your nose to spite your own face.
    GGRRRR Globalisation is bad.

  • effinjamie #24 4 years ago

    @Jo0j

    It's not about the annoying voiceover being American, It's about the Voiceover being Fecking ANNOYING.
    As you say it could have any accent and still would annoy people with it's " YEAH!, now go for the finish DUDE!".
    But as we have seen from codemasters, their take on appealing to the American Market is to have a "Bill & Ted" voice over and to turn their game into a NFS clone

  • ruttyboy #25 4 years ago

    Hey, if they actually did have a Bill & Ted voiceover that would be insta-sale for me! :)

    Sadly what we get instead is a completely innapropriate moron spouting bollocks written by middle class white guys who've been given the brief to be 'down wit da kids'...