F1 2009 racing out on Wii and PSP, other versions lag behind a year
by JC Fletcher 
{ Apr 23rd 2009 at 9:18AM } 
Fans of F1 racing will be well-served this year -- if they have a Wii or PSP. Codemasters told Autosport that the Sumo Digital-developed F1 2009 will launch exclusively on the Wii and PSP. According to Autosport's description of features, "F1 2009 will use all of this year's cars, teams and tracks - including the Singapore night race, the Valencia Marina Bay circuit and the new Abu Dhabi season finale. The game will also include KERS, slick tyres and the new aerodynamic regulations."Erstwhile Formula 1 racers will have to wait until 2010 to take the driving simulator for a ride on their Xbox 360, PS3, or PC: Codemasters has decided to take the extra time to work on F1 2010 for HD consoles. "And in the meantime we're able to produce a high quality game on Wii and PSP within the timescale," Codemasters' Adrian Laughton told IGN. "The Wii is the biggest platform in the world now, so why not have a fully featured comprehensive racer for it?"
Source - IGN
Source - Autosport
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
skyzbig @ Apr 23rd 2009 9:27AM
I wish Polyphony Digital would get the rights to create an F1 game, though I'm prepared to give Codemasters a chance.
Hashbrown Hunter @ Apr 23rd 2009 10:03AM
If Polyphony had the license, they'd only release the game once every 5 years.
ALBGunner04 @ Apr 23rd 2009 12:14PM
@Harshbrown Hunter: Haha :D But it would be better than raping the franchise by releasing a new one every year.
Frankly, for sports games, I think that developers and publishers need to release one title to handle two seasons. At the beginning of the second season in that game's life cycle, it would receive a big update with new rosters, etc. This gives developers more time to make the next title better. I hate how the current system is set up. I wouldn't mind being charged for the update if it was like the normal price of an add-on.
Virtuous @ Apr 23rd 2009 7:11PM
If PD got the license a PSP version world never see the light of day.
Joanna D @ Apr 23rd 2009 9:31AM
This is total BS. They already had a game engine they could have used and all they had to do was model the tracks.
Looking at the screenshots, it looks like they have done a bad job of that - they've got Sinopec plastered all over the Shanghai Circuit when in fact they were not the sponsor this year at all.
The biggest disappointment has to be the lack of online multiplayer in either version though. I was really looking forward to finally playing F1 online but it is not to be for at least another year.
It will be funny when F1 2009 launches and it is inferior to F1 2006 (CE) on PS3. Also funny will be the mods for rFactor and Grand Prix 4 which will look ten times better than this game running on Wii.
Poor show Codemasters - first DiRT gets all Americanised and now this? :(
Louis @ Apr 23rd 2009 10:34AM
How could a Wii version of anything be better than the PS3 version. These are fillers until the next PS3/360 version comes out.
Poisoned Al @ Apr 23rd 2009 9:52AM
I love KERS. Any sport that has turbo boost is cool with me.
Joanna D @ Apr 23rd 2009 10:40AM
F1 cars dropped turbochargers a long time ago.
valisol @ Apr 23rd 2009 10:56AM
@ Joanna D
Pretty sure Poisoned AI was talking about KERS and not turbochargers.. The 2009 F1 cars have a button (I think) that uses the energy gained from KERS to give a little boost..
Phil @ Apr 23rd 2009 1:05PM
Yeah, the KERS system gives an extra 80bhp boost for 6.6 seconds each lap by the press of a button on the sterring wheel
DjFIL @ Apr 23rd 2009 10:03AM
Very disappointed (but not surprised) about the delay for the 'full' version of the game. Also too bad they didn't say if a DS version would come soon too... I'd love to see Firebrand Studios do the DS version (as they did with Race Driver and Grid).
axl @ Apr 23rd 2009 11:34AM
I think the F1 game for the Wii, will be BETTER than the PS3/Xbox360 versions becose the fun factor like Mario Kart wii has and maked it the Best Racing game of 2008.
The graphics are decent and I hope they polish it as close the next-gen counterparts and with totally Wiimote's advantage the immersion will be AMAZING!!
With this, Dirt2 and the new Bizarre Creations PGR for the Wii, this year will be the best rancing time on the console since Wii launched in 2006.
el serpiente @ Apr 23rd 2009 12:03PM
Gameplay footage of the wii version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vlm6W1FrQDo
Jamesology @ Apr 23rd 2009 4:53PM
Now that's a TRUE Nintendo Fanboy!!
HAHAHA ... better than 360 AND PS3... WOW I bet you believe Bioshock would be better on Wii too huh?
TracerBullet @ Apr 23rd 2009 12:14PM
Being a tifoso, I have high hopes for this game. An f-1 title is always welcome.
Forza, Ferrari
XenMaster4 @ Apr 23rd 2009 1:10PM
F1 on wii will be great - but I'm still waiting for some F-ZERO
mr mobius @ Apr 23rd 2009 3:31PM
Be nice if that was announced at E3. Either that or Wave Race.
OldElvis @ Apr 23rd 2009 4:17PM
About time we get a good Driving game on the Nintendo.
jay @ Apr 23rd 2009 3:27PM
so is this game coming to north america?
Colby Martin @ Apr 23rd 2009 4:18PM
success...wait, fail!How do you release a 2009 season after it's over??? Most sports games are called 09 when it's the end or beginning of the 2008 season. I'm not upset by it, but I do feel it's completely lame. I feel Chodemasters ;) is going to screw this up like they did the IndyCar Series games in 2005 and 2006. Albeit those games were really sim focused, they did try to add a little arcade flavor to them (Just as they said the F1 2009 would be done)...actually they said it would be more accessible to everyone. But, what I think needs to be done is full sim with pre-installed and community based setups for these tracks. They also need tutorials on setups for people. How many people know what camber is or how setup a gear box for a temporary street circuit compared to a permanent road course? Not many, I myself am not very good at setups and I'd personally be an advocate for an F1 Setup School to be featured in these games. I don't want the Grid life where no setups exist. I think that's pure arcade...the only thing sim about Grid is the damage models.
I just think Codemasters should go the EA route. Have an accessible arcade title for the non-fans and a complete sim package for the true fans. One can be released via digital download and the other can be on media. I think they can give both style of gamer what they deserve and seriously compete with the true mods (i.e rFactor - which, by the way, is an amazing sim and already has the F1 2009 season with the Brawn Mercedes Team, USGPE, and KERS).
If Codemasters wants to compete...they can't drag their feet and put out bad games. I really would like to see them make a successful real life game and not something completely arcadey and crap.
Tom @ Apr 23rd 2009 5:30PM
I want a quicktime pitstops option - that'd be awesome
davedrastic @ Apr 24th 2009 1:36AM
Whoever is slagging off Codemasters is blind. Do you not realise that Grid is by far the best racer out there - being innovative, high adrenalin and relatively sim-like. Sure I loved GT1 and GT2 as much as the next man but get real, the game got too big and too boring.
But Codemasters don't just have Grid as a part of their track record. They have TOCA series, Colin McCrae series, Dirt series, Fuel series. Not to mention a 25 year+ catalogue of games across multiple genres (or thereabouts).
F1 on PS1 and PS2 was gang raped and Codemasters have never been known to release sequels too often. They've just paid $200 million for the F1 rights, it only makes sense that they have multiple versions out there and I'm sure they'll all be good at the very least. Apart from the DS version if there is one, i'm sure that will just be a Race Driver clone as Grid DS was.
davedrastic @ Apr 24th 2009 1:37AM
oh and the best F1 game was the EA career one - with Juan Pablo Montoya. Love the career concept, great pit stops and the racing was as good as any other version. I had it on PS2 I think, but it was also a PC game.
Colby Martin @ Apr 24th 2009 1:46PM
I never said Grid was a bad game, but I don't like it's direction. It's too simplistic. Shouldn't games blend realism with fun, and shouldn't they also be used to educated fans? I myself as a fan of F1 love the complexities of the sport. I want to know how to adjust a car to slide it through a hairpin just faster then the next guy and I want to know that if I make a poor decision on my setup that I can end up with a really bad car.
I think GRID is a great game, but it's too fake for me to get into it. It's not the "drivers" life, but it's the life of a fan. Drivers actually participate in car setups and feedback. Why do you think they test?
Colby Martin @ Apr 24th 2009 1:51PM
And, another thing about Codemasters. Sure, they make quality games, but outside of DiRT I've never been all that amazed. I thought Toca was cool, but never did more than the demo. I really felt burned by Codemasters from their IndyCar Series 2004. I still want to try the 2005 version though. I'll most likely check out the F1 game for the psp, since I love F1 and am willing to give it a try, but I just worry that Codemasters is going to make it too arcadey for the race fan.
drdre74 @ Apr 24th 2009 3:46PM
epic fail!