Tune in to Gotham TV

By Ellie Gibson Published 6 June, 2005

More Gotham 3 details.

Bizarre Creations has revealed more details of Gotham TV, a new feature designed to enhance online play for Project Gotham Racing 3 on Xbox 360.

Gotham TV is designed to support the Xbox Live community, keeping you informed of news, upcoming events and how your competitors are shaping up.

There are six different channels to choose from. The Friends Channel (no, not another name for E4) lets you watch your mates' races as they happen, either from the stands or within one of the cars on the track - you can even take the passenger seat in your chum's vehicle, if you like.

The Gotham Heroes Channel will broadcast races featuring the game's top players, all in real-time. To become a Gotham Hero you'll need to earn a shedload of kudos points - and if you make it, you'll get a notification before the race so you can invite your friends to watch.

Today's Highlights, as the name suggests, shows the best bits from the day's races, and the Hall of Fame lets you view the archives - you can search by city, driver, event and even route if you want to find out the best way to complete a circuit.

Then there's the Gotham Heroes Archive, which will feature classic moments from old PGR3 races, and finally View Replays - save your performances online and watch them back whenever you like.

On top of all that, Gotham TV will offer a scrolling news ticker at the bottom of the screen to keep you up to date with general news, details of what your friends are up to and stuff that might be of personal interest.

If another driver beats your top score, for example, the ticker will notify you - and you can head on over to the archives to watch the race in question. The ticker won't appear while you're actually racing, so no worries about being distracted when you're trying to keep your eyes on the road.

Gotham TV will launch alongside PGR 3 and the Xbox 360 in November. You can read more about the game here.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (27) Latest comment 7 years ago

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

  • Frogger #1 7 years ago

    Sounds great...

    But WHY this bat-sounding name "Gotham" ???

  • Hurleybird #2 7 years ago

    I've been saying for a while that there needs to be more of this functionality. Pro Evo 5/6 where you can watch games in your league/cup would rock more than anything in the world....evar!

  • Angrydarren #3 7 years ago

    Gotta give credit where it's due. This sounds awesome - imagine this implemented on all sports and driving games!

  • Wash #4 7 years ago

    I thought it was comic book references... Metropolis Street Racer (DC) obviously being the city of superman? so Project Gotham Racing (XB) being batmans city.

    "Pro Evo 5/6 where you can watch games in
    your league/cup would rock more than anything in the
    world"

    having leagues would be a good thing on its own.

  • LittleJohn #5 7 years ago

    >But WHY this bat-sounding name "Gotham" ???

    Geeky moment: Gotham is the old name for New York ie "York New Racing 3"

    Can there really be enough stuff to fill all those channels?!

  • octo #6 7 years ago

    Okay. It does sound cool. But I think we all need to remember that this revolutionary new idea allows you to watch OTHER PEOPLE playing videogames.

    I've done that already in games like RS3 when I'm waiting for my team mates to finish mopping up terrorits. I suppose it's slightly more fun than just returning to the lobby and watching icons turn from red to blue. But only slightly...

  • Dizzy #7 7 years ago

    >But WHY this bat-sounding name "Gotham" ???

    Because the original game on DC was called Metropolis (town of Superman) so they named the next project Gotham (town of Batman) as a working title. They never really changed the title...

  • trevd72 #8 7 years ago

    i want to play the game not watch other people play the game. i think you must have far too much time on your hands to sit with a can in your hand watching other people race. and how egotistic are you to send a friend a invite to watch you race. Gimmicky gimmicky gimmicky.

    they have nothing new to add to the game so they add what is in effect a spectator mode. Ghost recon had one so that you could sit out a game while keeping your place in the server. thats all this is. its nothing ground breaking.

  • Derblington #9 7 years ago

    "But WHY this bat-sounding name "Gotham" ???"

    It's an old nick-name for New York. PGR feature NYC as a racable city, I think it was a placename title while in development and it just stuck.

  • Nige #10 7 years ago

    I love Gotham, and I don't care who knows. The name is silly but it could be worse... 'Project Tiff Needell Racing'?

  • Nige #11 7 years ago

    >i want to play the game not watch other people play the game

    I always say the same about Rugby, but you can't argue with the viewing figures.

    It's actually pretty handy when you want to learn a bit of race craft, and eek out the out 10th of a second here or there. Plus there are some guys playing Gotham who are just different class good. Normally you only get to see their back end as they disappear into the distance, their (virtual) car control is quite inspired.

  • LittleJohn #12 7 years ago

    Actually, when you go to the arcade and final run out of 20's/50's/quarters/yen... do you leave? No you usually stay and watch others battle their way around tracks etc.... or is that just me.

  • Darkedge #13 7 years ago

    "Gotham is the old name for New York"

    Nice idea but wrong - New York was New Amsterdam. The gotham batman connection is correct.

  • Nige #14 7 years ago

    "Nice idea but wrong "

    It is true apparently - it was a slang name so I heard. A quick search of google will reveal all.

  • Derblington #15 7 years ago

    Hence the Gotham Gazette - a NYC newspaper.

    Darkedge is quick to judge without checking his facts... It's also why they called Gotham Gotham in Batman.

  • mcmonkeyplc #16 7 years ago

    Well its predecessor was the best racing game ever, in my opinion, so this could just add to its god likeness.

    MCM

    edit: "How can they have enough stuff to fill those channels"

    Well Live this generation has more than 2 million players and alot of those played PGR2 and still do. So thats quite a big cast, although it depends on the uptake of the new xbox too.

    Edited by 1 at 06/06/05 @ 17:47

  • freedumb #17 7 years ago

    I may sound like an old Dreamcast romantic, but I would prefer it if Bizarre Creations kept the original name. Metroplis Street Racer 1.5, 2, and now MSR 3. Well thats how I refer to them anyway.
    Edited by 1 at 06/06/05 @ 18:12

  • DB2k #18 7 years ago

    I may sound like an old Dreamcast romantic, but I would
    prefer it if Bizarre Creations kept the original name.
    Metroplis Street Racer 1.5, 2, and now MSR 3. Well thats
    how I refer to them anyway.

    So no-one knows what you are talking about just so you can pretend you know more about games than other people? sheesh, get a life!!!

  • freedumb #19 7 years ago

    Well, some people always succeed in completely missing the point, don't they?

    I enjoyed the original Dreamcast game, which was quite well-known and critically accalimed, and simply suggested that the sequels be called the same name, rather than just a working title that stuck.

    Pretending I know more about games than other people? Where the hell did you come up with that one? Maybe its you who dont know what I'm talking about, you don't seem to have heard of MSR.
    Edited by 5 at 06/06/05 @ 18:52

  • Kiigan #20 7 years ago

    The problem with MSR as a name is that it sounds like a dozen other games on the market right now.

    PGR is a bloody rubbish name too, but at least everyone knows what you mean.

    As for the spectator stuff... I'm not sure I could be bothered watching other people having all the fun. I suppose it could be a laugh with enough beer.

  • atrus #21 7 years ago

    You're also forgetting the fact that the "Metropolis Street Racer" name is still owned by Sega who comissioned the game in the first place.

    I heard a couple of years back they were talking to developers to get another game made under the MSR name. Evidently didn't happen though.

    Project Gotham is a stupid name, should have let Bizarre pick something else before they put the title to "US Focus Groups". Mistake.

  • Scimarad #22 7 years ago

    Just show us the game, already:-)

  • Captain Fetid #23 7 years ago

    Tbh, I'm not too fond of this kudo's malarkey. Replays of people doing cone races and earning an awful lot of points show that in fact they try and do it on the lowest level and then go for 360°'s and what not in order to rack up the kudo's.

    Let's hope the online part's a bit more thought out this time.

  • The-Bodybuilder #24 7 years ago

    >"Nice idea but wrong "

    Don't you just cocky, arrogant but essentially stupid people?

  • Ranger101 #25 7 years ago

    MSR was excellent, and still stands up among current racers. PGR 1 was a bit stupid, and stupidly tough. PGR 2 got Arcade racing perfect.

    DB2k is probably about 13 years old, and thus never really came across the DC, also I'm assuming the 'DB' in DB2k stands for Dragon Ball, which would only support the theory.

    Bring back 'Pole Position' I say, and put that on Xbox Live TV whatchyamacallit.
    Edited by 1 at 08/06/05 @ 01:31

  • redd #26 7 years ago

    well... half lifes HLTV is tremendously successful so this is a safe bet

  • freedumb #27 7 years ago

    Ranger you're probably right. But if you've seen the original Japanese uncut version, DB doesn't just appeal to 13 yr olds, like a lot of other anime.