Spotlight
Digital FoundryFace-Off: Driver: San Francisco
Shift happens.
Digital FoundryDriver: San Francisco Gameplay Stress Testing Video
Can we shake the console versions' 60FPS refresh?
Digital FoundryDriver: San Francisco Gameplay Performance Video
PS3 and 360 put through its paces in racing gameplay.
Digital FoundryDriver: San Francisco Engine Performance Video
A series of test on engine-driven cut-scenes.
Key events
8th November 2011
6th September 2011
6th September 2011
6th September 2011
6th September 2011
2nd September 2011
26th August 2011
16th August 2011
10th August 2011
9th August 2011
29th July 2011
18th July 2011
15th July 2011
3rd May 2011
28th April 2011
15th June 2010
Driver San Francisco, Far Cry 2 now playable on Xbox One via backwards compatibility
Sniper Elite V2, too.
Driver San Francsico, one of the greatest racing games of all time, is now available to play on Xbox One via the system's backwards compatibility service.
The moment you know that Driver: San Francisco is a special game is when it asks you to finish first, second and third in the same single race. But, in truth, you'd probably already had a fair inkling of its greatness well before that point: you'd feel it in the precision drifts of your Dodge Challenger, or in the squat thud as you pound over one of the city's hills and land a graceful jump. Driver: San Francisco is a game that's incredibly easy to fall in love with.
Driver: San Francisco dev reportedly working on a racing game called The Crew
Studio to announce new game at E3. Co-production with ex-Test Drive devs?
Driver: San Francisco developer Ubisoft Reflections is reportedly working on a racing game called The Crew, according to The Examiner.
PS3 Essentials arrive today on PlayStation Network priced £16 or £10
Not to be confused with Waitrose Essentials of course.
The discounted, downloadable PS3 Essentials range arrives on PlayStation Network today.
Ubisoft ditches controversial always-on DRM for PC games
"We have listened to feedback."
Ubisoft has discarded its much-derided always-on DRM for PC games, the company has announced.
£1 each for From Dust, Driver San Fran, H.A.W.X. 2, Silent Hunter 5 this week
Ubisoft holding a Uplay Gamescom sale.
From Dust, Driver: San Francisco, H.A.W.X. 2 and Silent Hunter 5 will all be reduced to £1/€1/$1 on Uplay this week.
Ubisoft wants to offer PC gamers so much value the need for DRM "goes away"
"Will the person who really wants that broad experience pirate? We hope not."
Ubisoft wants to offer PC gamers so much value with its franchises that the need for its controversial DRM "goes away".
Ubisoft apologises after online server switch snafu
"We're on it."
Ubisoft has admitted its online server switch has affected games previously promised to be safe from the current maintenance.
Driver dev making an Xbox 360 Kinect game?
LinkedIn leak number 5000.
Another day, another LinkedIn leak: an art lead at Ubisoft Reflections appears to have revealed an unannounced Xbox 360 Kinect project.
Driver: San Francisco sales were "better than planned"
Ubisoft outstrips its financial targets.
Sales of Driver: San Francisco were above Ubisoft's expectations, the publisher has announced.
Its latest quarterly financial report, out today, didn't provide further detail on exactly how many copies it has shifted.
It was also "especially pleased" with the release of Eric Chahi's downloadable god game From Dust.
DRM or not to DRM, that is the question.
"Make no mistake," said SEGA this week, "if one quarter of the people that usually pirate [Football Manager] switch to purchasing Football Manager 2012, the sales of the game worldwide would more than double." That was the eye-opening statistic used to justify Football Manager 2012 requiring Steam to play. In other words, more than 80 per cent of people playing Football Manager are doing so with a pirated copy.
Revenues "haven't been dramatic".
Online Pass has generated $10-$15 million in revenue for EA since its 2010 launch - a total the company isn't particularly impressed with.
Free Driver: San Francisco content coming
Plus, Driver Club community portal.
Console versions of Driver: San Francisco see some complimentary new multiplayer content later this month, publisher Ubisoft has announced.
Ubisoft scraps Driver's online pass fee
Uplay Passport codes printed incorrectly.
Ubisoft has scrapped the online pass fee for Driver: San Francisco.
PC Driver: San Fran "wasn't held back"
Console code-base meant "natural delay".
That the PC version of Driver: San Francisco must wait for a 30th September release represents a "natural delay" - "it wasn't held back", developer Ubisoft Reflections told Eurogamer.
Digital FoundryFace-Off: Driver: San Francisco
Shift happens.
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Xbox 360
PlayStation 3
UK Top 40: Deus Ex deflects Driver: SF
Bodycount bungles into 36th.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution has defended its UK chart top spot from dream-world racer Driver: San Francisco.
Digital FoundryDriver: San Francisco Gameplay Stress Testing Video
Can we shake the console versions' 60FPS refresh?
Digital FoundryDriver: San Francisco Gameplay Performance Video
PS3 and 360 put through its paces in racing gameplay.
Digital FoundryDriver: San Francisco Engine Performance Video
A series of test on engine-driven cut-scenes.
A series of test on engine-driven cut-scenes.
Digital FoundryDriver: San Francisco PS3/360 Face-Off Video
Comparison video of the two console versions.
Martin Edmonson on reviews, decisions and the future.
Back in PlayStation 1 days, Driver was the height of gaming, a pioneer in the open world mission-based driving genre. And Newcastle-based developer Reflections was a power-house. But Driver 2 stalled and Driver 3 crashed. Driver: Parallel Lines was better.
Game of the Week: Driver: San Francisco
Bullitt storm.
It has begun - and what better way to celebrate the fact it's not silly season any more than the sight of Zumba Fitness descending the Top 10 rather than bouncing around the summit?
VideoDriver: San Francisco video talkthrough
Eurogamer dissects the opening missions.
Eurogamer dissects the opening missions.
Driver dev thinking about next-gen now
1080p 60fps should be a "mandate".
Driver: San Francisco developer Reflections is already thinking about creating a next-gen game engine, and wants 1080p, 60 frames-per-second games as a mandate from the next Xbox and PlayStation 4.
VideoDriver: San Francisco launch trailer
In a Tanner darkly.
Driver dev defends Ubi DRM, online pass
PC piracy "utterly unbelievable".
Ubisoft has "every right" to use DRM to protect PC games from "utterly unbelievable" levels of piracy, Driver: San Francisco developer Ubisoft Reflections told Eurogamer.
VideoDriver: San Francisco's garages detailed
Get tooled up.
Get tooled up.
VideoDriver: San Francisco footage
Film director mode detailed.
Film director mode detailed.
Tanner the best.
Games are full of excuses, whether they're telling you that a terrorist strike has closed off half the city you're exploring or that swimming is a bad idea when you have electricity coursing through your veins. As excuses go though, Driver: San Francisco throws up one of the more outrageous.
You're John Tanner, undercover cop, wheelman and faded gaming icon, and after one high-speed altercation with your nemesis Jericho within the opening 10 minutes, you're also in a coma.
What that preposterous set-up excuses, however, is something quite brilliant. Drifting through the fog of San Francisco in the haze of a dream, Tanner can shift from car to car, possessing citizens in a mechanic that's as inspired as it is bizarre.
Driver! Bodycount! Mortal Kombat!
This week sees the return of a long-running racing series, pitted against the birth of a new shooter IP.
Notch wades into Ubisoft DRM debate
Always-on internet "encourages piracy".
Minecraft creator Marcus 'Notch' Persson has chimed in on the raging Ubisoft DRM row, describing the publisher's demands as "insane".
Ubisoft tweaks controversial Driver DRM
Always-on internet ditched, sort of.
Ubisoft has changed its DRM plans for Driver: San Francisco following fan outrage at the publisher's insistence that users maintain a persistent internet connection while playing.
VideoDriver San Francisco MP demo trailer
Download 17th August for PS3, Xbox 360.
Making Driver: San Francisco 60FPS
Reflections' virtual city and fixing bugs.
UK studio Reflections has explained its decision to make the single-player portion of Driver: San Francisco run at 60 frames per second – and revealed the challenges doing so presented the development team.
PC Driver: San Francisco delayed
New UK release date revealed.
Ubisoft has confirmed to Eurogamer that the PC version of Driver: San Francisco has been delayed.
EU PlayStation Store update 10th August
Resistance 3 beta! El Shaddai, Driver demos!
PlayStation Plus subscribers are offered early access to the Resistance 3 beta test today. You'll have a seven day head start on the general public, who'll be invited in on 17th August.
For the general PS3 public today there are three worthy demos: Driver San Francisco, El Shaddai and madden NFL. Eurogamer's Japanese import El Shaddai review awarded a sky-scraping 9/10. Do try.
Full games today are Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team, Galaga Legions DX, Spelunker HD and, as we told you yesterday, the Spinter Cell HD Trilogy.
VideoDriver San Francisco demo trailer
Xbox 360 and PS3 taster soon.
Driver San Francisco PS3/360 demo date
Tomorrow.
Ubisoft will release a demo for Driver San Francisco tomorrow on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
VideoDriver: San Francisco multiplayer video
Car-jumping gameplay explained.
Car-jumping gameplay explained.
Ubisoft announces huge EG Expo line-up
Assassin's! Driver! Ghost Recon! Rayman!
This year's Eurogamer Expo will host a huge showing from developer Ubisoft, with some of the year's biggest titles such as Assassin's Creed: Revelations and Driver: San Francisco available to play on the show floor.
High-tech shooter Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and beautiful platformer Rayman Origins will also be on show.
For racing fans Ubisoft is bringing World Rally, while those who prefer a boogie can try Just Dance Kinect.
Ubisoft: DRM strategy is a "success"
Always-on internet sees off piracy.
Ubisoft's controversial DRM strategy that demands a persistent online connection for many of its PC titles has successfully reduced levels of piracy, the publisher has claimed.
Driver PC: always-on internet required
Uplay unlocks "bonus features".
The PC version of Driver: San Francisco requires a permanent internet connection, Ubisoft has confirmed.
Ubisoft Uplay Passport costs £7.99
Unlocks online play, bonus content.
Ubisoft has firmed up UK pricing for its online pass, the Uplay Passport. It costs £7.99 on PS3 and PC while Xbox 360 owners pay 800 Points (£6.80).
VideoDriver San Francisco trailer shows cars
A glimpse of the game's 120 licensed motors.
Uplay Passport to cost $9.99.
As rumoured yesterday, Ubisoft has confirmed the impending arrival of an online pass for used copies of its games.
Dubbed the Uplay Passport, it will charge US gamers $9.99 for access to the online features of "many of Ubisoft's popular core games" when purchased second hand.
If you've bought the game new, you'll find a one-time use registration code included in the box to enable multiplayer modes and "exclusive bonus content".
Ubisoft readying online pass - report
Uplay Passport to launch with Driver: SF.
Ubisoft is the latest publisher to jump on the online pass bandwagon with the Uplay Passport, according to a GamerZines report.
VideoFirst Driver: San Francisco dev diary
Open world racer talks characters.
Open world racer talks characters.
VideoDriver San Francisco in-game footage
Latest gameplay from E3 revs up.
Latest gameplay from E3 revs up.
VideoDriver San Francisco Collector Pack vid
Exclusive vehicles! Comic! Model car!
Exclusive vehicles! Comic! Model car!
VideoNew Driver: San Francisco trailer
California dreaming.
Driver: San Francisco release date
September launch for Ubisoft reboot.
Driver: San Francisco leaves the garage on 2nd September for PC, PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360, publisher Ubisoft has announced.
That's a few days after its 30th August US launch.
First announced back in June last year, the game has been delayed a number of times. However, it seems we'll now finally get to see if Newcastle-based developer Ubisoft Reflections has successfully managed to revive the flagging franchise.
Driver: San Francisco screens, artwork
Wheel racing.
Wheel racing.
Coma police.
When people associated with long-running video game series tell you, "We've made some real changes this time around," they generally mean that they've added a crouch button. When one of the Ubisoft Reflections team said that to me last year, however, they really weren't kidding.
Driver: San Francisco out this September
PS3 Child of Eden out before July.
Driver: San Francisco launches this September, Ubisoft has announced.
Staff laid-off at Ubisoft Reflections
Driver studio feels the pinch.
19 staffers at Ubisoft's Newcastle-based Reflections studio have been given their marching orders, the publisher has confirmed.
Driver delayed for extra polish
Ubi sees it as first foothold in racing genre.
Driver: San Francisco's release date has been pushed back to ensure that the finished product is up to scratch, publisher Ubisoft has confirmed.
Ubisoft delays Ghost Recon and Driver
H.A.W.X. 2 and R.U.S.E. below expectations.
Ubisoft's delayed Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Future Soldier and Driver San Francisco.
Fresh Driver: San Francisco images
Ubisoft delivers more Driver dreamscape.
Ubisoft delivers more Driver dreamscape.
Ubisoft Eurogamer Expo line-up revealed
Driver! Creed Brotherhood! Rabbids!
The Ubisoft line-up for the Eurogamer Expo 2010 is in. The golden balls this year are Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Driver: San Francisco and Raving Rabbids Travel in Time.
R.U.S.E. and H.A.W.X. 2 firmly dated
Driver: San Francisco due out Q1 2011.
Ubisoft has firmly dated Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2 and R.U.S.E. in an updated schedule.
Ubisoft delays new Driver game
Splinter Cell: Conviction sells loads.
Driver: San Francisco has been delayed until 2011, Ubisoft has confirmed.
Driver: San Francisco dated for the UK
Shift yourself to the shops in November.
Driver: San Francisco will be released in the UK on 26th November for PC, PS3, Wii and Xbox 360.
Driver: San Francisco - Collector's Edition
The yellow toy car.
The yellow toy car.
Driver Collector's Ed has yellow toy car
That and other bits for £70.
The PAL Collector's Edition of Driver: San Francisco comes with a yellow toy car and costs £70.
Driver: San Francisco out this year
For PC/PS3/360. Plus separate Wii ver.
As you may have noticed when we posted a whopping hands-on preview of it last night, Ubisoft has officially unveiled Driver: San Francisco and said it will be out for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 in Q4 of this year.
VideoDriver: San Francisco trailer
Life on cars.
Life on cars.
Driver used to be the game where you could get out of your car. Now it's the game where you can get out of your body. That said, you can't get out of your car anymore. Bloody life, eh?
Ubisoft also showing AC Brotherhood.
Ubisoft has confirmed that "the next iteration of the blockbuster franchise Driver" will be unveiled at E3 next month.
Ubisoft registers AC and Driver domains
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood? Driver SF?
Ubisoft has registered domain names for Assassin's Creed and Driver that may point to the names of upcoming instalments.
Ubi trademarks Driver: The Recruit
Could an announcement be imminent?
Ubisoft has trademarked the game title Driver: The Recruit.
Ubisoft doing "new version" of Driver
Looks like it might be more cartoony.
Ubisoft is busy making a "whole new version" of Driver at its Reflections studio in Newcastle.
